Category: Uncategorized

Recently, I spoke to an acquaintance of mine. She asked about my upcoming books, and I told her about the upcoming releases in June and November.

“I’m both pleased for you and jealous of you,” she said to me. “You’re doing exactly what I’d have liked to have done, but didn’t do.”

I’ve heard that kind of statement before, and I’m always taken aback by it. If we’re alive and kicking, it’s never too late. It’s not. I always remember everyone reading And Ladies of the Club in the 1980s. It became a best-selling novel—50 years in the making. The book’s author, Helen Hoover Santmyer, was 88 years old at the time of the release.

I did mention that it was never too late, but she told me that, for her, it was. I told the lady I was speaking with what I usually say in this situation: “Getting published is a combination of persistence, hard work, talent, and luck. The most important things are hard work and persistence.”

It made me wonder what made her stop writing. Why had she given up on her dream of publishing a book?

There was an interesting study that I recently read about, involving children and their success with different tasks. The title for the study findings, released by two authors from Columbia University, is: “Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine Motivation and Performance.”

The study found that a group of children that had excelled at an activity and then been told they’d done well because they were smart had frequently done poorly the next time they’d been tested. They had no control over being smart—and being told they were smart, the children were concerned that the next test would show they were less-competent than they’d been told. The study stated:

They are also afraid of effort because effort makes them feel dumb. They believe that if you have the ability, you shouldn’t need effort (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007), that ability should bring success all by itself.

The children who’d been praised for being hardworking, performed even better on the next test, determined to show again how industrious they were.

It makes me wonder if some writers give up on writing, thinking it’s necessary to have a tremendous writing gift. And, if they run into a wall with their writing, they’re quick to assume they don’t have the gift and shouldn’t waste their time.

I think, clearly, there’s got to be some talent there to write a publishable book. But I also feel that you can learn writing —and vastly improve your ability and potential for being published by reading novels in your area of interest and by learning writing skills via writing blogs or classes.

This is where I think the hard work and persistence comes in. Yes, there needs to be some talent there. Not everyone is going to be picked up by a traditional publisher. But I do feel like everyone can improve, and that many writers can improve enough to be publishable.

Adding an element of determination and hard work (and, in this business, patience) and I feel like it’s a combination that can serve to get a writer published.

Being told it’s talent only (the equivalent of the children being told they were successful because they were smart)? I don’t think that’s true.

Clearly there are many different reasons why some writers give up writing. Sometimes they might be overwhelmed with other things in their life, sometimes they just don’t prioritize writing high enough on the list to finish a book. But I hate to think that there might be writers out there who think that they just haven’t ‘got it.’ Because I really believe it’s possible to vastly improve, whether you’ve ‘got it’ or not.

What do you think? For the majority of writers on the shelves today—was it pure talent? Was it mainly hard work and persistence? It was probably both—but was it 50-50 talent/hard work? Or did it weigh more on one side than the other?

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter in the last week.

I’m delighted that now we have an efficient method of locating resources on writing topics when you need them—via the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine and software engineer and writer Mike Fleming’s ingenuity. The links I tweet (which are writers’ blogs, agents’ and editors’ blogs) all are added to the engine to make it easier for you to access the information you’re looking for.

Interested in a monthly newsletter with the top writing articles, blogger spotlights, and interviews with industry insiders? Sign up for the free WKB newsletter here: http://hiveword.com/wkb/newsletter. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and your email information is never shared.)

Creativity Tweets of the Week – 03/18/11: http://bit.ly/dPx1Ce

A Million Ways Not to Write a Book: http://bit.ly/eKWDSR

Creating Active Characters in YA Novels: http://bit.ly/hQlF7i

Over 6000 links to help #writers find resources: http://bit.ly/dYRayA

9 Writer Woes and the Books to Cure Them: http://bit.ly/e17eHE

Self-Editing at the Story Level: http://bit.ly/er3SeS

Description–Fictional Characters and Setting: http://bit.ly/heEMMm

On embracing our strengths: http://bit.ly/gM2fil

Forget PowerPoint! How to Deliver Awesome Presentations: http://bit.ly/hb1DjC

Best articles this week for writers 3/18/11: http://bit.ly/eXlXH9 @4kidlit

Getting the Most Out of Your Main Character: http://bit.ly/fuawB3

Be a writing rebel–break some rules: http://bit.ly/i8oDXX @4kidlit

15 Exercises You Can Do Sitting In Front Of Your Computer: http://bit.ly/dXR964

Author Voice vs. Character Voice – Finding Both: http://bit.ly/ijwbD6

Writing prologues that work: http://bit.ly/dRB4At

How non-conformist characters have spiced up crime fiction: http://bit.ly/giOWyA @mkinberg

