Picking an idea to stick with

[calibur]

Hey all, so I was wondering.
I have quite a lot of ideas, honestly don't really need to think about them they just come to me, some definitely have more to them and some are just brief concept ideas.
Anyway my question is when you have so many ideas, how do you pick one to focus on when you're constantly getting distracted with new and sometimes old ones?
Also they range in genres quite a bit, as well as mediums such as manga, LN, VN etc and I'm just having a hard time focusing on just one or a couple.
I'm sure others here have had similar problems so was wondering what you all did to overcome it.

[Coryn]

My first piece of advice is pure logic. Get everything organized. Whatever you prefer, but get a good way to get all these ideas sorted, searchable, and on file. If you have a lot of things coming your way, you're going to need a system to get the main points down.

Why do all that? Well, it's because you do just have to commit to some stories friend. I've been there, it can be very hard to stay concentrated. But even the best of us can only manage so many stories at a single time. Right now I'm juggling 5 by rotating them through one chapter at a time, but that's definitely my limit. If more ideas come, I just have to set those aside, and save them for a rainy day.

Self control is key. There's just no way around it. But if you can manage to keep good logs, those passed on ideas don't ha e to go to waste.

[Rustee]

I agree with Coryn, get organized!  Also, I keep a small notebook near me to when I come with ideas, and later I get on my journal (on the computer) and add it there, clean it up, or combine it with a previous story I've come up with in the pass.  That's what I do personally.  Hope this helps!

[calibur]

Awesome thanks for the quick replies, I do have an excel document i write them down in but after a while it got out of control and now, it's hard to tell whats what.
So I may start a new one with the ideas I am working on and keep the other to jot them down as they come to me, but yeah hopefully that works, thanks again.

[Coryn]

In that case, I would also advise you to occasionally do an audit of your idea log.

Most ideas seem good at the time, but once the initial enthusiasm has passed, you may see it in a different light. Don't be afraid to scrub a few out on occasion. They aren't all winners after all. A little after thought can really help you separate the wheat from the chaff.

[Suuper-san]

I agree with the rotating method, albeit for artworks and not writing.
I take any unfinished sketches and pick a handful to improve, then put them back in the pile. eventually they get good enough and they are finished. I try and work on earlier works first to make sure that everything gets a look in eventually. I'll be trying out that same method with manga pages at some point so we'll see if that's possible too :P

[calibur]

Yeah, on occasion I've revisited an idea and it just didn't feel like it did when it first came to me, but yea I've made a second list for the few I want to work on, now I just got to actually build it all and stick with what I choose.

[fcollot]

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[calibur]

Yeah I do have one or two things that pop up in my ideas a bit, just gotta choose which version, but yeah i actually have started what you said without even seeing your post, what I've been doing is just picking one, writing it and then I'll be able to see what it is, i also rewrite certain bits until it feels right but it's been working for me and no longer are they just ideas in my head :)

[Crackhead Johny]

Anyway my question is when you have so many ideas, how do you pick one to focus on when you're constantly getting distracted with new and sometimes old ones?

I write the ones who ride me like Loa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loa if they need their story told they make sure I do it.

Concepts like the "girl whose grandfather dies and so she has to take up living as him (via Youtube FX videos) just to keep getting his social security checks" just never materialize. She has never shown up and ridden me so her story is untold.