The Idea Machine
Feb. 16th, 2007 09:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jpskewedthroneOk, here's my second post in the "writing tips" series. If you missed the first one, called The Blank Page, it's here. This post deals with that age-old question of where writers get their ideas from. This is my take on that.
One of the most common questions asked of any writer is: Where do you get your ideas? The answer given is often vague and in some cases flippant. Vague because often the writer doesn’t really know “where” the idea came from, at least not the actual true “oh!” moment, which is what the person asking is looking for. And flippant for the same reason. The question itself makes most writers a little uncomfortable, because we rarely do know that initial genesis point for our ideas. We say that every story is the answer to a “what if” question, and that’s true, but that doesn’t answer where the “what if” question came from. At least I don’t think so. I think the answer is rather simple: Ideas come from writing. That statement is so simple in fact, that I think it bears repeating, with emphasis:
Ideas come from writing.
Here’s an example: While writing a fantasy novel a few years ago, my characters ended up in an ancient museum, where old artifacts had been stored. In order to flesh out the scene, I needed to describe dozens of artifacts. Most of these had no real place in the current plot except to add a sense of awe to the setting, to give the museum atmosphere. At one point, a character walked past a throne. I described the throne as being warped, the dimensions skewed, somehow slightly . . . off. But that wasn’t enough. When the character stepped closer to the chair, they heard voices. Sufficiently freaked out, they moved on.
The throne never appeared again in that novel, but the idea of the throne stuck with me. What were those voices? Why was the throne warped that way? What was the story behind that throne? It had to have a story; the idea itself was too interesting for it not to have a story. And two novels later, I realized what that story was: What if the throne itself was insane?
That one single paragraph—no more than three sentences in an entire novel—became my first sale: The Skewed Throne.
Ideas come from writing. The act of sitting down at your computer—or typewriter, or legal pad—and writing forces you to become creative. It starts the idea machine churning. Characters come to life, and they produce questions. Those questions require answers. And in order to answer those questions, the writer has to think. This entire process produces ideas. Not only ideas for the novel or short story currently in progress, but for future novels and short stories as well. It is the act of writing itself that produces the ideas, that leads to the “what if” questions. And because of this, you need to be able to capture those ideas when they come.
I keep a notebook by my computer at all times when I’m writing. Most writers do. And the reason is so that, when that tiny spark of an idea comes, I can jot it down before it evaporates, before it gets lost. I consider it, ask whether it will apply to the current story, and if the answer is no, I open the notebook, jot it down, and continue writing. The majority of the ideas will amount to nothing, but a few of them will stick around, like the insane throne. In fact, some of them will band together like a mob, merge into one larger, more coherent idea that demands attention, and that idea will become the basis for the next book. As a writer, you never know what little spark will set off the imagination.
So if you’re sitting around waiting for the perfect idea to come along before you begin to write, DON’T. That idea will never come. Sit down and WRITE! Start with a setting . . . a museum perhaps. Fill it with strange objects. Better yet, start with a character, someone with a particular quirk; or two characters, arguing heatedly. Kick that idea machine into gear. All it needs is a jump start—the physical act of writing—and ideas will start pouring forth!
**********************
Check out my website for excerpts from my novels, the review contest, and other interesting links.
The Idea Machine
One of the most common questions asked of any writer is: Where do you get your ideas? The answer given is often vague and in some cases flippant. Vague because often the writer doesn’t really know “where” the idea came from, at least not the actual true “oh!” moment, which is what the person asking is looking for. And flippant for the same reason. The question itself makes most writers a little uncomfortable, because we rarely do know that initial genesis point for our ideas. We say that every story is the answer to a “what if” question, and that’s true, but that doesn’t answer where the “what if” question came from. At least I don’t think so. I think the answer is rather simple: Ideas come from writing. That statement is so simple in fact, that I think it bears repeating, with emphasis:
Ideas come from writing.
Here’s an example: While writing a fantasy novel a few years ago, my characters ended up in an ancient museum, where old artifacts had been stored. In order to flesh out the scene, I needed to describe dozens of artifacts. Most of these had no real place in the current plot except to add a sense of awe to the setting, to give the museum atmosphere. At one point, a character walked past a throne. I described the throne as being warped, the dimensions skewed, somehow slightly . . . off. But that wasn’t enough. When the character stepped closer to the chair, they heard voices. Sufficiently freaked out, they moved on.
