Writers need ideas to write. We explored this concept in the first blog of this series. The final two blogs contain methods to generate ideas.
Your brain needs encouragement to forge connections and form ideas. You can do this by tapping into different methods that foster ideas and imagination. Some ideas come from what you surround yourself with and how you feed your imagination. Others arrive only with a bit of encouragement.
Let’s start with setting the stage for ideas:
Create a Space for Ideas
Your brain likes habit. It craves routine. You can tap into this urge by designating a regular place to create ideas, in effect training your brain to be more active in your creative space. If you can’t do that, then try to create a similar environment each time. Perhaps set up a routine to begin or surround yourself with a few touchstones in your environment. Perhaps setting out a specific type or color of pen, a specific notebook, or anything else that you can carry with you to create a more creative mood.
Be Prepared
Ideas come when our conscious brains are distracted. Be prepared to capture those random ideas no matter where they occur—in the shower, while shaving, driving, walking, or any other place where ideas flow more freely. Set up a recorder app on your phone or hang a waterproof pad in your shower. Be ready to grab those thoughts as they come. You won’t remember them if you wait. The only caveat to this is when capturing ideas from your bed. I have found that I can rarely read my notes when I keep a pad near my bed. It appears my sleepy state affects my hand and handwriting. Instead, I force myself out of bed to write on my laptop when ideas come to me there. It’s not convenient or fun, but it is the only way I have found that works. Find what works for you. Maybe you will be able to decipher your sleepy scratches in the morning?
Flood Yourself with Input
Your brain needs input to generate ideas. You must feed it constantly. Read, watch, listen to as much as you can. Learn new things. Explore new ideas. Read outside of your comfort zone. Your brain will take it all and throw it into your subconscious to marinate. That is where ideas begin. Think of information, observation, research as your seeds. Time and distraction act as water to help ideas grow.
Go for Quantity Not Quality…at First
Ideas rarely appear in their perfect form. Nor will every idea be worth your time pursuing. So don’t wed yourself to your first idea, but also don’t discard ideas that don’t seem good enough. You need more time to decide that. Some distance and perspective. Perhaps one idea is bad, but when you pair it with another idea it is perfect. Save everything. Even the bad ones. You can analyze and edit later. In the idea creation phase, go for volume.
Actively Seek Out Ideas
It’s not enough to passively wait for ideas. Sometimes you have to actively create them. Here are a few tips to do that:
Observe Your World
Go out into the world and open your senses. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Feel? What can you touch? Taste? Tap into what your senses can tell you about the world around you. Record the sensations as they happen. Write down what the bird song sounded like and how it made you feel. Write about the wind moving through the tall grass or the squirrel running up the tree. Take notes about your world. Move around. Go to new places. Sit and people watch. How many characters do you see? Can you find a villain or a hero? What dialogue do you hear? Capture it all. You never know what will work for you down the line.
Go Looking for Stories
Stories are all around us. They are how we record our memories and share our lives. Go find them. You can do this through observation, like the tip above, or by diving into research on a subject that interests you. If you have always loved the night sky, dig deeper and learn about astronomy. Find a story lurking within the facts of that field. Be inspired by what you learn, then let your mind follow those threads to new places. You can find stories in newspaper headlines, tabloids, research books, nonfiction titles, memoirs, biographies, documentary films, scholarly journals. The point is to start by following your curiosity and then take what you learn and spin that into a tale. Let your curiosity lead you. Don’t let those questions within you go unanswered.
Embrace the Weird Stuff
Don’t always be proper about it either. Read some fringe materials and embrace the weird stuff. You never know where a story will be found. Don’t be afraid to read conspiracy websites, tabloids, fringe publications. Maybe that story of the three-headed lizard baby will inspire the next big SciFi novel. Even if you aren’t looking to write the next big Bigfoot book, you might read a line that will inspire a totally different question if you go chasing information on that hairy cryptid. Or maybe one aspect of a conspiracy theory will spawn a new thriller. Now, I’m not suggesting going to websites that might land you on an FBI watch list, but don’t stick to scholarly works. Have some fun with your research and reading. Next time you stumble upon an odd museum, go in. Look up weird places to visit in your home area. You might be surprised what you can find in your own backyard.
Revisit a Favorite
We all have favorite tales from our childhood. Maybe you can retell a favorite story in a new way. There is a reason fairy tale and myth retellings are so popular. People love to see their favorite tales and stories told in new and interesting ways. The key is to tell a new story inspired by the original, not to steal the original and disguise it with thin veneers and subterfuge. Make sure you take the original and make it yours, using only the framework for inspiration.
In our next blog, we will continue with ways to shake ideas loose and finish off with tips for what to do once you have them.