Too Many Story Ideas – Coping with TMIS

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Too Many Story Ideas – Coping with TMIS

By Deb Gallardo

Most of the time at The Story Ideas Virtuoso I focus on helping people find story ideas because that’s a difficulty for them.

But there are many writers out there who have too, too many story ideas. A surplus of inspiration may not seem like a problem to writers who struggle with finding them. But the line between too many ideas and not enough is a narrow one.

Someone even coined an acronym for this condition. It’s called TMIS = Too Many Ideas Syndrome. To sufferers of TMIS (and I am not being facetious here), too many story ideas bouncing around in your brain can be just as paralyzing as none.

Author Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant describes it this way:

Imagine standing in the cereal aisle at the grocery store facing dozens of different breakfast options, trying to decide which one to buy. Should you go for the oat squares to reduce your cholesterol, even though you’re fairly certain they’ll taste like pine needles? Something with lots of sugar and a cartoon character on the box to remind you of your childhood? The bran flakes to keep you regular? There are so many choices and all of them seem good. For many writers, that’s what it feels like every time they try to put words on a page.

In an article on the Writer’s Digest site, Leigh lists 9 strategies for coping with TMIS.

1. The red dress theory.
2. It’s the stupid idea, stupid.
3. This idea has legs.
4. The assignment is due.
5. Mind over mind.
6. Give in to passion.
7. Organize visually.
8. Get (meta) physical.
9. That’s what friends are for.

Obviously a laundry list of strategy subject headings like this doesn’t begin to tell you what you need to know. That’s why I encourage you to read Leigh’s entire article at Creativity: Overcoming Too Many Ideas Syndrome (opens in new window).

Leigh has tapped the expertise of a number of authors for their best tips on coping with TMIS. Who knows, you may go from not having ANY ideas to having TOO MANY ideas. If so, we’ll work on that together, one idea at a time.

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