[The Creative Process] – What to do when you have an idea.

Have you ever told someone that you work in publishing (or want to work in publishing), only to find yourself cornered by them later because they have an idea they think you need to turn into a story?

Have you ever had an idea of your own that you had to share with all of your friends because you weren’t sure if it was any good?

Have you ever realized that you have far more ideas for projects than you could ever hope to develop?

Most people don’t get into the business of publishing for the money — they do it for the satisfaction of creating something cool. And whether you’re writing and/or publishing fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, plays, comic books, songs or articles, there’s something immensely satisfying about turning an idea into something from an idea into a tangible product.

But did you ever realize that one of the biggest mistakes creative people make is to talk about their ideas too often, to too many people?

I used to be the same way. In fact, if you ask anyone who knows me well, they’ll tell you that my catch phrase is, “I have an idea!”.

I’m an idea generator; if I think about a topic long, my mind will go active and start interjecting all sorts of wonderful stuff for me to consider. When I was a member of a church group many years ago, I was bothered by the group’s lack of outreach to the community and immediately began writing a comprehensive plan of ten ways we could improve and expand. When I joined on with Dabel Brothers Publishing in 2002 as a PR guy, I didn’t just write press releases and set up media interviews; I constantly came up with ideas on how we could improve our sales, our brand, and our products. When I was working for a retail chain a few years ago as a manager, I didn’t just make sales and deal with employees; I was constantly thinking of ways to improve my store, its image in the community, and my staff members’ interactions with customers.

But as exciting as that all sounds, I paid a price for those ideas, too. In the case of the church group, I was ostracized by the leaders for trying to undermine their authority. In the case of the comic book company, I’ve often been treated badly by publishing partners who thought they knew better than me. And in the case of the retail store, I was often accused of spending too much time coming up with new ideas and not enough time enforcing the old ones. Oh, and in all three cases, I’ve had people steal my ideas and take credit for them.

As a result, I’ve come to realize that ideas are a great and wonderful thing, but that the most important skill a creative person can develop is in learning to have discretion about sharing them. This is particularly true if you are the sort of person who will tell a complete stranger about the million-dollar idea you have for a story that you’re developing just because you think they might be interested. After all, while the chances are good that neither you nor the person you’ve spoken to will ever do anything with that idea, there is always still a chance that the person you’ve spoken to will steal your idea outright. This happens all the time in the film industry, and it happens just as frequently in office environments.

So, what do you do when you’ve got an idea? Here are the steps I’ve learned to take.

Write it down – Keep a notepad and a pencil with you as often as possible. When you get an idea, write it down, in as much detail as possible. Write down how you got the idea and where it occurred to you. Don’t show the idea to anyone, and don’t talk about it to anyone. Just focus on getting the concept out of your head and onto something tangible.If you don’t want to carry around a notebook, get a PDA-style cellphone that lets you write notes and send email. You can also use a service like Jott that allows you to call in and leave short messages for yourself.Getting the idea onto a medium of some sort will have immediate benefits. For starters, you’ll have a record of the idea in its original context. (You’ll also have some documented proof that the idea was original, but that’s not really the purpose here). You’ll also be less likely to forget the idea when you get away from the moment and back to your normal life. What’s more, you’ll be able to see that you really have a lot more ideas than you’ve ever realized, and you’ll be able to decide which are worth you immediate attention, and which need to be tucked away for later.
But the best benefit is that you’ll have the idea out of your head, and you won’t have to obsess about it since you’ll know it’s written down. That’s what I enjoy.
Sleep on it: Most ideas seem like the best thing ever… when you first come up with them. But often, if you can get past the initial thrill, you’ll realize that your idea isn’t as good or original as it may have seemed. If you wait a day or two and then return to your written idea, you’ll be in a much better position to judge whether or not you want to move forward on the idea or save it for another time.I never advise discarding an idea from your notebook. I do advise leaving notes (with the time and date, if possible!) about whether or not the idea’s worth moving forward on. Sometimes, you get a great idea when you just can’t do anything about it; other times, you get a bad idea that can be turned into a good idea when you have more life experience and knowledge.
Rewrite it: If you’ve got an idea in your notebook you want to move forward with, grab your computer or a bunch of paper, sit down, and write it all out.Start by describing the basic concept in a one-page summary, and don’t go into a lot of detail; you’re essentially sketching the dimensions of your idea by doing this, and setting up the framework for development. You will probably revise this summary often as you develop the idea, so use it as a guide, not an absolute.Next, begin a detailed description of what you want to do. This does not need to be organized or written in any specific style; it just needs to include notes that help you define the idea. This can be anywhere from one page to a hundred pages or more; what’s important is that it’s thorough.
Once you’re done with that, start doing some research. See if anyone’s already doing what you’re doing, and, if they are, determine how you can do it better. Don’t be discouraged if someone seems to have the same idea you do; generally, it’s only the same on the surface, and you have the advantage of learning from their mistakes to make your idea even better. If you don’t see anyone doing what you’re doing, try to find things that are similar. It’s hard to introduce a brand new idea if it’s too radically different from other things that are out there.

Finally, close with a timeline that outlines your development strategy. The reason you’ll need this is so you actually bother to go through the steps to finish your idea. You may also discover, in the process, that you just don’t have the time to get it done. But that’s useful to know, since you can rearrange your schedule if the idea is strong enough!
Show it to someone whom you trust: Now that you’ve got a fully documented and developed idea, it’s finally time to tell someone! But don’t just tell anyone; share the idea with someone you trust to give you good feedback. If it’s not someone with whom you have a lot of personal contact, you might consider having them sign a non-disclosure agreement first. Not only will this protect you, but it will make them take the idea seriously as well. Use their critique to determine the effectiveness of your concept, and take what they offer to heart. They could become a user of your idea one day!Use this stage to constantly revise and refine your idea. Go back to step 3 for awhile if you feel your “test audience” just isn’t getting what you want to accomplish. Don’t move forward with an idea that isn’t ready; take the time to make it good.
Please note that if your idea is something you want to publish, it’s probably too early to be hassling an editor or publisher, unless they’re a personal friend willing to offer you a critique.
Take action. Once you’re done showing your idea to a test audience, it’s ready for development. If it’s a something you can create on your own, get started! If it’s something you need to attract funding to create, you’ll have something to show private investors (though you’ll need a formal business or product plan for the banks). If it’s something you need other people to create, you’ll have something to show the people you recruit so they’ll know what they’re getting into.And even though you’re moving forward, be careful how much you say about your idea until you’re ready to start your marketing! At that point, refer to my site for other articles on how you can market an idea.

Writing Scraps

by Sean J. Jordan