So you’re staring down the barrel of a new project . . . Congratulations!
Ha, gosh, you are so screwed.
Now, for some writers, this isn’t a problem. If you’re one of Those People™, like myself, this post isn’t for you. You’d probably benefit more from some Rabid Plot Bunneh Spray™. And if someone manages to invent it, I would gladly order ten bottles right off the bat, please and thank you.
For the rest of you, starting something new may seem pretty daunting.
You’ve made the decision to write a book, and that’s half the battle right there, but what should you write about? Probably not people you know. It’s a bad idea. Janice knows you’re talking smack about her, okay? Even if you call her Judy in your book and make her blonde instead of a brunette.
So here are a few ways to help you stumble over your next great idea for a novel.
❧ Keep your body busy while letting your mind wander.
This seems like it’d come pretty naturally, right? I mean, we are writers, after all, and when we’re not avoiding people physically, we’re doing it mentally. So mind wandering? Got that one down pat. However, there are some people who don’t do this. I KNOW. I’m disappointed, too.
The key is to do something that’s mind-numbingly boring on autopilot, thus freeing your mind to explore all sorts of nooks and crannies of your universe, inside and out.
Spoiler alert: It’s terrifying.
Some ideas of good monotonous activities:
- Walking
- Crocheting/knitting
- Talking to toddlers (ha, this is generous. I really mean listening. They don’t let you talk.)
- A hot shower/bath
- Gardening
- Shoveling snow
Ever wonder why showers are the cliche best place for inspiration?
It’s not because people are washing with magical writer soap or bathing in the blood of their enemies. It’s because, often, you’re just thinking. Of other things, usually.
❧ Ask yourself a lot of what-if questions.
This is actually my favorite way of coming up with ideas, because I’m naturally curious* so I do this all the time anyway.
*This is a really nice way of saying I’m that person you hate who asks you 50,000 questions until you pretend to be dead just so I leave you alone.
Most work can be boiled down to a simple what-if question at its core.
❂ What if a grandmother turns her life into fantastical stories for her eccentric granddaughter? (My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry)
❂ What if there were something like the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to Europe for the whole galaxy? (Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
❂ What if Death takes an apprentice? (Mort)
❂ What if we could genetically engineer dinosaurs? (Jurassic Park … and 80% of my childhood nightmares)
A what-if question can give you a premise, which isn’t exactly a plot, but it’s the next best thing.
Then, all you have to do is digivolve that beast into something bigger, better, and probably less cute and cuddly, if I’m honest. At least it’s a start.
❧ Start by coming up with a compelling character.
Not Janice. I swear, she’s already onto you.
It may seem backward, but it’s not. Or maybe it is. What do I know? But it works.
Sometimes all you need to jumpstart the creative juices is a compelling enough character, one that leaps out at you, grabs the front of your shirt, threatens you with some pointy object, and demands to be written.
Figuratively. Maybe also literally. If you have a character and no plot, just thinking about that main character’s arc and what they want to achieve is a great way to start coming up with a broader plot to put that character in, and it can serve as a very effective jumping off point.
❧ Go out and, like, live?
*Shudders* I know, I feel gross even saying it. Forgive me, dear reader, but it had to be done.
Plot ideas are like ninjas: they sneak up on you quietly, from the shadows, and take you out you when you least expect it.
Also, they’re almost always cooler in your head than in reality, but I digress.
Places you’re likely to get mauled by plot ninjas:
❂ In the shower when you’re all soaped up (because they’re perverts, obviously)
❂ Those 30 seconds before you fall asleep, when you’ve finally unlocked the answer to life, the universe, and everything, which you’ll obviously forget by morning
❂ When someone’s talking to you and now there’s no way to gracefully bow out of this conversation without looking like a jerk, even though you have priorities
❂ When you’re on the toilet and you plan on being there for a while
❂ Right as the phone rings and you answer it without checking the caller ID and you realize, with horror, that it’s your parents and now you’ve fallen into their trap
The best ideas tend to come when you’re just out living your life, whether it be from somewhere you visit, something you see happen to someone else, someone you meet, or just that really odd snippet of conversation that you NEED more context for in order to make sense of it all, but it’d be rude to interrupt and ask because no one likes an eavesdropper.
❧ Maybe consider blood sacrifices? Just one or two?
That way, your muse knows you’re super serious and there will be ramifications if they don’t cooperate.
Or maybe your muse is like mine and will just give you the side eye and shuffle off to hopefully more sane pastures.
I’m sure this has worked for somebody, and what does it hurt? I mean, aside from the sacrifices. But only for a minute. I’ve been told it’s a great honor.
What if questions are good. I’ve come up with a couple of ideas that way.
I usually think about my book when I’m at work (it’s a really easy job that doesn’t take much brain power).
That’s a good idea! I used to do that when I was a cashier and could. I, unfortunately, need to pay attention and use brain power for my job now, which is so inconvenient. D: I know quite a few people who do that, though, and it’s a fabulous opportunity if you can!
“What if” questions are a great idea. I had someone tell me once to use a “Friends” episode approach when furthering your plot (the episodes were all titles “the one where…”). That has actually helped me because I start with a premise and build on it rather than sit down and bang my head to my keyboard because I’m trying to outline the whole damn chapter at once:).
And damn that Janice…she knows too much 😀
Oh, I love that approach! I never thought about that, although I do have a friend who used that approach to title her chapters, and I thought that was really neat. 🙂
I agree. Something needs to be done about Janice.