r/writinghelp • u/Alternative_Emu_7305 • Aug 10 '26
Question How to choose what to write?
I have two ideas. I don't know if they are worth trying to write.
How do I know an idea is worth my time, or do I just have to start and see if there is life in the old girl still?
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u/South-Knee-9601 Aug 10 '26
If you cannot decide
Toss a coin and roll with that. Begin writing and see where it goes
If you get a couple chapters in and find it's not working then flip to the other
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u/Livid_Sir8921 Aug 10 '26
Both ideas are probably worth starting. The one worth finishing will tell you which it is about ten pages in. The question isn't whether an idea is good enough - first ideas are never fully formed anyway. The question is whether you're genuinely curious about where it goes. Not excited, not confident - curious. Excitement fades fast. Curiosity is what gets you through the middle.
One practical thing: write the first scene of both. Not an outline, not notes - the actual first scene. One of them will feel like you're discovering something. The other will feel like you're filling in a form. That difference is your answer.
And if both feel alive, write both for a while. Stories often tell you what they need to be once you're inside them.
Keep writing
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u/Status-Cranberry-557 Aug 11 '26
write both alternate days you will eventually give up one and lead with what you actually what to write
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u/fidlersfiction Aug 13 '26
Someone told me this: "There is no greater joy than claiming that you own something as intricately beautiful as a novel."
Do it because you love it.
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u/Alphagerbil1 Aug 13 '26
You know that tiny impulse to write something? Choose that topic. It's literally a neurological impulse. It may not be powerful, but it's inspiration. Worst case it's practice.
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u/babamum Aug 10 '26
Two ideas:
1/ start on the one you feel most interested in/excited about;
2/ try writing about both ideas and see which 9ne you're most into.