Ideas are fickle things.

They come and go with freedom of a rude houseguest.

I don’t know how many times I’ve thought of something I could swear was genius but by the time I got around to writing it down, it just up and disappeared.

I’m fairly convinced they do it on purpose sometimes.

But every once in while you stumble onto to one that you feel deep in your bones is a good one.

I’ve learned of a decent method to determine if the idea is worth pursuing. And like all good ideas it came from Youtube.

A while ago, I was going down the the Youtube rabbit hole. I came across a video of Jack White teaching Jimmy Page the song “Seven Nation Army.” There’s a part where he talks about coming up with the famous guitar riff that is played in every sports stadium at every game of every sport.

White tells that when he thought of the riff he played it for someone. They said they didn’t like it. White’s first reaction was to tell them they were wrong. In the video, he said that’s when he knew it was onto something. He knew that because his first reaction was to defend it he knew the idea worked.

I’ve taken a similar approach.

Though I admit my ideas were not for songs that generate millions in residuals and heard the world over.

But, I think this line of thinking has some merit.

If I run an idea for story past someone and they don’t like it, and my first reaction is to defend it then I might be onto something.

It doesn’t always work, but more often than not it’s a good guide.

I’ve taken this idea a little further.

For instance, I write a lot of horror fiction. If when I think of the story my first reaction is “Well that’s too much, or that’s too dark,” that’s when I know I have to write it.

So, let that be a guide.

People are often too quick to abandon their ideas. Often at the first disagreement they fold.

But, if you stand by it and hold true then you’ll do better than giving up too early.

If every time I heard that’s a dumb idea I’d have at least three dollars