The Land of ideas
I have been asked many times, “Where do you get your ideas?” or “How did you come up with that?”
Short answer: I have no idea!
Yes, it can be considered cliché, however, ideas really do come anywhere. To date, I haven’t had a direct correlation between a story and event, person, place or thing. I suspect these will develop as I harness my observation skills and suddenly crazy Aunt Ida (not a real person) will inspire a character.
Most often, ideas come to me in the moments before sleep. Which can be amazing and yet equally frustrating! My mind is usually at peace and no longer thinking about work, obligations or to do lists. When my brain is at rest, the creative goblins come out to play. This is why I keep a notebook in the drawer of my nightstand. Inevitably, the goblins won’t let me sleep until I turn on the light and write down the main point(s) of the idea. Once I know the idea won’t be forgotten in sleep I can turn the light off. This could mean spending an extra five minutes to one hour jotting undeveloped ideas on the pages of that notebook. Talk about frustration when you have to be up for work the next morning!
Ideas have come when I am watching television or a movie and yet have nothing to do with the content I am watching. My mind wanders and BAM an idea. Completely random. Or at least that’s how I see my ideas now. I am sure if I took the time to really sit and psychoanalyze everything, they would have had to have been influenced by something, somewhere. However, where the idea comes from is not necessarily as important (unless it is copyright infringement) as developing it and creating a world I may not have otherwise known.
As I progress with my writing career my goal is to pay more attention to the world around me and recognize how it influences my writing. For example, how could I describe my surroundings (a restaurant, hospital room, forest at night) to create an impactful piece of art. Even if I am the only one feeling that impact.
Good vs. Bad Ideas
I have found not all ideas are good ideas...at least not right now.
Every writer has to determine what makes a good idea for them. Unfortunately, there is no magic checklist. Additionally, pretty much every story trope/idea has already been written. It just hasn’t been written from their perspective. For example, rich person/poor person love story, dealing with illness of a loved one, the success story etc.
Personally, if the idea generates excitement and I am passionate about exploring the idea more I consider it a good idea. Even if I don’t fully understand the idea when it comes to me. If the idea doesn’t currently generate excitement I don’t necessarily dismiss it. If it provides more of a “huh, that could be interesting” feeling, I write it down to come back to at a later time. Down the road my creative goblins may expand that idea until I become passionate about it.
That being said, I believe ideas that generate hate, violence or diminish the lives of others are bad ideas. I have no room for those ideas in my notebooks.
The Deleted Idea
Inevitably, ideas will get cut from a larger story. Something that I believed fit when I wrote it no longer does upon revision and understanding of the complete storyline. To determine if a piece of the story should stay or go, I ask myself - “If it wasn’t here, how would that impact the story?” If the answer is, ‘not one bit’ - it goes.
It doesn’t go in the trash bin, rather it goes into an unused ideas bin. I might not know it yet, but maybe the story I am writing has a sequel, or a prequel. Maybe that thought could evolve into a new story idea completely unrelated to the work in progress. Rarely are ideas gone for good!
Looking for Ideas?
If you want to write but have no idea where to start;
Check your gut - What is nagging at you that you may not be listening to?
Look around you - Is there an abandoned building that you could turn into something? What story could you make up about the stranger walking down the street? If you could escape this world, where would you want to go? What would that place look like?
What do you like to read or watch?
What social issue are you passionate about? Would that lend to a fictional or nonfiction piece?
The entire world is an oyster of ideas. You just need to clear your mind of the traffic, listen and let those creative goblins speak to you!
N.L. Blandford
March 28, 2021
