They're Not All Winners

Writing is a rigorous activity. Good writing takes a lot of mental energy, willpower, fortitude, and all those other words that either make you feel strong or terrified. But just because you expend a lot of energy does not mean that you have made good writing.

Ideas: they're not all winners. Some of them will never be as good as others. It may not be readily apparent, but there are a few good checks to use.

Bad ideas take a lot longer to get off the ground. That does not mean that every good idea starts off easily, but better ideas tend to grow smoothly, even if they have a rocky start.

Bad ideas take more energy per line. I do not mean that it takes longer to write out a bad idea. I truly mean that for every line you write, you are spending more mental energy than you would for a good idea.

Bad ideas need to be changed more. All ideas change or evolve as you work with them, but bad ideas require a lot more to make them palatable.

If I am working on an idea or have started writing on one, but I am just not feeling good about it, I check for those warning signs. If it looks to me like the idea is a dud, then I let it go. There's no harm and no bad feelings. It's just something that has to be done.