I’m Scared I’m Running Out Of Ideas For My Creative Writing

One of the fears of writers is that they’ll one day run out of ideas to use in their creative writing.
So, because you feel you have a limited stockpile of ideas, and you feel you don’t know the size of that stockpile, it causes you to hold back, and to eek out each new idea slowly in case it’s your last.
By restraining your creative writing in this way, the quality of the writing is compromised, even if you don’t mean it to be.
So how can you overcome this fear of running out of ideas?
You can approach this in one of two ways:
1. You focus on the fear. You look at ways you can reduce these fearful feelings you have about running out of ideas.
This sounds a good theory at first. “My problem seems to be I fear running out of ideas. So I need to focus on ways that I can reduce that fear, ways I can be less afraid, or ways I can deal with not having any new ideas when that day comes…”
Why this DOESN’T work: The simple reason this doesn’t work is because whatever you focus on in your life, that’s what expands and grows. Whatever you give your attention and concentration, that’s what will become more prevalent and what you’ll notice more.
No doubt you’ve noticed when you’ve gone to buy a new model of car, you suddenly start seeing them everywhere you go. Why? Not because there’s been a sudden flood of these cars imported or manufactured. It’s simply because what you’re focusing on has changed.
So if you focus on the fear, guess what? The fear grows and expands, becomes an even larger presence.
So what’s the alternative?
2. You focus on having more ideas. You look at ways you can have more new ideas, and create multiple ideas from those you have already.
Again you get what you focus on. If you have in the forefront of your mind as you go about your day to day activities: “How could this be turned into an idea for my creative writing?” then the ideas will start to pop up from all directions.
Why this DOES work: When you start looking for ideas, when you open your mind and positively welcome them in, they all come flooding in!
Try this simple exercise to prove this works: Look around the room you’re in right now and pick 3 objects at random. The first 3 things that catch your eye.
Now for each of these objects in turn, ask: “What ideas can this object give me for my creative writing? What does this object remind me of? What does it make me think of? What associations do I have with this type of object? What else could it be used for, other than it’s intended purpose?”
Notice how many new ideas come flowing by just asking a few simple questions?
What we focus on expands and grows.
By focusing on having more ideas, instead of the fear of running out of ideas, you can soon develop a habit that will give you more ideas for your creative writing than you’ll ever need!
Use this technique to have more ideas for your creative writing, starting today!