Monday, June 16, 2014

A Good Idea

My husband is in the medical field.  Often when someone he’s just met finds this out, they describe a pain they’re having or an injury sustained in the past.  He doesn’t really mind but I know that it happens more than it doesn’t. 

The same is true when people find out I’m a writer.  The biggest question they ask is “Where do you get your ideas?”  I know I’m not the only one who gets this question—in fact it’s an inside joke with many writers I know. 

Strong and innovative ideas are the foundation to good writing.  But it’s still a tough question to answer. How do you explain how the things you’ve seen, heard, read, dreamt, and felt mix with your brain chemistry to be communicated through your unique voice? 

It’s a mysterious alchemy to be sure.   I don’t understand how it happens.  Though I do know some of the circumstances that seem to bring it about.

I’m a big daydreamer.  It’s not a problem for me to enter my own world and start the “What if?” game.  In line at the store, riding on a train, or waiting for school pick up are great places for this.  I seldom focus on TV commercials because when they start, I’m daydreaming.  I find that driving alone on country roads has brought me some of my best revelations.  Just not at night.  That’s not so relaxing. 

Traveling often sparks new ideas.  Getting away from your regular routine stimulates the brain.  So does meeting new people, learning something new, or reading a different type of book than you normally would choose. 

I guess I get my ideas from living life—taking the familiar and turning it on its head, adding something new I’ve learned and whisking it together.  And of course, writing itself spawns ideas—those things you just start writing in that moment and didn’t even know were there. 

Writing it down brings all of those ideas to life.  Putting yourself in the chair and writing is the only way to use all those great ideas. 

All roads lead back to getting it on the page.  Isn’t that always the way?  
           



10 comments:

  1. The second most frequent response to "I'm a writer" is, "So listen, I have this idea that will make a great book." Go ahead and write it, buddy! I'm busy with my own story.

    I'm constantly surprised by evidence that most people DON'T daydream in stories. They're looking out the window and dreaming, they just aren't dreaming about two fictional characters battling through to their HEA. Baffling!

    I'm starting a big writing kick today - the Fast Draft thing - and will be trying once more to bring those daydreams to life on the page. Yay for writing!

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  2. "I guess I get my ideas from living life—taking the familiar and turning it on its head, adding something new I’ve learned and whisking it together." ~ I love that, Lisa! Yes, we do get our ideas from living life. I feel like ideas come at me from everywhere. And the longer I write, the faster they come. My problem is finding the time to write them all ... but I guess that's a great problem to have! Wonderful post!

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  3. Hi, Lisa!

    I'm a big fan of living life in order to write about it, too. It's funny how when we "turn off" our writers' brains turn on. We think that drive is the country is just going to be a drive in the country, and then SHAZAM! We've got a new twist to write about.

    Here's to daydreams and living life and writing!

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  4. Keely - Yes, that's another big one. Even my own father said it to me! Of course, he wanted to do sci-fi and that definitely let me out. There are things I can like but not be able to write and that is definitely one.

    Good luck on the fast drafting and the daydreaming!

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  5. Thank you, Mackenzie. I agree - ideas are the easy part. It's getting everything down. Maybe we should clone ourselves. Of course, the clones would probably cook up their own ideas and we'd be back to square one. :)

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  6. Hi Nichole - Isn't it true sometimes that when we turn off our writer's brains something comes to us? If you try too hard sometimes you can't do it. When you stop trying so hard it comes to you so easily.

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