Don’t you just hate it when you ask a writer how she came up with her blog, short story, or novel idea and she tells you, with a smug smile on her face that ideas are everywhere. All you have to do is capture them.
Well, that’s partially true. But it’s a little more complicated than that. At least it is for me. First, I had to train myself to think in terms of turning the tidbits I hear, read, or see into an idea for a plot, scene, or post. Be curious. Don’t let your thoughts “come in one ear and go out the other” (to use a trite and probably archaic phrase). Contemplate them for a minute. Ask some “what if” questions. What if this happened in the 1700s or in 2075? What if it was the girlfriend who did it rather than the mother? What if the event happened in glamorous Paris rather than Podunk, USA? Turn those little tidbits of information sideways and upside down and see what you come up with.
Let me give you an example. Several months I was struggling to come up with an idea for a short story I wanted to enter in an anthology competition. The story had to center around con men and involve a crime. What could be easier, right? I developed my con men but couldn’t bring the story alive. Something was missing, and I was afraid I wouldn’t finish it by my deadline. Then I went to my hairdresser. She told me a story about what happened when her husband attended the funeral of an old school friend.
Voila! I had the inspiration I needed. I changed my story’s location to a funeral parlor and tweaked the events a tad to take advantage of the new location. I finished the story with new enthusiasm and turned it in on time. And it was a much better story than it would have been originally. I wish I could say it was accepted, but that’s not the important thing. What’s important is the new-found joy, the inspiration that I found from her story, that I tweaked and made my own.
You don’t have to hear a story from someone you know. You can find inspiration at the mall or while waiting in line at the grocery store. Make up stories about the people you see. How are they connected? What do they do for a living? What does the contents of their grocery carts tell you? What can you create from a magazine headline?
Then, when you find a premise that you want to explore, write it down. I can’t stress that enough. I’ve run across many people who believe if you can’t remember an idea, it wasn’t that good. I don’t agree. I’ve had some perfectly viable ideas that I was sure I’d remember. Guess what? I didn’t write them down, and they’re gone for good.
So, when you’re looking for writing inspiration, pick up a favorite book, watch a favorite or unfamiliar show, and pay attention to what is going on around you. All you have to do is listen. And when you come up with an idea, write it down—preferably in a notebook dedicated to your ideas. It’s just that simple.