Avoiding self-evident statements: http://bit.ly/eo3v2s

How one set of co-authors got their agent: http://bit.ly/eBtLs0

Crits for Water Campaign: http://bit.ly/e5hUg2 @janicehardy

Writing through it: http://bit.ly/eBmuoD

Do writers have to be closers? http://bit.ly/funVeW

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Julie’s EAT HEALTHY French fries http://bit.ly/hWCOKF @CleoCoyle

The Power of Peer Recommendations & Reviews: http://bit.ly/gjCV9J

How to Use Dialogue to Avoid Lengthy Info Dumps: http://bit.ly/hH6ziW

5 Writing Excuses You Should Eliminate Now: http://bit.ly/h2XsQL

Blogging-The New Fast Food of Writing: http://bit.ly/gueGxC

Use the delete key–9 places to start whacking at your words: http://bit.ly/i7RK6R

Newspaper Guild Calls for Unpaid Huffington Post Writers To Strike: http://bit.ly/gcoO0A

Screenwriting tips for novelists: http://bit.ly/fwDawC @writerWyoming

Writers’ Tools: The Whiteboard: http://bit.ly/gkAxPM @LyndaRYoung

Search my tweets– http://dld.bz/KPgS

Indie Bookstores, eBooks and Google Books: http://bit.ly/hGYk1E @danielaudet

‘What I Really Want Is Someone Rolling Around in the Text’ (NY Times Magazine): http://nyti.ms/eooprl

10 Reasons to Practice Freewriting: http://bit.ly/hhbf3r @CherylRWrites

The indie movement in media and how it may have changed us for the better: http://bit.ly/i98oyu @thinkstory

Where Should You List Your Manuscript’s Word Count? http://bit.ly/eq0abt

For Your Non-Tweeting Friends: Reflections from a Confirmed Twitter Freak: http://bit.ly/foIHCp @jennyhansen

5 Ways To Forget About Writers Block (And Actually Start Writing): http://bit.ly/hcDRSY

Choosing one story idea over another: http://bit.ly/fFQUat

Tough lessons from a debut novelist: http://bit.ly/i8Ld6k

Determining Your Blog’s Weak Spots And How To Correct Them: http://bit.ly/fFQD8u

20 tips for a bestselling interview: http://bit.ly/hGltop

Tips for breaking the rules in mystery writing: http://bit.ly/hqNlVj

How to Record a Video Interview in 8 Steps: http://bit.ly/fPHLOI

Plotting is easy: http://bit.ly/gqFdSo

An author’s personal writing checklist: http://bit.ly/fdzYTc

10 decisions you can make about your writing right now: http://bit.ly/hPxDN6

A site to help get your creative juices flowing (microwriting with prompts): http://bit.ly/e9oH1T @CarlosNZ

Spring cleaning for writers–clearing out that email inbox: http://bit.ly/hNrLVF

14 ways to enjoy doing something you’ve procrastinated (writing?): http://bit.ly/dF7t1q

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Happy St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes! http://bit.ly/i7NoM7 @CleoCoyle

Journalists debate: Should ebook titles be in quotes or italics? http://bit.ly/h3zNFZ

World creation: http://bit.ly/f1GR9l

Subconscious Storytelling: http://bit.ly/eP3Odl @storiestorm

5 things that turned one person into a writer: http://bit.ly/goOX6r

Tips on finding an agent: http://bit.ly/i1Ypjn

Turn Your Book Into an App: 5 Questions to Ask an App Developer: http://bit.ly/eT6QzG

