Everyday Canvas

Overthinking in Life and in Creating Characters

Prompt: Overthinking--Do you think that overthinking creates problems? Has it ever created problems for you, your family and friends, or for the characters in your stories?

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Yes, I believe overthinking can create problems as seriously as madcap impulsivity. Overthinking can lead a person to a paralysis of action and procrastination, and may make him miss some important opportunities. Overthinking is not the same as thorough-thinking. Thorough-thinking is helpful, while overthinking is not. Over-speculation, the twin of overthinking, also can make a person take faulty steps or decisions.

When I was very young, I used to overthink and over-speculate, something learned from a parent, which didn’t serve her well and which led me to make a mistake. She used to think and speculate everything from every angle repeatedly, brood over things, and drive everyone around her crazy.

The mistake I made was a good one in that it taught me to think things thoroughly but not overthink anything to the degree of sickening my thoughts and emotions. It took some doing on my part to train myself to act properly in this area. After that mistake, when it is time to decide upon any important action, I write things down, with pros and cons, and then, I read everything once more and decide. I also make sure that I don’t take too much time. This works very well for me. There are, however, instances when one has to act on the spot. For this type of action, any hesitation can be deadly.

As to my characters, if I create a character who is anxious and cannot act properly, I sometimes make them overthink inside their minds. I make them brood over things and take action on their wrong assumptions. My more heroic characters, on the other hand, can judge a situation correctly and in good time and don’t hesitate to act. I find the use of overthinking in character creation quite helpful.