Writers are always being asked ‘where do your stories and ideas come from?’
We answer in different ways. From talking to writer friends I know that some of us actively seek out ideas, reading newspapers, magazines, sifting through head lines for something that will trigger an idea and resonate with us as writers.
Others, like me, find ideas simply occur as we get on with the ordinary tasks in our life. For me the ideas mostly occur when I am out walking alone. These ideas arrive as thoughts.
Thoughts are something we all have. If you have ever tried meditating, or to simply stop thinking you’ll know how difficult it is to stop thoughts intruding in our bid for stillness.
One thought drifts in and we find that one little thought connects to others and soon our minds are embroiled in a whirling mass of thought after thought, after thought.
FINDING THAT GERM OF AN IDEA
If you are a writer you often find that one or two of these thoughts contain a germ of an idea. Something deep inside you wakes up and that something is often very exciting.
If we feel excited enough we can find ourselves driven to build on that tiny germ of an idea and sometimes we realize that it just might be a good story.
To write a good story you must feel compelled. You must want to write it – Really want to write it!
You can’t be half-hearted about sitting down to write 60 to 90,000 words – if you are you will never finish – or if you do, it will have been a very torturous experience.
To have your writing flow naturally you have to feel absolutely, totally driven to tell that story.
DRIVEN TO WRITE
But what makes us feel driven? Where does that unidentifiable compulsion to write come from? The answer is really quite simple – it comes from your own life.
Everything that you have experienced makes you the writer you are. For those of us writers with less than idyllic pasts, or some bad memories, this is at least some consolation.
Diana Doubtfire writes about this in her excellent book: The Craft of Novel Writing. This is a book I often recommend as it is a great source of information for beginner writers.If you want to find out about this book and why I think it is so very useful you can read more here on my resources page. In the mean time my favourite quote of hers is this:
Think about it – does this resonate with you?
If you would like to learn more about how to have great creative writing ideas click here.
Bye for now.
Grace
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