If manuscripts were lovers: http://bit.ly/gj3BMZ

5 free apps for writers: http://bit.ly/hmQSdi

The Art of Turning A Negative Comment Into A Positive: http://bit.ly/fBa9Yt

Blood and Guts 101 for Screenwriters: http://bit.ly/hRuqbs

Literary vs. Genre Fiction: http://bit.ly/eMnDzP

Avoiding Melodrama by Writing Deeper: http://bit.ly/fGocRC @4kidlit

How to Do a Structural Edit on Your Book, Part 2 of 4: http://bit.ly/h0ZSLT

An Agent on Myths About Agents: http://bit.ly/f6i7L9

Dealing with the permanence of online reviews: http://bit.ly/hUvFXT

Fixing a Problem Scene—4 Approaches: http://bit.ly/hyk04D

The Image of Canadian Authors: http://bit.ly/hYIVA8

Book Marketing: Understand Amazon Kindle “Before You Go”: http://bit.ly/hHfylN @thecreativepenn

Putting the sting in the story: http://bit.ly/gxzaw8

9 Ways to Give a Better Author Reading: http://bit.ly/h5NQqm

Is the face of publishing changing? An agent’s thoughts: http://bit.ly/e2Oz6U

SFF and the Classical Past, Part 7—Labyrinths: http://bit.ly/ghKMTR

100 Exquisite Adjectives: http://bit.ly/gp3ObQ

The job of an author assistant: http://bit.ly/e40LDG

St. Patrick’s Day Mysteries: http://bit.ly/ekT1yb @janetrudolph

The Importance Of Not Being Earnest All The Time: http://bit.ly/dO2mTK

Writing Teaches Writing: http://bit.ly/eHqVnl

Improving Your Writing Through Research: http://bit.ly/f0VfsN

How to Run Two Blogs in the Midst of a Busy Life: http://bit.ly/dT5Ezq

Mystery Writer’s Guide To Forensic Science – Collecting Evidence: http://bit.ly/eEW1YL @clarissadraper

Get a Handle on Your Email: http://bit.ly/gVLOr8

Interview with an agent: http://bit.ly/f1c4cH

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Breakfast in a Glass—Fruit Smoothie http://bit.ly/g6T0CY @CleoCoyle

Industry news and tips for those looking for an agent: http://bit.ly/emasRK

The path to writing enlightenment: http://bit.ly/gutNcy

Can Great Characters Save a Bad Plot? http://bit.ly/fxsGx7

Finish what you start? The internal editor doesn’t agree: http://bit.ly/hzjWmO

3 Ways Bloggers Can Attract Twitter Traffic: http://bit.ly/eSfaMk

6 fillers to avoid in dialogue: http://bit.ly/dMArbD

Literary devices in the non-literary novel: http://bit.ly/fS3lBq

How *not* to Self-Publish: http://bit.ly/hJGQN5

The Power of Repetition: http://bit.ly/dFAHfJ

10 questions to drive a writer wacky: http://bit.ly/ggLZAK @elspethwrites

Take a Second Look When Switching POV Styles: http://bit.ly/eLpF6N

5 Essential Blogs Every n00b Writer Must Devour: http://bit.ly/hcYRb7 @ScottMcCumber

How Changing The Structure Of Your Novel Can Help Get Your Book Published: http://bit.ly/etaBPW @bubblecow

6 Reasons Writing Is Coming Home: http://bit.ly/fC722C @victoriamixon

Back to Basics, part II: Organizing Your “Writing” Time: http://bit.ly/gP458F

3 strategies for writing endings: http://bit.ly/hU3AF6

Best and Worst Agent & Editor Advice: http://bit.ly/hsykjZ

Like With Like = Great Story Flow: http://bit.ly/h2UDs0

How to get out of your own way and quit procrastinating on your novel: http://bit.ly/eYHKKX

Leading into a scene vs. including backstory: http://bit.ly/dIBU3a @juliettewade

Story elements checklist: http://bit.ly/gkS9zf

Building Character Arc: Why a Motto Is Vital: http://bit.ly/i8dYcl

Creating Memoir That’s Bigger Than Me, Me, Me: http://bit.ly/fMGN48

10 Hard Truths About Blogging: http://bit.ly/etCHsQ

Best SFF Novels of the Decade Readers Poll Results: http://bit.ly/fzmjUz

The New Facebook Page for Authors: http://bit.ly/ex5rdB

The complicated relationship of poetry, film and poetry-film: http://bit.ly/ezQJN0

