- In your journal. How often do you actually go through and look at all the notes and ideas you’ve jotted down? They’re in there.
- In your diary. You may not want to write your memoir or biography, but you might find some bits of dialogue or ideas for character traits buried in your diaries.
- Family. Who do you know better than your own family? They’re great for character launching pads.
- Friends. Everyone has a friend or two who have had some wild experiences. Borrow those experiences and then give them to your characters.
- Coworkers. Some people don’t like to get too close to their coworkers, and that’s alright. You have just enough exposure to them to write a character sketch, and there’s just enough mystery that your imagination can fill in the blanks.
- Neighbors. Why is their garage light always on? What’s in that enormous shed in their backyard? And who’s that weird looking visitor who’s always stopping by? You watch them and wonder about them. Now make up their story and write it down.
- Nature. You’re on a walk and pick up a pretty leaf or unusual rock and stare at it. Instead of taking it home and putting it on a shelf, start asking yourself some “what if” questions. Like, what if this isn’t a rock, but a planet? Or what if this leaf is sentient?
- Space. Lie under a starry night sky and how can you not get all filled up with writing ideas? What’s out there? Who’s out there? How far does it go?
- Books and movies. We’ve all read books and seen movies that were clearly spawned from other, more original books and movies. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great writing ideas in them. What if the character had made a different turn at the beginning of the film? What if the novel had a similar plot but a completely different cast of characters?
- Music and poetry. Don’t ask me how this works or why. Just know that it does. Reading poetry and listening to music can relax your mind and open it to countless creative possibilities.
- Writing exercises. That’s what they’re for – generating writing ideas. You can buy books of them, search them out online, or get them right here at Writing Forward.
- Dreams. Before you fall asleep, ask yourself for some new writing ideas. Get some books on dreams (lucid dreaming, for example) and before you know it, your dreams will become your reality and you will be writing like mad
nov 5 2009 ∞
nov 14 2009 +