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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36514
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In Movies there's the concept of Set Pieces. These are exciting moments in your story you want to hit that will be lavish and engaging, both for you and the reader. Set Pieces can act as mile markers. If you're anything like me, then you don't want to know more than a rough outline of where you are going. A deeper outline will explore the ideas and make them unexciting. So, instead, set up a destination you have to get to in the future and give yourself permission to write poorly to get there. I guarantee if you write 750-1000 words a day you'll have a book at the end of the year. Get excited about _that_ and let your mind hit your targets giving you steady progress towards something. Now the problem with that is your quality might be low, but you will get to the end of it. And then you'll hit the point of struggle I'm dealing with. Once you get to the end, and you've laid down your sword its hard to pick up your scalpel to start working on dead body of a story before you. But, _but_, **_but_** you'll have a finished first draft which is better than you've been doing so far.

I concur that you're problem here is that you're focusing too much on the idea. I think when you get to the end of the first book you're going to be able to see more of your problems than you can from the front end. Possibly weak characterization/motivation, especially if you're all about the idea and not the people. And a few other things. Before you set off on your journey you need to cast your story with people who will be good for it. If you're not able to do this on the front end, you're going to have to perform invasive surgery at the end of it. So, you may want to spend some time thinking about the people.

But, there's one more technique before you focus too much on your weak areas that need improving. Fill your story to the point of bursting with ideas. This is contrary to the advice elsewhere, but it may work for you. Throw every single f'ing spit ball on the wall. Every one, then make more until your wall is damp and dripping with saliva and molding fiber. Do it till you have no ideas left. Then, at the end figure out what's working. It might be the worst story you've ever told, but there's probably a good one inside and you might be able to see what is working. Read Harry Potter again and you'll see a new idea every two pages or so. Anyone who thinks that book has very little going on isn't paying attention. Most boring stories are bereft of these ideas. The trick is to make them work for revealing character, plot and setting in a way that enforces the narrative and guides everything forward. Harry Potter is thick & tight with idea while being fairly brief: Teaser, Summer (muggles suck), Birthday (You're a Wizard + Wonder of Wizardry) introduce main characters, Go to School, Sorting + Danger Exists, Intro Lessons + Seeker + We Sneak Out @Night, Halloween (Trolls + Friendship + Fluffy), Christmas: Chess + Mirror + Harry's Purpose, Dragon + Malfoy + Voldomort & Unicorns, Exams + Puzzle Solved + Adults all Missing, Solve the Maze, Harry Must Stand Alone, Harry Must Confront All. The end.

Through all of that he collects tons of friends and there are so many ancillary ideas/plots, but they all are in service of this big idea: friendship, loyalty, honesty and bravery in the face of danger will conquer evil. The ideas in that story give it a sense of wonder, a feeling that everything is real. But the talent is in how strong everything is applied, how focused what is left is on the final target. You need lots of ideas, but when you finish they all need to be on point. _EMPHASIS: WHEN YOU FINISH_. You're not anywhere near finishing if you're giving up after 500 words, you're not finished after a first draft. You're finished after all of the holes have been dug to the right depth.

(Ripping this from Writing Excuses) On the topic of digging holes: You have 1000 feet of hole that you can dig for your final book. 500 should go to your big idea and you can probably dig a couple 100 foot holes, and then you need to do shallow pits that imply and support your other holes. But you need a lot of holes, a lot of them to really make people feel immersed. Dig your holes however you like a book only has 1000 feet of holes. Or, 1000 feet of space for you to explore ideas. So, have a lot of them, but you can't explore them all to death.

It's a good thing you're an idea man. You now need to develop the skills and focus to apply it. My last non-writing suggestion. Try meditation (get headspace, an app). It sounds like you have a problem sitting with yourself. If you can get used to it and gain presence you may be able to override that itch to move away when things get uncomfortable or boring. You need to develop a writing practice & stick to it. It needs to be _what you do_. It will all get easier when you've written enough words that the scary becomes a bit more mundane. Just keep your ideas alive. They're the torch from which you can birth a universe of utterly amazing adventures.

Original score: 4