Writing, of course, isn't just one thing. (What is these days?) The bad news is you have to be pretty good at all of them. The good news is that you have at least 7 different ways of moving forward with your project:

1. OUTLINE/RE-OUTLINE - A great way to plan your project and/or get perspective, especially if you've been slinging words down in the trees, is to take an overview look at the forest. Try to take a bird's eye view, noting major landmarks, and think about the big picture.
2. MAKE NOTES - These are seeds for your trees. They could be bullet points to expand later, details about characters, lines of dialog or specific moments in your story. But not vague philosophical thoughts about the project.
3. EXPAND NOTES INTO ROUGH DRAFTS - Pick one of your notes or bullet points and expand it. Think of it as getting your seeds to sprout. Of course they'll be weak and helpless at first, but if you keep sending them love they might grow into mighty oaks.

We all know that not every idea you have fits into every project. That doesn't mean it's a bad idea, just not a good fit. You don't want to over-eat, but you don't want to waste your creativity either. So how to deal with your creative leftovers?

1) The Outs File - Don't think of it like an Island of Misfit Toys. We imagine an idyllic place for all the great ideas that don't fit into the current project. We like to say, "let that one go play with its friends in the Outs File".

Then, periodically remember to actually look in your Outs File for ideas and inspiration. If you visit your leftovers and you don't like what you see, don't trash them, just let them be. Unlike leftovers, many ideas do improve with age.