Where Do we Get our Ideas...?

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Ideas Are Free...And Easy The real answer to the question is almost as flippant. The truth is, ideas are free. We grow them naturally. Just about anything we see, hear, read, or experience can spark an idea. No, getting ideas isn't difficult. You are sitting on a bunch of 'em right now. Okay, then: where are the ideas? Just about anything but trying to think of ideas is a source of ideas. Here are just a few: * Newspaper and magazine articles * Short stores and novels * Television programs or movies * A painting * Conversation * Memories * An interesting experience * A fascinating person * A lecture or class * The death of a friend * Holidays * A great meal (or a terrible meal) * A beautiful landscape * An ugly building Some of the sources, such as a fascinating person or an interesting experience, are themselves subjects. Others are the sorts of things that start your mind working, get your thoughts moving in general or specific directions. Note that suggestions like stories and books, or TV programs and films are not meant to encourage you to try to duplicate or be derivative. And it definitely doesn't mean to copy what you see. Copying in that way is also known as plagiarism, which is illegal, unethical, and other things that would be edited out if I said them here. The point is, other creative works can inspire original thoughts on the same topic. They can also inspire totally unrelated ideas. The point here is, anything can generate an idea. All you need is to be receptive. If you can develop the habit of thinking of anything that grabs your interest in terms of whether it would make a topic for a fictional or non-fictional work, you'll find more ideas coming your way than you can possibly handle. The hard part is developing ideas into stories, articles, or books--and writing those works to completion. For some people, recognizing a good idea is also a problem. Recognizing A Good Idea Most ideas come to us as intriguing fragments, which we see as having some potential for an article, story, poem, or book. They may take the form of abstract concepts, scenes, a few words, or perhaps images. The form is immaterial; recognizing the idea is what's important. There are no hard and fast rules for determining whether an idea is worth writing about. However, all ideas have this in common: They grab your interest. If something grabs your interest, there's a chance it may be of interest to others. Thus, the starting point of an idea: Interest. Now we come to one of the hard parts. Just because you find something interesting doesn't mean enough other people will find it interesting enough to justify your writing about it. For example, if you have a dog, you are probably intensely interested in your relationship with the animal. Fine. That's a legitimate interest for you, and perhaps a for few friends and relatives. But not for the world at large. Obviously, an idea worthy of publication must have appeal for a large number of people--people outside your immediate circle. To have that appeal, the idea must be a little broader than just your relationship. Thus, "My Relationship with My Dog" is too narrow to be interesting to others. Time to search for broader appeal. But not too broad; an article or story or book on "Human-Canine Relationships" is just too diffuse. You have to refine things a bit. Somewhere between your relationship with your dog and the subject of human-canine relationships in general are some interesting topics to which others can relate personally, or translate to their own lives. Here's what you have to do: Define which aspects of the broad subject your own interests and experiences cover. This will give you specific topics about which you can write. The specific topics with broad appeal are going to be something special--perhaps your dog talks to you, but only when no one else is around. Or, something that most people have in common in relationships with their dogs. Do you have concerns for your dog's health? His training and discipline? How your dog tunes into your feelings? There! Now you're on to something. You have three ideas worth writing about--all derived from one general subject. And what do these three ideas have in common, aside from the dog? Each is a specific topic having to do with the subject of the relationship between a human and a dog--topics with broad interest, and of which you have first-hand knowledge. (Research can of course be substituted for first-hand knowledge, in most instances.) Thus, to be worth writing about, an idea should meet three criteria: 1. It must be interesting. 2. It must have appeal for a large number of people. 3. It should deal with specific aspects of a subject. To sum up, a good idea is based on an interesting subject that appeals to a large number of people. The appeal comes from the fact that it deals with specific aspects (topics) of its subject matter to which the audience can relate.