Overthinkers Unite!

Your head: it's a jungle in there

I recently wrote a story about overthinking. I got lots of comments from people saying stuff like, "I'm an overthinker, too", and "My overthinking has come in handy". It's smashing to know there are so many of you out there.

Come to think of it, it's probably no coincidence. Overthinkers probably make the best writers, don't you think? The best storytellers. Leaving no plot hole unfilled, no stone unturned, no stray thread unpulled. They are the "but what iffers", the deep diggers, the ever so slightly crazy people who can turn one idea into five, or ten.

The people who, when they go on holiday, pack for every eventuality you could imagine. The ones who can spot a lie at two hundred paces, because they pick and pick and pick at the little details that niggle. This often means they are usually extremely truthful themselves, because they know exactly how their tale could be unravelled, and what the repercussions might be.

Write me story!

This got me thinking: I would love to read about your experiences with this curse/superpower.

So: Write me a story, or a poem, about overthinking.

This one is for overthinkers.

Tell me what it's like, how it has hobbled you, how it's saved you. How it ruined a date, or saved you from disaster.

Make it real, make it true. It should be, at least in part, autobiographical. Even if you make it fiction (maybe overthinking is what makes your protagonist a really good detective, who knows) - I just want you to really make me feel what it's like to be in your brain.

If you'd like to give it a look, here is mine (actually not autobiographical at all, but do as I say, not as I do, right?)

(I appreciate your feedback on whether I managed to portray an overthinking character properly, because I don't know if I sold it hard enough to be honest. But maybe I'm just overthinking it.)

Please link to your story or poem in the comments below. I'd also appreciate it if you link back to this piece in yours, either at the end or the beginning.

There's no deadline, no prize, no word count. Just curiosity. You know I have a soft spot for microfiction, so there is that. But whatever you whip up, I hope you have fun with it.

For me, there's going to be no pressure of judging, just the sheer delight of taking a dip in your mind. Having an adventure in the jungle.

So what do you say? Will you crack your skull and spill the intricate tapestries inside. For me?

If doesn't tickle your fancy, if maybe you don't have this trait and this prompt isn't for you... Well, then I have another option. I have a little unofficial challenge open for a few more days. Stick your eyes on this:

I haven't had much chance to share it anywhere because I've been absolutely flat out with work. But I'm off now, so I might extend the deadline on it and see what happens.

Shout outs

Here are the shout outs to people I hope will come up with something for this prompt! Go and read their stuff, it's really, really good!

Mike

Sid

Dharsheena

Cathy

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As always, thank you for reading! Special thanks to Dana for the idea for the title.

If you have been following my daily microfiction adventure, you can see my latest one here:

I haven't posted today's yet. I haven't even written it yet. I should probably get on and do that. Look out for it later!

Edited to fix formatting and some minor errors.

Thank you again!