Wednesday, August 31, 2011

If All Else Fails, There's Always IdeaMart

Sorry I haven't been as good with posting lately. I meant to get this posted over the weekend, but that didn't really work out. Oh well, better late than never, right? ;)

"Where do you get your ideas?" It's a question I come across in a lot of author FAQs and interviews. Popular answers include "my brain," "life," "everywhere," or, with a dash of irony, "that grocery store around the corner." I know it's a vague question, one especially difficult to answer for people who are constantly inspired, and yet I can relate to that sense of curiosity regarding writers' creative processes. I love reading posts about how people write. Sometimes I try to steal one or two of their tricks, and other times I just marvel at how personal and idiosyncratic the writing process can be. So here's my take on how I get story ideas, for those of you also fascinated by the writing process. I'm hoping this post will come in handy when I'm a rich and famous author and get asked that question all the time! ;)

When I was younger, my story ideas centered around characters I wished to be. I've mentioned before that I loved pretending to be a magical princess with my friend and sister, and we spun stories about our adventures that I tried (unsuccessfully, I'm afraid) to knit into a novel. Later stories I wrote featured wish-fulfillment protagonists, such as a recent graduate from the mages' university, a shape-shifter with golden eyes, or the new girl in town who wins the heart of the hottest guy in school (so yes, I can understand the appeal of Twilight).

I didn't stop daydreaming when I got older, but I did stop trying to turn them into stories for a while. By the time I began to consider writing again, my story ideas were no longer inspired by fantasies wherein I was a special snowflake. Instead, real life intruded, and traumatic emotional experiences became my muse.

Of course, "traumatic" is subjective. I'm fortunate enough to live a life that has been, for the most part, happy and trouble-free. I have not experienced the death or severe illness of a close friend or family; I have not been abused or assaulted; I have never been in want of food, or shelter, or love and support.  I am beyond grateful for the blessed life I live. Any difficulties I've encountered seem trivial in light of all the good I enjoy, but they nevertheless evoked emotional struggles that were real and significant to me. They marked me and forced me to grow. They inspire me to write.

There was the time I lost a close friend due to my own flaws. Maybe I deserved it, but it hurt, so much, to feel that I wasn't worth a second chance despite my apologies. It pained me that someone whose opinion I highly valued had deemed me irredeemable and found my worth as less than the obstacle of my imperfections.

There was that crisis of faith in my sophomore year of college, when I grappled with guilt and doubt and fought surrender. I tried to ignore the internal battle because I couldn't see how I could ever force myself to choose. It seemed impossible.

Or the time my family was on the verge of falling apart, and I hated myself for not being powerful or brilliant or strong enough to fix everything that was wrong. I cursed my helplessness and drowned myself in despair, unable to bear the burden I'd placed upon myself.

Small, perhaps, in the grad scheme of things, but these and other experiences mattered to me and shaped who I am. I saved up those feelings of hurt and anguish and anger, and amplified them by imagining greater stakes and harsher consequences. What if someone's crisis of faith could cause a war? How does someone face a responsibility, too great to bear, that could mean the life or death of hundreds? What would force someone to fight through feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness to save the world? Those heightened emotions become the heart of my stories, the dark moment my protagonists must face and conquer.

Some things flow easily from that kernel. Theme, for one, is closely tied to the greatest struggle the protagonist must face. I also consider what traits, values, personality, and experiences would make the decision the most difficult for someone, and thus flesh out my main character and her arc. These elements can influence certain worldbuilding decisions, and a few plot points come to mind, too, as the dark moment must be triggered by a crisis and bring about a climax and resolution.

Other aspects of developing story ideas are difficult for me, though. High-concept premises would be one; I try to come up with a cool-sounding idea separately and see if it can fit with any of the stories I want to tell. Settings have never been my strong suit, either, and beginnings tend to be nebulous since I essentially start with the ending.

I wonder what it says about me, that most of my story ideas come from inflicting an intensified version of my personal struggles on a figment of my imagination. Maybe I write as a form of therapy, as Biljana at LTWF does with her fiction. It's my way of writing what I know, and I hope that I can become skilled enough to take my readers on an emotional journey with my words.

So, enough about me. I want to hear how other writers come up with story ideas. Are you consistently inspired by certain observations, experiences, or media, or is it different for every project? What usually comes first when you get a story idea? How does that influence the way you develop the story? Feel free to leave me a link if you have a blog post on the topic!

32 comments:

  1. {smile} Everything you wrote sounds just like what I've said or thought in the past. I think your ideas are coming from exactly the place they should: your heart. Whether the kernel of inspiration comes from "wish fulfillment" or "therapy," if it's genuine, you can work it into something valuable, something people will want to read.

