A lot of successful writers complain that the first question they're always asked is where do you get your ideas. What surprises me is that this question bugs them so much. Of course newbies starting out want to know how to come up with that brilliant premise that will snag them that million dollar contract (extra large chuckle here), who wouldn't?
But the truth is, we generate our own ideas by the way we look at the world around us, part of that write what you know that's driven into every writer's head. So, where do you get your ideas? Here's a couple I've been mulling over.
Have you ever seen a discarded grocery bag or box laying alongside the road? Sure you have, but have you ever imagined that there's a head in the bag? I always thought that would make a cool story. Then they found one - yeah, a head in a plastic garbage bag - tossed out on the side of the interstate. One of those trash pickers you see cleaning the side of the road found it. The Staties then did a roadside search and found all the parts of a woman's body except her hands. They were found at the suspect's home.
Sounds pretty far-fetched doesn't it? But now you've got a basis for a story and here's where the fun part comes in. You start to play the "what if?" game. What if the suspect is being framed. Come on, think about it, would you leave the hands of your victim on the heat duct in your basement? That's where they found them. Want to go deeper? What if the trash picker was the victim's father or the killer? You've now got a revenge story or a cat and mouse game with the cops. Or what if you start with the owners of a new home finding the hands? What if they're from more than one victim? Now you've got a serial killer story.
The other idea that's been tugging the "what if?" strings is this huge brass horse that's bolted to the stone frame that houses a neighbor's mailbox. I've even gone so far as to ask my husband how you'd cut this damn thing off to steal it. This is strictly a country story that revolves around the world I live in. Most folks around here don't have a pot to piss in and the price of scrap metal is at an all time high. Everyone is stripping down old cars and farm equipment and hauling them to the junk yard. So, what if someone wanted to steal this horse for scrap? Rumor has it that the owner of the house is a drug dealer, easy enough assumption with the electronic gates and the dogs roaming loose at night. But don't forget you're looking at good old boys here. If the city bred drug dealer kills the kid stealing the horse what's going to happen?
As a writer, you have to look at the world around you in a "what if?" way. And it's not just the world you see, but things you hear or read. A simple phase can generate at least a half dozen "what if?" questions. Don't think so? What if this - "The right or wrong of it didn't matter" - the real writers out there are already turning that over in their heads. A crime about to take place, a revenge story, buying or selling stolen goods, a cop about to step over the line, a hit man taking aim on his target, or a rape victim deciding against an abortion.
There are ideas everywhere, you just have to start writing and let the story take you in the "what if?" direction that feels right to you.
On another note, the newest issue of Pine Tree Mysteries is up. If you're wondering what the editor is looking for or just want some new reading material, check it out. Support your local zines, folks.
9 comments:
Confluence is what Neil Gaiman said.
Exactly! Without the ideas clicking together there's no story.
Roadside stories: the single shoe. Is the other one still on a foot? I am going to write that eventually. Or maybe make it a flash fiction thing.
That would make a great flash challenge, Patti! I wrote a story once about a purple sweat jacket that I'd seen along the road. But one of the best things I saw was a Tickle Me Elmo hanging from an electric wire that crossed the road. Always wondered how he got up
The old heave-ho, no doubt. Some parent heard that voice one too many times.
I get most of my ideas from the world around me, although lately they've been based on song titles.
Always a blast, especially since I found a new outlet for my writing. I'm really starting to get into flash fiction and all these fun filled ideas are perfect for the format.
Flash writing is great fun, G. Writing a complete story in as little as 55 words or stretching up into the 1000 word zone is a great exercise in compacting our thoughts down to the bare bones of the story.
Have you ever used your flash writing to do character studies for your longer work? I've found that by doing this you can find your character's voice, habits, and reactions to situations. It helps make a fuller character, at least for me.
Not yet.
I have been tempted to take a couple of them and flesh them out more.
There's one that I wrote the other day, that I think I'll try fleshing out more, because the basic idea of it (starting with a motorcycle trip through the mountains and finishing with a death at a hospice) would work much better as a long piece versus the 750 odd word that it was written in originally.
I find myself doing that quite often. Sometimes the flash is more like an outline for the longer story, that you can flesh out with dialogue and description.
Good luck with the story!
Post a Comment