Glen and Karen Bledsoe --> articles --> The Writing Process --> The Idea Engine
Articles Index: Site Index: Where do you get your ideas? In an online essay, author Neil
Gaimain answers this question by saying, "I make them
up. Out of my head." While the reply sounds facetious to
the inquiring newcomer who is looking for the "secret,"
it is, nevertheless, the truth. Goosebumps author
R.L.
Stine says that ideas, "...come from everywhere.
People you meet. Stories. Movies. Dreams. Memories. Thin
air!" Children's book author Jane
Yolen says that ideas come from all around: books,
songs, conversations, even dreams. "The storyteller in me
asks: what if? And when I try to answer that, a story
begins." All writers generate ideas within their own heads.
There is no secret source we're all hiding, no sacred
ritual known only to the published, nothing but our own
little gray cells. Okay, but really... where DO you get your
ideas? Everywhere. Anywhere. Really. Ideas are all around
you. Once you get a few in your head, you'll find that
ideas are like bunnies: put some together and they begin
multiplying. Ideas come to you when you're daydreaming, when you're
reading, when you're browsing through the bookstore.
There are ideas in the dusty stacks of a university
library, in brightly-lit toy stores, in libraries, in
parks, and probably under your bed. And here's the real secret: There are two differences between creative people and
non-creative people. The first difference is that creative people take
notice of ideas when they come along. Imagine if a
stream of dollar bills came flying past you all day long.
Would you take notice? Of course you would! You'd grab as
many as you could catch! While there may not be a
constant stream of dollar bills flying by you, much as we
might wish it, there is a constant stream of ideas flying
by. You are, in fact, deep in an ocean of ideas. But you
have to catch them before you can profit by them. Suppose you're an average person watching television
one evening, and you happen to catch a program on public
television on the history of vaccinations. It looks
interesting and you watch it. When it's done, you think,
"Hmm, that was kind of cool -- what's on next?" A professional writer viewing the program, on the
other hand, may have a whole different train of thought:
"Hmm... Edward Jenner... I remember reading about him
long ago. How did he come up with the idea of vaccines
again? There could be an article in this, or maybe I
could propose a series of books on medical discoveries to
that school and library publisher I wrote for last month.
What about the boy that Jenner vaccinated? Could I do a
picture book from his point of view? Or maybe a short
story for a magazine? I wonder how he felt about the
procedure? Or I could do a science book from the point of
view of the bacteria, and they all flee in terror when
Jenner comes along..." And that leads to the second difference: creative
people act upon their ideas. While many ideas born of
brainstorming may be discarded, a few will catch the
writer's imagination and become a story, an article, or a
book. Sitting down and turning the idea into a finished
work takes time, patience, discipline, and organization.
Many would-be writers never get past this step, always
thinking, "One day I'm going to write that novel. I've
got a great idea..." Well, today is a great day. Why not
start now? The Idea Engine If you're not used to coming up with ideas of your
own, it can seem like hard work. Every new idea is
hard-won and treasured. But if you practice enough,
you'll soon find that ideas flow from your mind faster
than you can write them down. It's the regular practice
of idea generation and daily writing to turn ideas
into finished works that builds your personal idea
engine. When you read a book, any book, ask yourself, "What
could I write that's similar? Or that has similar
features? What is there in this book that could become an
article, a story, a novel, or a non-fiction book?" If you
watch an interesting show on T.V., notice how the
information is organized. Think about how you could write
an article with the same information. In the library, sit
down with your notebook near the children's book section
and listen in on children's conversations. What is
important to them? What do they argue over? How do they
play? Could any of these lead to a short story? Keep a notebook of the ideas you generate, or keep
them in a file on your computer. If you're still having
trouble getting started, try some writing
prompts. Once you have ideas, practice writing them. Write
every day if possible in order to build the writing
habit. Between idea generation practice and daily
writing, you'll soon have a steady stream of creative
work flowing. Before you ask... Your request: "I've got a great idea for a book, and
if you'll do the writing, we can publish it and split the
profits." Our response: "Thank you, but we already have more
ideas than we can possibly write up in a lifetime. In
fact, you're welcome to some of them. For free. See our
writing prompts page." Seriously, the surest way to see your ideas turn into
successful books is to write them down yourself. You may
find in the course of your writing that your grand idea
wasn't so original after all. Or you might find it so
inspiring that you end up writing several books. It's
work, yes, but that's when you discover that the real
work is in the writing, not in idea-generating. As you begin... Once you have an idea in hand, you may wonder how
original it is. Check out our essay on Overused
Ideas and see if you may be covering old ground. Recommended Books: Zen
in the Art of Writing Thunder
and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer's
Craft A
Whack on the Side of the
Head Creative
Whack Pack The
Writer's Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination
Ray Bradbury
Bantam, 1992 (reissue)
Ray Bradbury's classic treatise on writing, creativity, and
life in general. A must for every writer's
bookshelf.
Natalie Goldberg
Bantam, 2001 (reprint)
Goldgerg muses on how to turn inspiration into finished
stories.
Roger von Oech
Warner Business Books, 1998
Creativity expert (hey, how can I get to be one of those?)
Roger von Oech takes the reader through fun and productive
exercises to inspire creativity.
Roger von Oech
U.S. Games Systems, 1989
A companion to von Oech's creativity books, the Creative
Whack Pack can be used to jump-start just about any
project.
Jason Rekulak
Running Press Books, 2001
If your creativity needs more whacking, try this marvelous
book.
Glen and Karen Bledsoe --> articles --> The Writing Process --> Creativity: The Idea Engine
