“The
beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first
time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” (or an Avenger...)
―
Robert Cormier
I’m writing the final book in my first series right now,
which means there are all kinds of ideas turning up inside my head. Not just
about the current book (that’s normal – I always figure out the story as I go
along) but also about what to write next. Unlike Thor, I have the luxury of not having to get it right first time! The possibilities are endless, and
although I’m really looking forward to it, I’m also more than a little nervous.
I thought it was a good time for a blog post about writing prompts and ideas 🙂
Every story idea is from a prompt of some kind, even if it’s
just me, inside my head, making something up. My experience so far has been
that each book starts with a question I want to know the answer to. The
question works as a foundation on which everything else is constructed.
From there, the plot develops bit by bit, and it can be based
on all different kinds of input. Writers are often asked, “Where do you get
your ideas from?” I don’t know how to answer this except by saying, “Everywhere.”
Since I started writing regularly, my brain bombards me with prompts all day
long. It’s like there’s a part of me that’s become receptive to them.
Here are a few examples:
Things that resonate with me, like the lyrics of a song, or the reminder of a childhood memory, or a sentence on social media.
Things I see. Anything from a random image on a website to a person in an airport.
Things I hear. It could be a comment in a meeting at work, a line of dialogue in a film, or a particular item on the news that catches my attention.
Things I read. I know there is a view that all stories fit into one of seven (or is it thirty-six?!) basic plots, but there are certainly thousands of different ways to be inspired by other settings and events, both imagined and historical.
Of course, the challenge then becomes how to use all of these
ideas. It can be a bit like herding cats. But as long as I keep noticing them, I
figure I’ll always have something to write about.
In terms of the Legacy of Androva series, I’m working out
the final story at the moment. However, I already have a shortlist of questions
for potential future books, and I’m nowhere near ready to choose between them.
I’ve got a feeling I may have to write a couple of first chapters to help me
decide which world to create 🤔
I guess this qualifies as a nice problem to
have!
If you are a writer,
how do you decide what to write about? Where do your ideas tend to come from?
Thank you for reading today’s post!
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