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  2. Those dark moments you talk about make great stories.  =)

    Characters usually come first for me, somebody I find interesting.  Then I tend to see them in a setting, maybe a conflict, maybe not.  So I guess the personal story arc comes before the plot arc.  I dread ever having to answer that question in an author interview, but I guess I should get some practice answers in now, haha.

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  3. Thanks, Kristan! That's what I'm hoping for, too. :)

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  4. Thanks, Angela! It's so interesting how people get the pieces to their stories in different orders. And yes, more practice answers! You've already got a great start, I'd love to hear more. :)

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  5. I think some of the most powerful stories come from real experiences, especially if they're ones the author has gone through personally.

    For me, it's often different depending on the project. For example, I was walking yesterday and I noticed a "Found" sign for a missing dog; from the photograph, which had begun to bleed since it'd gotten wet, I found some inspiration in its appearance. I often find myself noticing things and coming up with potential story ideas. :)

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  6. I're read elsewhere that the old adage "write what you know" is really about using your emotional experiences to fuel your story-telling. You might not have lost a parent, but you have experienced grief; you might not have stood on top of Mt. Everest, but you have experienced pride and joy. So I think that you're going about it completely right -- writers need to use their own emotions, heightened to fit the scale of their characters' experiences, in order to craft a story.

    For me, ideas come in the form of premises. For example, with PARADOX, I first had the spark of an idea about time-travels and meeting somebody who'd died in the past. And then I thought to myself: "What if the person died because of you?" And everything snowballed from there. :)

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  7. It's interesting, because in the past I would typically plan stories by the plot events.  I have loads of ideas and story outlines that never went anywhere.  I think one problem was they had no emotional momentum.  Now I start with an idea of what kind of personal growth I want my character to have, what emotional issue she'll face, and then I build the plot around that.  That approach has produced two and a half novels to date, so it's working for me.  I know everyone has a different process.  =)

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  8. I love this post! You really have an incredible way with words. You know that, right?

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  9. I've never written a story that's been part of my "own story," but I definitely use my experiences of joy and pain to inform whatever my characters experience.

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  10. Ooh, so cool how you can track your own evolution as a writer! I think my wish fulfillment method made it hard for me to come up with a good story, because I just wanted to write pages and pages of showing off how awesome my protag was. XD Love what you say about emotional momentum and starting with the personal growth of the protag. I think that's similar to what I'm trying to do now, too. :)

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  11. Totally with you regarding authentic emotions making a story more powerful! Even if the situation would never happen in real life, believable emotion can make a scene ring true.

    I think it's so cool to hear about people who see potential stories in everything. I think I need to be more observant! :P When I make note of little things from daily life, they're mostly ideas for scene snippets or worldbuilding and not an entirely new story. 

    It's so awesome that the flyer/photo inspired you. Hope you do something amazing with the idea! :)

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  12. Yes! Love, love, love everything you say about "write what you know." Glad to know I'm on the right track! :)

    Haha your premise for PARADOX is amazing! Seriously, pure brilliance. I wish premises came more easily to me; an awesome-sounding, high-concept one helps sooo much in marketing a project.

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  13. Thank you for your kind words, Peggy! I think I still have a long way to go, but I'm soooo touched by your compliment! It put a HUGE smile on my face. :D

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  14. I think that's a great way to make character reactions feel authentic. :) I'm hoping I can pull it off in my own writing!

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  15. Sounds like you're taking that approach with the questions you asked about crisis of faith or feelings of inadequacy.  Great character arc questions, btw.  :-)

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  16. I love this post! I think it's great that you get the emotional core of your stories down first and that those emotions are drawn from real life. Emy already said it better than I could, and I agree with her that "writing what you know" is really about being able to use the truth of the emotions you've felt in telling a story.

    I'm the opposite. I come up with the characters and worlds first, and then I start layering in the emotion. My ideas are from everywhere. Sometimes it's a phrase. Other times, I'll see an image that intrigues me or think of a theme that I want to explore more.

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  17. My mind is a wanderer.

    It's unfortunate in practicality; I'm constantly having to catch friends up to the trail I ventured off to during a brief lull in a seemingly unrelated conversation. They might be talking about the banana smoothie at Starbucks, but I think about the rain forests where fruit is harvested, and the trees that grow them, and somehow three seconds later end up thinking about the people who live in trees as a protesting demonstration.

    Luckily, it's great for storytelling and writing. :) It's usually a concept or story idea that catches my attention, and then I investigate to find out about the characters involved.

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  18. Thanks, Krispy! :) Yeah, I hated grappling with those feelings when those things were happening to me, but I'm glad that I can re-purpose them for good.

    I'm always fascinated to hear about people who find ideas everywhere. I don't think it's something I'm very good at, but I do want to cultivate my ability to observe, make connections, and remember them later. 

