intimidated by your own idea?

I feel like this with a current idea that's been floating around in my head for a while now. It's sci-fi, which I'm mostly comfortable with, but it seems challenging because:

1. It's not straight YA; at lot of the viewpoint characters would be older, so it could be more of a crossover thing. It would also be kind-of violent in places, but we live in a post-Hunger Games world, so I think I'm good there.

2. The cast is fairly expansive. I worry that giving everyone enough screen time will balloon the word count. I've always told myself that this is the novel I'd write if I ever got established and would have the clout to go epic... but these characters want to be written NOW.

3. This stems from number two. To make it shorter\more marketable, I feel that every scene would have to be awesome, and I'm not sure if I'm capable of that yet.

Finally, I would need to deal with world-building and putting together a query letter, and all the other ten thousand things that crop up while writing a novel.

So, yeah, I know what you're feeling. At this point, I think I'm going to have to write an outline or something to see if I can get it out of my system.

As for your sci-fi thriller, good luck. I don't have a science background, but I managed to write a 93,000 word science fiction novel (currently revising). Just read some other sci-fi and focus on the characters.

I just sat down and wrote the outline to my sequel for the first time today. I've had the ideas rolling around for a good six months. After I read over it, I realized how much of an emotional roller coaster this is gonna be and got super intimidated.

Now I'm holding a giant glass of wine. I can do this!

I wouldn't say I've been scared off exactly, but I have put off writing my epic apocalyptic series just because I feel like it's going to be the biggest project I ever take on, and once I really get into it, I'll probably be working on it the next decade. There are shorter, simpler stories that I want to work on first.

Yes.

I've got a book that's started, but to do it right, it would have to be BIG. And political. And stuff-I-don't-do-well.

And honestly? It's in the trunk. There's comfort zone and then there's "I can't write this right now." One is a stretch and the other is trying to do the splits cold.

I think, as long as you don't make a habit of it, it's okay to occasionally go "I am not a big enough writer for this book yet."

Often.

I like to try anyway, based on the principle that if I fail I can put it down until I think I'm ready to try again.

But then, my writing ambition continually outstrips my ability.

Good dog yes.

In fact, one idea I have right now for a story I'm circling with my hackles raised, growling and snorfling at it, in the hopes of intimidating it right back until I'm ready to tackle it.

Yeah, pretty much all the time. Like, writing's hard, man. My current WIP is a secondary fantasy so I'm having to create a whole new world with countries and political systems and omg. If I thought about it too much it would probably cripple me, but it's going to happen to some extent in everything I write, and if I give in to it I'll never publish anything.

So, I just try to move past and keep writing and editing away, believing that sometime (soon, hopefully) it will be quality enough to submit and then publish.

I do have an idea that is super intimidating but if it never became anything more than an idea I wouldn't mind. I have more than enough to keep me going!

Yeah, my first project was super ambitious and took me 12 years to write. I felt intimidated by the genre and the content. It was urban fantasy, which I had never written, and dealt with very sensitive topics, some of which were personal. It took me 10 years to understand it and deal with it. Then I just got the courage and faced up to it. Now it is finished and I can move on. I think I finished it because I was stubborn and when I feel intimidated I have to try and overcome it.

My current WIP is the scariest thing I have ever written. It's a huge step away from my comfort zone. No technology to fall back on. I usually write younger characters 16 - 20, but this story has a range from 16 - 50, different races, layered descriptions, gritty and dark characters, sex -- everything I have even been too afraid to write is in this story. And the most interesting aspect -- there is no hero. No one character that will save the day, and I stopped trying to force one in. The characters have so much depth to them that it is unnecessary to force someone in.

Nobody should be scared to write about something outside the comfort zone. You have all the time in the world to investigate and learn about what you want to write.

I write short mysteries and I've had to research...

Guns (all sorts of guns and even though I come from a gun-owning family, I personally have never owned a gun.) I've had to do this a few times. I even had one 'fan', a cop from NYC, write me and comment on my 'knowledge of firearms.' Umm, what?

Poisons. This is before the internet, so there I am with about ten books under my arm on poisons as I tell the librarian, umm, I'm a writer. Okay, her eyebrows went up on that.

Rumrunning. Or smuggling booze into the US during Prohibition. That one was fun.

Gun smuggling. Into Northern Ireland in the 1970's.

Allergies. For a story on a woman killed by a bee sting.

Police procedures, legal issues. Like ALL the time I do this.

Autism. Even though my son is autistic, he's non-verbal. Had to do a lot of work on high-functioning autistic individuals.

Hoarding. Gross, but interesting.

Restaurant management. Because twice my murders happened in or near restaurants and various employees, managers were involved. I mean, like who takes out the trash? Who hires the bartenders? What qualifications must he or she have?

The antique business.

Duck hunting on the Cape.

Sailing. (I know a bit about boats, but not sailboats.)

The geology of Cape Cod. And how a house can just fall into the ocean off a bluff or cliff. It happens. But how - and why?

I could go on. Some things I know, from my own career, courses I've taken, experiences I've had, but I still research some of that. For my first story I had to make sure that the anecdotal things I'd been told about clams and digging clams were all true. God forbid I write something that my family did (illegally!) for 30+ years. Umm, we didn't, and the stuff my grandfather told me was all correct.

Research is part of writing for many of us. I've tried to keep it fun and interesting, and not to get to carried away by it. It's easy enough to do. So if you've got that great idea, research it before you decide not to do it. Anyhow, that's what I do.

That sounds so exciting. I would say though, don't let your lack of science know-how stop you. Sci-Fi is one of my favourite genres - although I've never actually written in it yet - and I am definitely more arts inclined. I think the genre appeals to me because of that fact, physics and the theory of time-travel especially just blows my mind. Remember it's science fiction and not science fact so you have lots of room to play.

I think every project I undertake is intimidating in some way. I've mostly worked on historical novels and the research stage can be as frustrating as it is enjoyable. I meticulously check up on facts, speak to people in the field and read as much from the era to try to get an authentic voice.

I have a 'problem child' project that is on open-ended hiatus which I find a bit intimidating.

I'll chime in with my current novel in progress. It contains the Meaning of Life, and to research it I have been reading a ton of existential philosophy. I think I've got it all sussed out, but I'm sure real philosophers will wince if they read the story. Or laugh, if I'm lucky.

You do, of course, know how to eat an elephant? The answer is: One bite at a time. Figure out what your goals are, and take tiny bites toward that goal until you reach it. It doesn't matter how small the bites are as long as you keep chewing on the problem. You'll get there.

I find stories that require a lot of research both exciting and intimidating. I'm currently writing one that will have me researching NY criminal law, sentencing, gun running from the south to NYC, seizure disorders, seizure medications...among other things. I am writing to the best of my ability right now, researching as I go, but when I'm done with the first draft I will seek out experts to make sure I have my facts straight, knowing that I may have a lot of revising to do.

Still, I love that everything I write teaches me something new.

I would find historical fiction much more intimidating than science fiction. So much to get right! I think one has a bit more breathing space with fantasy and science fiction...but I haven't written those genres since high school, so maybe I'm not the best judge...

I have an idea for a story that is scaring the shyte out of me right now. Though it is not science fiction, it does involve a lot of science to make the concept even remotely plausible. But I figure I have to take the "human experience" approach and deal with the characters. The story itself doesn't have to be completely believable, but I have to be able to answer "yes" to the question, "If this were to actually happen, would the characters react and act like this?"

Guess I just have to face my fears and plunge in.