ANDRE BEGIN

As much as conventional wisdom suggests “why put off until tomorrow what you can do today” and “there’s no time like the present” when it comes to writing, I wouldn’t agree that these are always the best advice to follow.

There is no worse feeling than to be sitting at the computer and nothing really happens. To me, that’s not a sign of failure as a writer as much as it could be an indicator that this may not be the right story at the right time for this headspace.

After a decade in the blogging space, I believe that the best time to write is when inspiration and motivation are at their highest for a given topic, which by extension suggests that the friction that can hold the writer back is at a minimum.

The question is how to recognize when the attraction to a given subject is much higher than it is for another one. Maybe the trick is to look for indicators that the idea is trying to find you!

Here are four signs that a story idea that has been lingering in the back of your mind might be ready to be developed:

1 – An idea presents itself more than once

On my mobile device, I keep a running list of the ideas that come to me whenever I am on the go or busy doing something else. The object is to capture as many as I can with the intent to eventually turn them into stories or articles. What is interesting to me is when I am scrolling through the list, looking for the next topic that is “talking to me” an idea might appear in the list two or three times.

To me, that is a great sign that the idea is probably closer at hand than I might think. I take it as a good sign that maybe I am ready to commit the time and energy to developing that idea.

2 – The accumulation of complementary ideas

There are times when ideas are in full percolation mode and begging to be jotted down. It is interesting when a seedling of an idea takes root in my mind and then takes off whether it’s different branches that start forming an outline or bearing fruit in the form of bullet points to complement the original thought.

When secondary points that support and elaborate on a main story idea are occupying a fair bit of my headspace, that’s when I know it may be time to hurry back to the keyboard.

3 – Finding the perfect title

There are times when I’m nowhere near the computer that I can feel the processor in the back of my mind chugging away, shuffling words into different combinations and permutations to form different possibilities for a title.

Sometimes the perfect title comes along that can tie a core idea and its supporting points together with a nice neat bow. When that happens, I take that as a cue that it may be time to move this idea up the priority list and get to work.

4 – Finding the perfect ending

Similarly, when plot points are juggling around in the back of my mind and I find the one that I believe will stick my landing for a perfect “10.0” score, this lays out the story’s trajectory and final destination. With a conclusion in mind, aligning the ideas to reach that convergence point can make storytelling so much easier.

That revelation could also be the incentive to not let the moment pass and to devote the time to commit the idea to paper.

When some or all of these signs are present, I believe that motivation and inspiration are high and the odds are in my favour to try bringing this story to life.

Most times, these four signs are indeed what I needed to confirm that I am able to write the story with good energy and less time staring into the distance wondering what to write next.

The take-away:
Four promising signs it’s time to write that story:
1 – An idea presents itself more than once
2 – The accumulation of complementary ideas
3 – Finding the perfect title
4 – Finding the perfect ending

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André