There are so many ways to get ideas, but many people just sit stumped like there is only one way and nobody is letting them in on the secret. There is no secret. There are many different ways. I’ll list a few then expand on them in later articles.
- Creating a Character – start with a character, try to create a round and dynamic character see where that leads you
- Making Lists Make a list of things in your house. Make a list of things you want in your novel. Make a list of peoples names. Make lists! Something in that list will spark your imagination.
- Asking What if? Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? – Asking a question is a great way to start your muse working. You see a bird fly by and you say what if that bird sent messages back and forth to people? Who would it send it too? What would the messages say? When would the people get the messages – what era? Where at? Why would they use that bird? How does the bird find the people?
- Making a Title come up with any title that comes to mind. Night by Eli Weisel creates a powerful image. What does it make you think about? What about the word Enchanting? Use your imagination!
- Coming up with something you are opinionated about what do you have an opinion about that people might oppose? Maybe you should write about it to get your point across. Nothing is better to write about then something that you are truly passionate about.
- Imagination: Imagine a scene that you want to have in your novel do you see the perfect scene already? Or maybe you should just close your eyes and start imagining something anything. How about England in the 1800s, or America in the 31st century? It hasn’t happened yet! I know! But that’s the beauty of it. You are imagining – it could be what ever you want it to be.
- Listen to music Music is powerful. Especially in writing. Listen to a song that has the mood you want to portray. Or use the lyrics to come up with ideas!
- Coming up with a Theme What is the overall theme of your novel? Is it love moves mountains? Or everyone needs a hero? Every single novel has a theme. Maybe you should figure out yours as a start. Be careful though, if you don’t start out with a theme the right way, your novel will end up being a big pile of garbage.
- Research your setting where do you want the novel to be at? Is it during WWI in America? Or how about during the industrial revolution in England.
- Opening Lines or Chapter Opening lines are huge. So is the first paragraph. You want to grab the reader. You want them to continue reading. Just make something up. It seems dumb, but it works. Johnny slapped Chrissy across the face. That opens up a lot of possibilities doesn’t it? And i Just made that up. You can use it if you want.
- Figure out what you want to write about What are you passionate about? Do you want to write a romance novel? Do you love reading mysteries? Maybe you should consider what genre you want to write first.
- Give a Character an Obsession Characters need an obsession. This is what they want. This is what the novel is going to be about. The characters trying to get what they want. Maybe it’s something as simple as a glass of water, maybe they are obsessed with finding out who their father is. Just make them obsessed with something and see where that leads them… It better not lead them to a wonderful place. They need to struggle!
- Give a Character a Problem Give a character a problem. It doesn’t have to be what the novel is about either. The problem doesn’t even have to be in the novel! Just get your creativity flowing. I have a character named Sue. She is in debt and going to lose her house. She just got laid off. Now that is a problem. Try it and see where it leads you.
- Make an Ending Make a big finale. This is what your novel will lead up to. The Departed (movie) leads up to an amazing ending.
- Make a Job Jobs are huge. Make a job. Does your character make artificial limbs for people who are amputees? Does your character work as a cop AND the mob? Now after you have a job, ask yourself questions. Does my character like this job? Who works with her/him? Will she get fired? So on and so forth….
- Just start writing! That’s right. I said it. Write! Doesn’t matter if you don’t have a clue what about. You will figure it out. If you are so freaked out about writing the best darn novel there is! You will never write anything. So the best way to cure that is to write. Like this>>>
Jimmy had a cat who he hated. He decided to get rid of her, but when she was gone, he missed her.
I’m not going to pretend like that was amazing, but do you know what happened when I wrote that? I started thinking of possibilities. Does he go to get her back but the person he sold her to moved? Does he go on a long journey to get her and find himself along the way?
- Dreams Ever have a crazy dream worth writing about? Write about it. Change it! Start with a dream. I once had a dream I was eating with a group of ghosts. Yes it was scary.
- Real life situations you or someone else has gone through Real life IS stranger than fiction. Do you have anything worth writing about? Any good stories you tell over and over? Or even better a story you aren’t aloud to tell anyone? Start there.
- Capture a mood what mood are you trying to portray. Write it down. Try to capture it in a scene. Don’t over think, just start writing.
- Observations look around. Watch people, try not to be a creepy stalker. Do you notice weird things people do? I know! They are so weird aren’t they? Not to long ago I saw a lady pulling a cart at the grocery store. Not pushing. That was when i asked myself why? You need to ask yourself why too. And what if? And all those other good questions.
- Dialogue “I hate you, Peter.” Dialogue is a great place to start. Make some up and see where it goes.
- TV So much junk on TV. But so much potential. Flip through the channels. Play the what if game. What if this happened, or this? Remember to make it your own!
- Movies Movies are like books, but you don’t read them obviously. Watch your favorite movie. What makes it work? Is it the idea of time travel? Or how about a girl getting herself into a complete mess. The mess doesn’t have to be the same. It doesn’t have to be a girl! Twist the plot. Make it your own. You have to think! You have to make it so nobody would ever guess you got the idea from that movie. You can’t plagiarize. Unless you like losing money and possibly going to jail.
- Read a Book When you read a book, your imagination starts kicking in. Think what if this happened? Or what about a drunk brother? I think this character needs a drunk brother. You don’t even have to finish the book. You don’t even have to start reading the book at the beginning! Again don’t plagiarize. Make it your own.
- Pictures Pictures capture an emotion. Look at a picture. Try to figure out how it makes you feel. Then see what else it makes you think of.
