So many ideas float around in my head that its hard to focus on one. If I'm finally able to focus on one and expand it, the expansion brings with it another avalanche of ideas. I swim through those and find the one tidbit I wanted, the one thread to pull. I pull it and the process starts again.
I'm struggling to corral all these ideas. So, I made a promise to myself a few days ago that I would write something, anything, every day. I was hoping it would help organize these ideas into a cohesive, usable format but it hasn't worked.
Why? The answer is simple. I start to write and the writing pulls the thread and more ideas tumble out. I end up on tangents that have nothing to do with my chosen subject. I try to find my way back to where I started only to find that I've lost that thread and am holding a completely new one. How does one organize, tame, such random mental flailings?
I'm considering stream of consciousness writing to see if that helps. I've avoided it for one simple reason, I cannot stand to read it. Faulkner makes my brain weep in frustration. Then again, there must be something to it as Kerouac and Thompson are legendary. I don't expect to become legendary but I would like to tame my ideas.
And yet, I'm hesitant. What's the worst thing that could happen? The worst thing that can happen is that I realize I not only can't read it but I can't write stream of consciousness either. On the other had, the best that can happen is that I tame my mental flailings and actually get some stories finished.
I need to stop hesitating.
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