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image by haraldr via Flickr |
Jump
to today: I've just sent my current WIP to my critique partners. So now's the
perfect time to start lining up what I want to work on next. But whether it's
having written eight manuscripts or the personal stress of the past two years
or just learning more about what works and what doesn't, I'm kind of stuck.
So
I thought I'd share my methods for finding a new story to work on.
The
first thing is my "story ideas" Word document. I've been jotting down
ideas here for years. When I reviewed it yesterday, I was delighted to see the
single paragraph description for the story that got me my agent.
Here's the final pitch, if you're wondering how the original idea metamorphosed into a full-fledged novel-length story.
Some of the ideas in my story idea file are interesting, but none bowled me over with that must-have impulse, so I tried another method. I cut scratch paper (recycle/reuse!) into pieces and jotted down topics that were on my mind, whether they're from the news today like health insurance, propaganda, and civil disobedience or items that strike my fancy like magic forests, bio technology, or secret societies.
Some of the ideas in my story idea file are interesting, but none bowled me over with that must-have impulse, so I tried another method. I cut scratch paper (recycle/reuse!) into pieces and jotted down topics that were on my mind, whether they're from the news today like health insurance, propaganda, and civil disobedience or items that strike my fancy like magic forests, bio technology, or secret societies.
Then
I started grouping the cards. Which ideas could turn into a story? Which card group
ignites that spark in my mind?
I'm
still working on this, but I just had another idea, and that is to combine the
two methods. Take a line from my story idea list and see which cards would
work well with it.
Once
I know the general premise of my story, it's on to creating long lists of What If
questions to detail it out. I'd planned on providing a picture of a What If list, but ithat would be too spoilery. ;-)
If you're a writer, what
method do you use to come up with story ideas?
all pictures by me unless otherwise specified
all pictures by me unless otherwise specified