When You Hate All Of Your Ideas

"All of my story ideas suck"

I’m currently dealing with a problem that perhaps other writers have dealt with or are dealing with at this time: I hate all of my ideas.

You may know what that feels like. You really want to write, but everything that comes to your mind just doesn’t “hit” right. None of it excites you or it just straight up “sucks”, which makes you doubt if you can write anything at all.

I haven’t quite figured out why I hate my ideas, except that they don’t feel authentic to who I am and what I want to write about. Most importantly, what’s happening is that these ideas are being met with a wall of negative thoughts. So I considered, what if I could grow these ideas into something I liked, if I just gave them a chance? And, what if I can give them a chance by clearing out my negative thoughts?

A Change In Mindset

I won’t say I have found the solution to this problem, because so far, I haven’t actually fixed it, yet. However, I did do something that helped me get closer to the source of my disdain: working through my thoughts and feelings (like stress, anxiety, frustration, and doubts) whenever I either considered an idea or felt like I couldn’t write them.

Ultimately, for me, what’s causing the crisis are problems in my psyche. I used a technique a cognitive-behavioral-therapeutic technique to reframe thoughts and beliefs. You write out your thoughts and beliefs, you analyze them for evidence, then you restructure them to be more accurate.

Writing It Out

I opened up a blank document on my computer and decided to write out exactly what I was thinking and feeling for at least 45 minutes. I agreed to be as honest as possible, even if what came up was ugly or shocking. I wrote out four key things:

What I want to write about
Why I think I can’t write it
A list of the ideas I have
What I hate about them

What I discovered was that the negative thoughts that came up when I got these story ideas have to do with underlying negative beliefs and fears. Of course, perfectionism and the fear of failure also play a part, but those, too, come from inaccurate beliefs.

Therefore, if you hate all of your story ideas, my suggestion is to do the following:

Take some time to write out exactly what is bothering you. Make sure you take a blank piece of paper or a document and start writing. You also want to make sure that you are willing to be honest with yourself. Don’t be afraid to write out the ugly or shocking things in your mind. You want to get them out so you can analyze them. Ask yourself, “where is this thought coming from”, and “what evidence do I have to make these thoughts or beliefs true?”. If you don’t have enough evidence, that means it’s inaccurate. So, re-write those sentences so that they are statements closer to the truth. Most importantly, just let yourself write out what you’re thinking and feeling so that they don’t continue to swirl in your mind. Unexplored and unaddressed thoughts and feelings lead to mental blockages such as not being able to write or hating all of your ideas. Lastly, tell yourself that it is okay to feel this way and that this process is normal. We all, at some point in our lives, have mental clutter that stops us from being creative.

Have you dealt with times when you hated all of your ideas? How did you cope with it? What helped you like your ideas again? Let me know in the comments below!

Hi! Shantal here. I’m a writer and a storyteller. I created Shantal Writes to share my experiences with writing fiction. I also provide new writers with tips, tools, and writing advice. I hope you find something helpful while you’re here!