Your Ideas Are Not Precious

"You can't make a poem with ideas—you make it with words!" -Stephane Mallarme (Degas...Manet...Morisot by Paul Valery, translated by David Paul, 62)

Ideas are overvalued. There is no such thing as a good idea or a bad idea. A good writer can use one concept or another, and perhaps a great writer can use any old idea without a hitch. But, on the other hand, a poor writer will make poor use of even the best idea.
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In my opinion, it is better to have many ideas and treat each one as if you can easily toss it away at a moment's notice. They are a dime a dozen.

Not everyone agrees with this approach. In Writing Magic, Gail Carson Levine says that she doesn't have many story ideas. She preaches,

"You don't have to have lots of ideas to be a writer."

Ideas are not precious, so if you are not the kind of person to whom inspiration comes easily, there is no need to worry.
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The craft is more important, so is consistency, dedication, and habit. With good craftsmanship, you can make any idea a masterpiece. With routine, you can complete your project and develop skills along the way.

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xx Cory

This post was proofread by Grammarly