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Irish Oatmeal Cookie Muffins for St. Patrick’s Day from Cleo Coyle http://bit.ly/gOXEmF @CleoCoyle

The 10 best modern European crime writers – in pictures (Guardian): http://bit.ly/gsOgQv

Omniscience (in fiction writing): http://bit.ly/hmq2v8

Slow blogging works: http://bit.ly/eH3CTE

Head-hopping as seen by publishing pros: http://bit.ly/gsQJ8S

An agent posts “Hoping for a Movie Deal, Part 2”: http://bit.ly/ifIaxH

4 Ways to Deal with Narrative Summaries: http://bit.ly/gyxf0c

How to Be Your Own Intern: http://bit.ly/eKv8p3

I post on my writing process–how I start a new project and my mindset throughout: http://bit.ly/e9z5lG

Where Should a Second Chapter Start? http://bit.ly/fdsNmP

100 things about a novel: http://bit.ly/dR015N

Using Conferences to Your Querying Advantage: http://bit.ly/gcEWoc

How long does it take to get published? An agent answers: http://bit.ly/ggw19N

Open letter to anyone producing a sitcom pilot: http://bit.ly/h3ikhV

My book is Kryptonite: do I need a secret identity? http://bit.ly/i19Vab @dirtywhitecandy

Gauging your writing ability and what you can do to reach the next level: http://bit.ly/ekORYF

Are You Asking These Important Questions About Your Fantasy Setting? http://bit.ly/fjmstF

A list of writing reference books directed toward learning specific skills: http://bit.ly/ezrgsA

Pen & Paper: Better Than All Things Digital: http://bit.ly/eryMBe

The 5 Elements of Authoritative Content: http://bit.ly/fl3gNN

Writing Exercises to Get Your Pen Moving: http://bit.ly/gsPz4V

Is All publicity Good Publicity? http://bit.ly/egUege

11 Savvy Social Media Strategies: http://bit.ly/gDMQD6

A writer on writer’s block: http://bit.ly/hSnwbu @agent139

Writing Binges and Writing Blocks: http://bit.ly/fwqhHl

Twitter’s effect on journalism: http://bit.ly/dGb1q2

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: http://bit.ly/ewJxQx @CleoCoyle

Exclusives and multiple submissions: http://bit.ly/g4NedL

Books and TV need to find a happy medium (Guardian): http://bit.ly/goG47C

‘Nonfiction’ Is Like Reality TV Shows, Right? And ‘Creative Nonfiction’ Is Like Fox News: http://bit.ly/grQcio

Engage with the public – or fade into the past (Guardian): http://bit.ly/gvhoyH

5 Critical Social Media Sharing Guidelines for Moms (& others who wonder about boundaries): http://bit.ly/hMwvZm

News for Authors with Facebook Fan Pages: http://bit.ly/i5FkqL

Key points in the digi vs traditional publishing debate: http://bit.ly/hadIlo

Making change work for you: http://bit.ly/e8MhZ6 @joanswan

Convincing Readers Your Fiction is Real: http://bit.ly/giTivK

We Expect Far Too Much of a First Sentence: http://bit.ly/g5rK3i @AdviceToWriters

Why Do We Tell Stories? http://bit.ly/dUjGwe

Write Lots Of Books Or Build An Author Platform. Which Is More Effective? http://bit.ly/eI5d5Y @thecreativepenn

Why Book Design & Editing Matter: http://bit.ly/fyPOe8

The not-so-glamorous life of a newly published author (Ntl. Post): http://bit.ly/ernoKD

The birth of steampunk in the 19th Century: http://on.io9.com/h2gVk1

An editor answers: Do I need an agent? http://bit.ly/esaKYo

Writer envy: http://bit.ly/ijKWeq

The 10 best American poems (Guardian): http://bit.ly/g4G24T

Writing vs. critiquing: http://bit.ly/eanWNm

The 10 Most Awesomely Terrible Sci Fi/Fantasy Paperback Covers: http://aol.it/fhgc18

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Killer Tofu From Guest Blogger Alan Orloff http://bit.ly/i76xBI @CleoCoyle

The Perils of an Overactive Imagination: http://bit.ly/ewSOLz

Writers’ cul-de-sacs: http://bit.ly/gVh86x

Five finalists for National Book Critics Circle award in poetry (Washington Post): http://wapo.st/fsRUQl

