20 July 2015

Searching for Ideas

I'm constantly struggling to find new ideas. New stories, new poems, new blog posts. Actually this post only exists because all I could think about this morning was how I didn't have an idea for a blog post. It happens a lot. It's a blogging day and I've got no clue what to write about. Sometimes there will be some new development in my writing that I can talk about, or sometimes I'll just ramble about nothing in particular. But it's always a constant struggle to come up with ideas.

I'm always in awe of those authors who seem to bust out a new book every month or so. I have no idea how they do it. It's not just because I have a tendency to take forever to write something. It's about ideas. I could never come up with that many ideas that fast. I'm sure when a writer needs a break from their WIP, they'll often work on another project. The problem for me is that I don't have one. I have a few ideas, sure, but none that seem good enough or that I care enough about to work on. So when I need a break from my main project, there isn't anything to turn to.

I don't know what it is, really. Am I just terrible at coming up with ideas? Or am I so hung up on my main WIP that I subconsciously block out any possibility for new ideas? It certainly doesn't help that I don't want to work on my WIP most of the time. Besides blogging, I couldn't tell you the last time I actually wrote something. How can you call yourself a writer if you're not writing?

Ok, this is turning into a sob story. This was supposed to be about ideas! I know it's possible to find ideas anywhere. For some reason they just don't seem to come to me. The only ideas I seem to get are usually a part of the universe for my main WIP--sequels, side stories for minor characters, or just random cute short stories that I probably won't let anyone read. So they don't really feel like new ideas to me because they involve the same characters.

So where do you find new ideas? Well, since the answer to that could be "anywhere" or "everywhere," I guess my question really should be, what do you do when those ideas aren't coming to you anymore? The more I write this the more I feel like it's just my brain telling me to finish what I'm already working on. Working on that is another issue entirely. But hey, there's an idea for another blog post!

Where do you get your ideas from? Are they constantly coming to you or do you struggle to find them?

9 comments:

  1. Don't feel bad - I only have one idea at a time and it takes me a while to find that one. Usually music or movies will inspire me.

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  2. Every writer, every creative person works differently. Don't be so hard on yourself! If you want, try using writing prompts just to stir those juices and free yourself from the belief that every idea has to be fantastic, that every idea has to become a novel, a story etc.

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  3. I can't kick out a book every few months. Some ideas just take time to gestate, and if I try to push them they fail to come to life. Be patient. The ideas will come when you least expect them.

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  4. I was worried I'd be the same because I constantly kept thinking about this one WIP. It was only until I finished it that new ideas came to me. And just so you know, it wasn't truly completed, (I sense a trilogy in there) but I finished the first part and it was enough to release me. Right now it merely haunts me, but it doesn't possess me the way it used to. :D

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  5. I think you might be so consumed with this WIP that you are subconsciously blocking any ideas from coming to you. When you finish it, I bet you'll be bombarded with ideas. I have a LONG list of ideas. Many come from dreams. Others come out of the blue. The rest are spin-offs or sequels. The thing is that I never try to look for ideas. They just come to me. I actually get mad when I get a new one because I have so many that I know I won't ever be able to write them all.

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  6. I go through dry spells where I have no new ideas and I start to worry that's it. Then something clicks and I get a bunch of new ideas at once. It's really kinda annoying because I can only do so much and the muse is throwing it all at me.

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  7. I'm in an idea rut at the moment. I am rewriting some stories, and hoping that will springboard brand new ideas. So far... nope, not happening :-/

    I tend to only work on one idea at a time, so you might just find you're tied up in that so much other things aren't getting a look in?

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  8. Almost every story idea I've had came from a dream, including my five-book series. Turning those dreams into a sensible plot is the tricky part.

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  9. My three big book ideas came to me suddenly while I was driving the long commute to and from work. The ideas themselves came from things I'd watched or seen (anime in particular) and then I just let my mind twist and form them to answer questions I had. :) Inspiration comes in all forms. I heard recently to allow your mind the chance to venture into "white space" where it can explore ideas and dream them up.

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