[From the Archive] Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
“Where do you get your ideas?”
Every writer down through history has been asked this question – many, countless times – throughout their careers. Each time the answer is both the same and different. Everywhere.
Ideas for stories come in all shapes and forms. Many writers even have “pet” names for them like: Plot Bunnies, Plot Monkeys, Plot Hamsters, etc. Yeah, there’s an animal theme going there because many times these things are living, breathing, rabid things that grow and feed on the brain until either they get bored and go find another brain (like Jay Lake) to feast on, or you’re beaten into submission and write the story or snippet. Once it’s on paper (or in the computer) your brain is safe from further nibbling – at least by this idea. If you leave them alone, they act a lot like dust bunnies under the bed, they grow and breed until they gain sentience all their own. Then you’re really in trouble.
But where do they come from? How are these Plot Critters born? That’s where that pesky Everywhere comes into play. My favorite breeding grounds are:
• Conversational Snippets – you know that weird situation where you walk into conversation at the most unusual moment and hear something like, “My sister became a troll and ate a small child.” What? But that triggers some idea in the hindbrain that then takes off.
• Artwork/Photographs – “A picture is worth a thousand words” – and sometimes it can be several thousand or a novel. I have two short stories that were written because a piece of artwork caught my attention, and I knew there was a story there.
• Other stories – I once read a story by a Stoker-award winning author. He told me a rejection story about that piece which lead to my brain-eating plot critter.
• Dreams – If you can remember your dreams, stories can come out of them, even if it’s only a partial memory.
• Conventions – they’re not just for networking. Many a plot critter has come from conversations at parties, in the bar, or elsewhere. Even a fan’s costume can become a plot critter.
• New/Different Experiences – this past weekend, I rode an ATV for the first time ever. In one of those moments, I knew it would appear in a story (I have a particular character in a particular potential series in mind).
The point is, ideas are everywhere and in everything. You just have to keep eyes and ears open. Feed the imagination. Be aware of your surroundings so that you can recognize it when it happens. Plot critters are fickle creatures, if you haven’t honed your skills, you’ll miss out. One of my most popular publications happened when four writers were in a car traveling to a convention – the simple phrase: “Four redheads in a car must be a sign of the Apocalypse in some culture” led to the eventual publication of The Four Redheads of the Apocalypse. It took all four of us to jump, and its become a major seller for the publisher.
Ignore your plot critters at your own peril.