Implausible exchanges that pulls readers out of the story: http://bit.ly/dJgUMM

A somewhat controversial stance on ebook piracy: http://bit.ly/dVAUSr

Amazon Rankings: What they mean: http://bit.ly/hbtOGM

Why Overthinking Could Stifle Your Creativity: http://bit.ly/etAht8

Science fiction author begins war of the books worlds: http://bit.ly/dShdoE

A Novel is Not a Story: http://bit.ly/hgK67Z

When an Author Meets His Critics: http://huff.to/hDrAQq

WordPress Plugins To Rock Your World: http://bit.ly/dGoefJ

The Charlie Sheen Guide to Winning! at Online Marketing: http://bit.ly/geoSUM

A Writer Blogs About Process: http://bit.ly/fVDt07

Six Limitations of the First Person POV: http://bit.ly/fkW7wg

What’s popular on the WKB search engine today? http://bit.ly/g9fTqf

9 Mindfulness Rituals to Make Your Day Better (a little zen for writers): http://bit.ly/hu1rxA

Self-Editing: Character Development: http://bit.ly/gGBjgG

Writing is about growing up: http://bit.ly/dPWRaB

Developing Voices for Different POVs: http://bit.ly/hcFb8J

8 iPhone Apps to Grow & Connect With Audience: http://bit.ly/fOJzaW

How To Tell If Your Writing Is Any Good – Part 1: http://bit.ly/gKc5D0

6 Ways to Promote Your Book for Free: http://bit.ly/gmQCzl

Social Media: There’s No Such Thing as Too Early: http://bit.ly/htxEMp

A Writer’s Antidotes for Envy: http://bit.ly/f0byLS

Top 12 iPhone Apps That’ll Increase Your Productivity: http://bit.ly/eVRtCg

The Preposition Gnome: http://bit.ly/i4HJ6p

The art of hitting send: http://bit.ly/esCVjS

Connections between some well-known crime writers’ lives and their stories: http://bit.ly/e1qFJ7 @mkinberg

Resources for Christian Fiction Writers: http://bit.ly/dSMZd6

How Captain Kirk Led An Author to Write Historical Fiction: http://bit.ly/eAmrTN

Immersed in our stories: http://bit.ly/gzdUqw

Desperate writers: http://bit.ly/i4dhFJ

I was out running errands yesterday and was a little farther afield than usual. Our cats have a special cat food that we can only get at this one particular store (I know…it’s crazy), and so I was about 35 minutes away from my own brier patch.

I’m planning on seeing some friends soon and remembered that I wanted to pick up wine and beer. I dashed into a wine store.

I picked up what I was looking for quickly, although I wasn’t familiar with the store. A Chardonnay in one hand, some Sam Adams Porter in the other, I was tearing toward the cash register when I saw a man standing at a table, hoping to distribute samples and looking awkward. He smiled hopefully at me.

I was in a hurry…but gosh, I sure know how it feels to stand at tables at bookstores feeling awkward. I sighed, then stopped with a smile.

It was a local brewery. He could tell I was in a hurry and stumbled into a spiel, “We’re right here in Charlotte, on the way to uptown. And—we don’t have any preservatives in our beer.”

I could tell that this was his big selling point. Maybe that info would have meant something different to someone with a different slant, but for me it was interesting from a marketing perspective. “So,” I said, “you can’t ship it then. If it’s preservative-free.”

He looked more cheerful now since I apparently was picking up on an interesting point. “That’s right!”

“So your focus is probably local restaurants?”

“Yes ma’am. And local bars.”

“But you’re starting to sell it in retail outlets?” I asked.

“We’re making inroads with a couple of local chains. Like this one. See, what you’d do,” he gestured to a keg-looking container on the table, “is to drink this by the best-by date, then return the container to us at a retail center and we’d fill it up.”

“The only problem is,” I said, “is that I live in Matthews. So it’s less convenient for me to drive over here to purchase more beer.”

He beamed. “It’s available at the Matthews location of this store!”

Ka-ching! It was a sale.

Only, actually, because it was convenient for me to buy the beer.

Convenience is, I think, one of the major selling points for an e-reader. And I think it should be a reason why publishers shouldn’t worry too much about the e-book revolution.

