I recently saw a tweet regarding putting every last solitary idea that comes to your mind into your story. At first glance, I figured they meant “give it your all, leave no stone unturned”, I’m all about that. Following the link, I read an article about some very different advice that, in my humble opinion, could really damage your story.

Summed up, the concept seemed to encourage one not to spare anything for a future story and never hold out any detail (large or small). There are a number of reasons that I tear my hair out at this idea, here are some of them.

Frequently, when penning a script or novel, the author (we’re talking first draft here) throws down masses of information; this, in itself, is not a bad thing, unless left unchecked. More often than not the first draft contains a hell of a lot of back-story. While it is important as the author to be fully immersed in the back-story, it is not always necessary to incorporate all of those details in your final draft; let the details inform but not dominate the script. Even in novel form, where back-story is far more acceptable, it should be used with both caution and purpose.

Covering scripts has also shown me that writers frequently struggle with organization and clarity as the result of unwittingly telling too many stories at once. A storyteller always has more than one tale to tell, it’s not necessary to tell them all in one script. If you find, for example, that you are genre-splicing, take a critical look at your story and ask yourself if the choices are vital to the plot or if they would be stronger as independent works?

So, yes, give “your all” to every story. Open yourself to your inner muse and let the ideas fill your pages; just don’t miss out on the opportunity to tighten your writing by seeing what goes in and what comes out.

Thanks for reading and keep writing!