    Speaking of images, I adore your Tumblr! Lots of awesome and very inspirational photos and illustrations there. :)

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  19. I think it's a sign of amazing creativity when your mind can connect so many different ideas together. :) I can see why it'd be hard for others to follow, but I'm sure it's a great asset when it comes to artistic pursuits. It's cool that you think of the concept first. I wish I were better at coming up with fascinating story ideas!

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  20. My story ideas usually come about the exact same way you describe them -- as questions that I want to know the answer to. BUT there's one I'm working on now that actually started as a bizarre dream I had of a bizarre place with a strange scenario (oh, the vagueness!), which is essentially the first time I've started with a setting to put a story to. A few months later I had another dream and I realized the people in this dream were practically the same as in the other dream, and then ideas really began to drop in. All of which I thought was absolutely kickass, because I'd read about people who got their ideas from dreams and I thought it would never happen to me. But apparently it is possible to head to Idea Mart in your sleep!

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  21. Every story evolves differently, but the basic kernel, for me, is "what if?" 

    If I see someone in line for coffee and they're particularly put together, I might think "what if the barista spilled the coffee on them or what if they dropped their muffin? How would they react? What would it mean for the rest of their day?" Then I start to think of answers (which really just lead to more questions). Is the person so tightly wound that she freaks out? Does that lead to a shoving match that lands the prominent businesswoman in jail for a night? Does she start to cry because she's wearing a borrowed suit for a job interview and she's spending her last few dollars to appear more affluent to her potential boss? What starts as a fairly small thing can blow up into a full plot fairly quickly.

    My current WIP came about because someone called to tell me that they were flying up to see me...they had something to tell me. It's ominous to get a call like that. So, naturally, I thought "what if the plane crashes? What if I have to figure out their message on my own?"

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  22. Haha, awesome! Bizarre is great, and strangeness is always fascinating. :) I've never gotten an idea from a dream before, but it does sound fun to have your subconscious work for you like that. Maybe one of these days I'll be inspired in my sleep, too! :P

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  23. Oh wow! That's a really interesting way to develop a story. Love your example of the lady in the coffee line! So cool that you can see something and start imagining all sorts of possibilities. :)

    Yeah, it always makes me nervous when someone says "we need to talk" or "I have something to tell you." It's usually never what I was worrying about, though. Fascinating premise! Is this for Julia or another project?

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  24. For me, it's ... all of the above. I work intuitively when I'm developing ideas, and often it's a combination of theme and plot. I have an easy time coming up with high concept ideas, but not intentionally. I'll be inspired by a handful of random moments that mash themselves together into something greater than the sum of their parts. :)

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  25. Oh my goodness! I finally read the long version of your lock out story. That must have sucked so much, but I'm telling you it's excellent writing material. Just fall in love with Ah Zhen's son, who happens to be a mythical creature, and you're all set! ;)

    Anyway, this is a fantastic post! I'm constantly inspired, and--because of that--my mind is constantly spawning random characters. My notes are ridiculous! lol It was nice to read your take on things. :)

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  26. That's awesome! Love what you say about books being more than the sum of their parts. That always amazes me about great stories. :) So envious that things are intuitive  for you! Since I'm just beginning, I have to consider things more consciously, but I hope one day it'll come that easily to me, too. 

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  27. LOL! Yeah... that is most definitely NOT going to happen. At any rate, you're the paranormal romance writer, not me. I won't even charge you for using my life as story inspiration! ;)

    Hehe I'm always curious about how other people go about the writing process, and it's so interesting how different everyone is! Definitely shows that there isn't just one way to be a writer. And constant spawning of random characters actually sounds pretty fun! :P

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  28. *grins* You can't blame a girl for tryin'!

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  29. I love how people get all sorts of different ideas from all sorts of different places. I'm not even sure where I get a lot of mine. Sometimes a picture, or an experience, or a conversation. Lots of "what if" questions about the things around me give me ideas, I guess.

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  30. Me too! It's so interesting to hear about how other people get inspired. :D Agree that "what if" questions are great!

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  31. Great post!  And I can understand how those experiences would inspire you.  Especially as writers, I think we feel that if we could just express ourselves clearly enough, we could fix interpersonal relationships, and when nothing we say makes a difference, we feel a very personal sense of failure.

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  32. this is my first visit here and have enjoyed each and every post I wish I could to what all of you seem to do, put the words, thoughts or ideas into a story. I have had a lot of experiences in my senior years to write books galore, but I do not know how to turn those experiences into a book. I am also looking for online friends, like you all seem to be to show me the say, like little Red Riding Hood in the forest, I feel lost for words to create a story or even a flash fiction one. although I have written one.

    The Woman in the Window

    If you can locate it It would please me. it might be in my blog,   alonglifepath.com or in Associated Content. I will look

    Can I become friends with you to learn ? Thanks  SondraC

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