I’ve found, lately, that I’ve bought even more books than I usually do. And I buy a lot of books.

That’s because the Kindle has made it very, very easy for me to buy a book. Several times now, I’ve been out with a friend and they told me what they were reading and I’ve downloaded it.

I’ve also downloaded books that I hear about on book blogging sites—immediately, before I have an opportunity to forget the title or author.

I know publishers are worried about ebooks. I know they’re treading into uncertain territory.

But I really think that they’re going to get a higher volume of sales. It’s just so easy for us to buy books.

Do you have an e-reader? Do you have one on your wish list? If you do have one, have you seen your book buying habits change?

Last year, I heard from my agent that there was an editor interested in working with me on a mystery they wanted written.

I was to come up with the characters and plot. They’d like the series set in the South and to incorporate quilting.

Of course I jumped on it. I’m no quilter, but quilting is a big part of Southern heritage. I’ve appreciated it as an art form and as a vehicle for telling stories. And the South is my chosen setting—what I know the best.

This was all I knew about what the editor wanted: the setting and the subplot.

I started reading as many novels as I could that used quilting as a subplot or hook.

After reading quite a few of these books, I came up with what I thought the editor wanted.

I wrote an outline for the first book. The characters were quieter than the characters I usually wrote. They minded their manners a little more. They were a bit more serious. There wasn’t any of the loud laughter or slapstick humor that my characters are frequently fond of. I hushed them up and told them to behave.

But there was this one character, a ferocious old lady who demanded inclusion in the book.

I reluctantly included her, knowing she had a lot more in common with my Myrtles, Lulus, and Evelyns than the new characters in the new book. I killed her halfway through the book.

I submitted the outline to my agent and she sent it to the editor at Penguin/NAL.

I heard back from my agent after about a month. The editor liked it, but wanted livelier, more colorful, quirky characters. They waned more characters like the ferocious old lady…in fact, they wanted the ferocious old lady, herself.

So I raised her from the dead. :) And I knew what I should have known before I ever started sketching out the outline for that book—they wanted me to write the way I usually wrote. They wanted me to write my specialty—humorous Southern mysteries full of quirky Southerners.

Got it!

What gets me is why I’d think otherwise. If someone is contacting me, they’re looking for what I usually write. It makes sense. If I’m calling a plumber, I’m not asking him to fix my electrical problems. I won’t ask the appliance repair guy to do my interior painting. They probably do know how to do those other things—they’re handy people, in a general sense. But it’s not their specialty.

Can I write other styles and genres? Sure I can. Does it come as easily? No. I don’t know about y’all, but for me there are some things that just come naturally to me—that are second nature for me to write.

What’s your writing strength? Are you capitalizing on it by writing a story that plays to it?

I have a hard time making decisions.

Not big decisions—those are pretty easy for me to make.  But smaller decisions, like what restaurant to choose for supper. 

I used to have a hard time deciding which story idea I’d work on next.  When you have a lot of ideas, it’s tough to choose between them.

And characters.  Think of  all the potential characters we’ve got up in our heads!  I’ve got a whole cast of them and they’re all auditioning with gusto, hoping for their chance to get in a book.

If you think of it, every single bit of our story is a choice.  What will the characters do next?  How will they react to it?  And then what happens?  How does it all resolve?

We can choose so many different paths for our story to take.

Right now, I’m starting a requested outline for the second book in the Southern quilting mystery series (and working on the second draft of the first book in the series).  I’ve got several ideas for it that I could go with.  Which should I decide on?

There are several different things I think about before choosing a storyline.

The first is the reader.  I know my genre well and I think about which aspects of the genre readers love the most.  I work to incorporate those in the story.

After that, I think about which story I’d have the most fun writing.  Is it something I’d have fun with?  Is it something my readers could relate to and have fun with, too?

Is there a plot that I can easily see the different possibilities with?

Is there a story with more potential for conflict than another?

Is there a story that will give my protagonist more challenges, internal conflict,  and more opportunities for growth?

Is there a storyline with more of a marketable hook than another?

Is there a story idea that requires more research than another?  Do I have time to do that extra research in a thorough way, or should I choose a simpler idea?

Sometimes my plot ideas come with characters included. Is there one that has more interesting supporting characters than the others?  

Have you got lots of different story ideas?  How do you choose which to focus on?