Being a Writer Is Like Standing on the Edge of Sanity and At Any Moment You Could Fall

I have an idea.
To those of you who are fellow writers, I’m sure you understand the dire, irritating situation this puts me in. It’s not abnormal for me to have an idea, mind you, otherwise I wouldn’t be a very good writer. In fact, ever since I was thirteen years old, I’ve been working on at least five different stories at a time.
I have plenty of ideas on a daily basis. Anything from a movie quote to the title of a book can set off an idea; they’re a dime a dozen. If I ever feel a little useless and I need some inspiration, I can Google ideas or plots or what-have-you and find whatever I need.
But sometimes, writers can get caught and strangled by their own lifeline. Sometimes we get ideas that sink into the crevices of our brainpans and burn themselves into our minds like acid. They come at us sideways out of nowhere and sit on our shoulders for days, constantly nagging us to work on them.
If you have nothing better to do and you really need an idea, then this little goblin monster on your shoulders is your friend. He will stay with you during the midnight hours and fill up your notebooks with surprising, engaging story-material.
Unfortunately, writers like me never have a shortage of stories. Which means, me and this idea are at odds with each other. I do not have time to focus on it right now; I don’t know if I can give it the attention it needs.
Don’t glare at me like that, small little goblin creature. I am trying to carve out the format for the rest of my life! I don’t know where I’m going to be in five months! You are an awesome idea, and I would love to work on you, but you deserve to be free. You deserve a writer who is free.
Stop giving me the puppy-dog eyes!!
Another big problem with this particular idea is that it’s not something I can work on alone. The entire foundation for it is based on the accountability of other people—-namely, my friends. If I’m going to work on this, I’m definitely going to need all of them.
And they lead very busy lives, especially now. Everybody’s trying to find a job, half of them are leaving for college at the end of the summer, and the rest of us have a ton of school. I know almost better than anyone the demands of life and the downfalls of being involved with too many things.
Plus, scheduling is a major concern. This idea is on a pretty big scale and it’ll have some serious variables. I’m hoping to get as many people as I can to join—-friends and friends’ siblings and friends’ friends—-and it’s practically impossible to get them all together at once.
And I don’t even know if anyone will find this idea interesting. It’s almost not even an idea at all, it’s a idea-skeleton. I couldn’t really explain it to them because I don’t have it formatted yet. It’s not concrete enough to sell. It’s mud.
But the whole point of the idea is collaboration, so therefore I can’t format it without their help. I can’t move any further than I already have without ruining the idea. Which is part of the reason why I like it so much.
I like it because it would be fun. It might be educational. It would show talents in a new light. It would stretch imaginations and utilize everyone’s career paths. It would bring all my friends together in uncharted territory, forcing us to trust each other, with the main goal in mind.
It could be the next step in Wasted Paper’s evolution—-or at least, one more thing to look forward to. For me and a few others, it could be our senior project.
But I don’t even know if it’ll survive everyone’s scrutiny. In order for a bill to become law, it has to pass through both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and all their committees. Before it can be signed and presented to the public, it has to be rewritten to everyone’s approval, voted on numerous times, and be signed by the President (who could still veto it). This is much like the process I envision this idea going through.
But it’s a really good idea, I think. I can’t stop my mind from wandering back to it, imagining how it would pan out, what everyone would say, and what I would do if they liked it.
It’s okay if they don’t think they’re up to it, though. I wouldn’t force it on them. This idea strictly forbids that. I’m going to bring it up to everyone next Friday at Wasted Paper, so don’t freak out. You’ll find out soon enough.
I just sort of have this idea.