One question people ask me is “Where do you get your ideas?”
The question is not hard to answer on an individual basis, such as how I came upon a particular idea for a short story or novel. However, for me, there is no consistency for where ideas come from.
Some form out of the blue, while others take months of molding and changing. Some are full stories when they come to me, while others are just the brief spark of an idea.
But if you are still looking for an idea for your NaNo Novel, let’s go through some of the ways my ideas come to me. Feel free to use these ideas to create your own story.
A Small Seed
For me, this is the most common way to get an idea. It is not a full-fledged story, at least not yet, but just a piece that gets stuck in my mind. It’s often something in the form of “What if…?”
It might be an exciting, emotional, or climactic scene. For example, a scene where the main character must jet ski across a frozen lake while pursued by a yeti. Or when she has to confront her long-lost twin sister and admit her own double life impersonating her.
As an avid traveler, I also take inspiration from places I visit. Perhaps the story is set in a mountaintop village in Thailand, or in the Estates Theatre in Prague, or in the slums of a Mexican border town.
It could be an interesting character, such as juggling llama herder or wise sage who also is a professional skateboarder. It might instead be based on a real person from history or a figure from myth. I’ve covered several historical people in my Player Characters in Real Life series.
Or maybe your small seed is a bit of plot. It might be a key clue in a murder mystery. Or a complex conspiracy for a thriller novel.
Any of these small seeds can be added onto, combined, and grown out into a full story. I often record my ideas in a handy journal or notebook when I am out. When I return to my computer, I’ll add it to my Ideas Folder. When I am looking for inspiration, I know I can turn to the folder.
Some examples from my own Ideas Folder:
- What if Shackleton found something supernatural while stranded in Antarctica?
- What if the setting was a world made only of a single giant tree?
- What if the main characters were all animals in the real world (no talking, no human mannerisms)?
- What if dragons existed in the real world and were studied like real animals?
Real Life
If ideas are not coming to you, a great place to look is real life. Of course, make sure you change it so that it’s not about a real person in the end.
Family is always rife with conflict, even if we love each other deep down. Next time you are sitting around the Thanksgiving table, see what small dramas are playing out. Something might spark an idea for you.
You could also look to your friends. Listen to their stories, about their own families, their lives, work, and neighborhoods. Filtered through their own personal experience, minor events can seem to have more high stakes.
Finally, you can listen to the news and rumors. Even if the gossip is overblown in real life, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work in a story. Change the characters around, make the situation more dire, and you’ll have an intriguing story.
Public Domain
A final idea is to steal. Not from modern works, but from public domain writing. Shakespeare has been copied and ripped off thousands of times, and few of his stories were original to begin with. He combined, changed, and rewrote stories from before himself.
You can always check out Project Gutenberg for public domain works. Besides Shakespeare, commonly adapted sources are mythology, such as Greek or Roman myths, and the Bible.
Collecting Ideas
If you don’t know what to write about, go through the options above and come up with 5 ideas. They don’t have to be great. They probably won’t be, yet, but don’t worry. We will begin to refine them tomorrow.