I have seen a lot of authors post about what they call a ‘struggle with shiny new idea syndrome’.
I don’t struggle with it. I embrace it!
Last year, I came to realise that that is how my brain works. I will be working on one idea, then my brain will go ‘nope, not doing that one now, we’re doing this one!’
New ideas pop up all the time and, to capture them, I need to start writing. Jotting down an idea isn’t enough. It needs to be written.
This goes against almost every sort of productivity advice I’ve ever heard. Whether it’s in writing or business circles. That says to stick with one thing until it’s done.
My brain simply doesn’t operate like that.
When I try to follow the ‘stick to one thing’ advice, I feel like there is something wrong with me because it doesn’t work. After all, those ‘experts’ know what they’re talking about… or do they?
I can get into hyperfocus mode and write 6000 words on a particular project in the space of one afternoon, but then my brain needs a break. This could mean to work on something else, or not write for a while.
I am learning to lean in to how my brain works. It likes shiny new ideas. It operates well when these come along. I have hundreds of projects I have started and sit, unfinished, on my harddrive or in notebooks around the place. I also never know when that shiny new idea that sits abandoned will get its space in the spotlight and be finished.
After all, ‘James and the Magic Lantern’ was started in 2012 and finished this year! All the while, I was working on other stories.
I am learning that my brain and my creativity can’t be forced. I know that things will get finished in their own time. Meanwhile, I will follow the shiny new idea and see where it leads me.
