7 Things To Consider When You’re Trying To Choose a Writing Idea
One thing I hear from many of my students and clients is that they have too many ideas and don’t know where to start.
Too many business ideas to take action on.
Too many blogs to write.
Too many articles to repurpose.
Too many book ideas to pursue.
Too many chapters to write.
Too many social posts to craft.
How do you decide???
You’ve got 99 writing ideas and can’t just pick one.
Analysis paralysis kicks in. Next, decision fatigue. You have so many things you want to say that you could say, but how do you choose the right one?
Of course, on the other end of the wildly inspired are the massively underwhelmed. There are also just as many creative business owners who say they lack inspiration and need help finding ideas.
It’s a dance. When you get an idea for something to write, you often want to take action right away. It’s new, fresh, exciting, and could be just the thing to follow.
You scan your list of inspirations, ready to dive in and start going with your SFD of a new blog for the week or a book chapter, and all the ideas seem good. Or, maybe all of them feel meh. Still, you need to choose one.
You can’t tackle all your ideas at once — so please stop trying.
When entrepreneurs attempt to take on all the ideas at once, it often leads to questioning what they're doing.
Am I even in the right business?
What do my readers or clients want to hear most?
Maybe I should just ask them.
Asking your audience can be fine. But what if they choose a topic that you really don't want to teach or write about? I rarely ask my audience open-ended questions like, “What do you want to learn from me?” Most people don’t know. You’re the expert, after all. You’re the one who knows more, so how would the people you teach even know what to ask?
For this reason, if I’m going to crowdsource my next writing project, I’ll make sure that they’re all ideas I love, and I’d be just as happy writing on any of them. And I’ll make my ask simple: “Do you want to learn more about writing blogs or writing websites?”
Choosing a creative idea can be a challenging task, especially when you have too many options to choose from. With so many possibilities, it can be hard to figure out which one to pursue.
Before I get to how to choose a writing idea, I think we’re worried about the wrong things, leading to this problem to begin with.
Worry #1: Fear of choosing the wrong thing.
This assumes there’s only one right thing to write. It’s as if we’re scanning a list of options for a magic pill. I think this is a problem that many business owners are still struggling with. They’re searching for the answer, the one solution to solve all their business problems. When really, they’ve never chosen ONE idea, went all-in, and stuck with writing it consistently — long enough to see if it works.
Worry #2: FOMO — Fear of missing out.
Another worry that has fear behind it. Are you seeing a trend? Maybe our list of ideas is too long because we’ve compiled that list based on all the shoulds of others and haven’t yet paused to see what we truly want. Is your list of inspiration filled with things you’ve seen others create and not the things that you crave, deep down?
Worry #3: Fear of looking stupid.
This is enough to keep most creative entrepreneurs from even starting a writing project. Let alone, finally share their websites, landing pages, or first blog post. When you’re new to something, you’re going to feel stupid. YOU are not stupid. Unless we’re willing to be dumb at something in the beginning, we’ll never be able to put in the time to get good at it. When I was creating my signature writing coaching offer, I had more questions than answers. A mentor at the time said, “Right now, you’re as dumb as you’re ever going to be about this.”
Now, choose a damn idea already…
You can choose an idea from one of two places — your brain or your heart.
I suggest your heart.
Here are some filters and questions to run your decisions through to help you decide your next moves:
1) Identify your goals.
Before you start evaluating your ideas and feelings about which writing idea to start taking action on, it's important to know what you're trying to achieve. Ask yourself questions like:
What am I trying to accomplish with this project?
What's the purpose of my work?
What impact do I want to have?
Having a clear understanding of your goals will help you to focus on the ideas that are aligned with them. If you follow a 12-week planning process like this one, then you’ll have your quarterly goals front and center. When you know where you’re heading, you can quickly decide which path will support your journey.
2) Read each idea aloud and notice your immediate reaction in your body.
Go into this practice without judgment. Read each item and see which ones stand out. Simply notice what you feel in your body as you review each one. Excitement, dread, bubbles? Notice what you feel and where you feel it, and jot down any notes. There may be some healing work for you to do here, too.
3) Review your top 3 ideas.
Do any of your topics bring up fear for you? There might be something deeper for you to explore there before you take action. Either way, this is all good information for you to have.
4) Determine how long each idea will take you.
Maybe you have a few topics on your list that require more research or an interview. Then, notice if your inclination is to do the fast thing instead of commuting to the long-term project that will require more commitment, consistency, and focus. Or, maybe you’ll choose the fast win to give you feel-good dopamine and create momentum so that you can work on the bigger thing. I wrote a 50-page mini-book before writing Unfussy Life. It was well worth the experience.
5) Tread with caution when asking for feedback.
Keep your list of options short. Don’t share your list of 20 ideas with readers or friends. Make sure they give you honest opinions and not just tell you what you want to hear. Also, keep in mind who you’re asking for input. Your friends and family won’t always know what (or even care) what’s best for you and your business. Find a group of trusted experts you trust or a mentor who has lived experience to help guide you.
6) Select a deadline for your decision.
When I notice decision fatigue seeping in, I decide to decide later. Now, this doesn’t mean I’m procrastinating on choosing. Instead, I consciously select a date on which I know I’ll make a decision. I mark on my calendar or 12-week plan and make it specific, “Make a decision about X.” Then, when the date comes, I decide and move on.
7) When you make your decision — go all-in.
Learning to trust yourself and your decision-making skills takes time and can only come through practice. Once you decide, look forward with your idea, knowing all the other ones are there for you when you’re ready to come back to them.
Now, sometimes, when we take action, we’re explicitly shown that there’s a better, more aligned choice. BUT… know that you didn’t do anything wrong or make a bad decision. The insights are always in the actions. So, simply by taking action, you can quickly discover your next best step. This is always my reminder to act quicker and pivot even faster if needed.
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