Umm... I fell behind again in the A-Z. Woops. Another combined post for I and J.We writers need ideas. Well, I guess we don't, we could write about nothing, but it probably wouldn't be very fun, or JOYFUL (there you go J, you've had your say).
I've got a fair few writer friends, and one thing that I know for sure is that every writer's method, from conception to completion, is different. Some people get their ideas from dreams, others from experiences, observations or brilliant flashes of inspiration. A lot of people swear standing in the shower or doing the dishes works a treat.
My ideas seem to come from ... nowhere. I don't have a flash of inspiration and sit down to write that one idea, I just write. I have no knowledge of my world, characters, plot, conflict or anything before I start. The words come and the story, the IDEA, grows. And with the act of spilling an idea out on the page, before I even know what it is, comes joy.
How do you get your ideas? Have you ever written before the idea is formed? Or do you take inspiration from the outside world?
You are so lucky that you can just WRITE, Sari! Gah, give me your talent! Ok, little creepy there.
ReplyDeleteMy Meaningless Steampunk WIP (totally a working title and everything) is entirely made up of dreams. Like, I don't think about it at all during the day. It's being driven solely by what comes to me in that brief period between going to bed and falling asleep. And hey, at 15K words so far, I'd say it's working! :D
My ideas usually come from people I see. Sometimes a character will just be created from someone I spotted while I was shopping, or a combination of people I've seen recently. I don't know exactly how it works in my head, but it hasn't failed me so far lol!
ReplyDeleteI find sitting down and concentrating on having ideas works well. I need to be comfortable to do this so doing the dishes is hopeless as it drives my Muse into hiding :D
ReplyDeleteOther ideas just pop into my head, often when reading or driving. They are almost always to do with plot - I see a scene, something is happening. Characters come later.
Great post, one only an author can experience! I enjoyed it and your blog, too.
ReplyDeleteIf you've the time, pop over to my blog. (I wrote much the same thing yesterday with J is for Jot. I'm the author of the Bella and Britt series for kids.
Thanks!
As someone who writes from the hip, most of my ideas are sort of spontaneous. Very few plot events are per-meditated.
ReplyDeleteIt's Joyful when they work out, and when they don't it just means I need some new Ideas. : )
Generally I just have some spark of an idea that gets me going. I don't tend to plan a lot. I HAVE however done 'free form' writing, or that's how I think of it - where I don't know what I'm gonna write till I start writing.
ReplyDeleteI actually did that with my first NaNo novel. Had no clue who my main character even was before I started writing.