The throne never appeared again in that novel, but the idea of the throne stuck with me. What were those voices? Why was the throne warped that way? What was the story behind that throne? It had to have a story; the idea itself was too interesting for it not to have a story. And two novels later, I realized what that story was: What if the throne itself was insane?
That one single paragraph—no more than three sentences in an entire novel—became my first sale: The Skewed Throne.
Ideas come from writing. The act of sitting down at your computer—or typewriter, or legal pad—and writing forces you to become creative. It starts the idea machine churning. Characters come to life, and they produce questions. Those questions require answers. And in order to answer those questions, the writer has to think. This entire process produces ideas. Not only ideas for the novel or short story currently in progress, but for future novels and short stories as well. It is the act of writing itself that produces the ideas, that leads to the “what if” questions. And because of this, you need to be able to capture those ideas when they come.
I keep a notebook by my computer at all times when I’m writing. Most writers do. And the reason is so that, when that tiny spark of an idea comes, I can jot it down before it evaporates, before it gets lost. I consider it, ask whether it will apply to the current story, and if the answer is no, I open the notebook, jot it down, and continue writing. The majority of the ideas will amount to nothing, but a few of them will stick around, like the insane throne. In fact, some of them will band together like a mob, merge into one larger, more coherent idea that demands attention, and that idea will become the basis for the next book. As a writer, you never know what little spark will set off the imagination.
So if you’re sitting around waiting for the perfect idea to come along before you begin to write, DON’T. That idea will never come. Sit down and WRITE! Start with a setting . . . a museum perhaps. Fill it with strange objects. Better yet, start with a character, someone with a particular quirk; or two characters, arguing heatedly. Kick that idea machine into gear. All it needs is a jump start—the physical act of writing—and ideas will start pouring forth!
**********************
Check out my website for excerpts from my novels, the review contest, and other interesting links.
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no subject
Date: 2007-02-16 04:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 02:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-16 06:32 pm (UTC)It's amazing what can spark an idea. I used to carry a tape recorder around with me, because so many used to come to me while driving. Just a particular juxtaposition of images, a sunset, an overheard conversation...just about anything!
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 02:08 am (UTC)You forgot Schenectady! ;)
Date: 2007-02-16 10:51 pm (UTC)I tried to look them up, and I couldn't find ANYTHING about those darned sprites...but I eventually came up with a whole society.
Re: You forgot Schenectady! ;)
Date: 2007-02-26 02:09 am (UTC)I didn't mean this was the ONLY way that ideas come, it's just the most common way for me.
Re: You forgot Schenectady! ;)
Date: 2007-02-26 02:15 am (UTC)Other idea generators
Date: 2007-02-16 11:43 pm (UTC)I have started keeping a OneNote file on my puter for these flashes of possibility. Recently I copied in two from a maillist where some interesting true events were mentioned. I also listed the attribution for the person so I can follow up with any questions or interview the person for more info as well as possibly give acknowledgement in the future should the story result in a book/ss. One of the notes includes info from two people who commented on a situation, one set up the 'what if', and the other provided additional info to answer the posed question and would be handy to know in story development.
Another place I get ideas is when I'm dreaming or just before I wake up and my mind is churning. I swear I've written entire books in my head that way. Pity I haven't been able to get the 'mental movie' down in words! Some of them are really fascinating!
Last, I also started just looking at 'adventures' I've had in my life and put them in a table of columns listed as who, what, when, where, and why sort of things. I filled in the rows of the table as separate adventures. I then shuffled them around so that the real incidents wouldn't be identifiable by the real players.
Hope that adds to the mix of possibilities for your readers,
JanW
Re: Other idea generators
Date: 2007-02-26 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-17 03:16 am (UTC)It's like tuning sine wave generators. If they're out of tune, you get a staticky wave. But as you bring them into tune (say, 440Hz), suddenly the wave signature become a common sine wave.
I have elements of ideas in my head but one of them isn't an idea in and of themself. It's only when it combines with something else does it become an idea.
I recognise them like one would spot a star in the twilight sky as the sun's light fades away.
I had one idea occur to me last night. I took the elements of necromancy and a mother's love and combined them together. Necromancy alone isn't enough to sustain a story. A mother's love isn't either. It's not until they combined together and made me as "Why is it so?" that it works.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-27 12:31 am (UTC)rosemerry http://cautioncustomersahead.blogspot.com