Recognising Good Ideas

Anyone involved in creative work has faced this particular dilemma: You’ve been brainstorming for ages, desperate to come up with a fantastic idea. You’ve had a few ideas but rejected them instantly, safe in your certainty that they were bad. But the night progresses and you think of a few more things and now you’re not so sure if they are good or bad. It seems impossible to tell. Good ideas and bad ideas can feel weirdly similar. So how do you tell the difference.

Well, when it comes to writing there a few schools of thought: “start with an outline. like seriously make one. if you can’t think of an ending or can’t figure out why they’re fighting and give up, then you did your best, move on. But if you keep thinking about it as you draw it up and perfect the outline and want to do more, then that’s enough. start writing.” This is advice from one online writing teacher.  But there are those who say you should pursue all ideas, that you never know what a seed can germinate into.

I’m somewhere in the middle on this issue. Or maybe I’m of mixed opinions. But essentially what I am looking for is a certain spark. The idea ignites something in my mind that doesn’t go away. And then I know there’s something there. Even if I don’t have it yet I know there’s something worth pursuing. That’s what I try to do when thinking of ideas for Nsibidi Fables. Look for the spark.