Today is the first official day of our “Write Now” program. For those who are just joining us, in 2011, I’m detailing the steps of writing a novel. As much as they can be detailed, anyway. Writing a novel isn’t a science, and every writer’s process is different. I’ll go in order as best I can, but keep in mind that steps vary from writer to writer. And that what may be invaluable to some writers – character profiles, maps of settings – may do nothing for another.
But I encourage you to be open to each step, and to tweak it and make it yours. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. But it’s good to stretch yourself.
One thing we all need is ideas. One of my favorite quotes about writing comes from Stephen King. When talking about why writers enjoy hanging out with each other, he says, “We are writers, and we never ask one another where we get our ideas; we know we don’t know.” (On Writing)
For me, and I’m guessing for you too, the ideas just show up. Often when I’m in the shower or washing dishes or cooking.
It’s never a full idea, mind you. Just a nugget that will work its way into a manuscript somehow. I write it down and stick it in a binder I keep in my office. The binder is labeled “Ideas and Inspiration.” Or, if I already know what project it’s going to attach itself to, then I stick it with its file in the cabinet.
I used to rely on my good memory, but then kids happened, and I learned to write stuff down. I’ve been watching an old season of Mad Men, and one of the creatives lost one of his ideas because he forgot to write it down before he passed out from drinking too much. He quoted a Chinese proverb that said something like, “The faintest of ink is better than the best memory.”
Get in the practice of writing down ideas that come to you. Find a place to gather them. The binder works for me because when I’m stuck, I like leafing through it for inspiration. But something else may work better for you.
But it’s also a good idea to put yourself in the way of ideas. Same as if you wanted to get hit by a car, you’d have a better chance if you went and stood out in the street. One way you help encourage ideas is by reading news stories. I’m completely addicted to the NPR app on my phone. They cover such a variety of topics. They even have a section of “Strange stories.” I’m regularly e-mailing myself articles that I think might be fodder for a novel, or at least a piece of one. Or in our local newspaper about a month ago was a story of these three waspy guys who tried to rob a bank. The youngest of them was 19, and my thoughts immediately went to, “Okay – he’s totally going to be a boyfriend of one of the girls in my books.”
Develop a habit of reading (or watching) the news with the question, “Why?” in the back of your mind.
Another way to put yourself in the way of ideas is to eavesdrop on conversations. I write YA novels, so if we’re at a movie theater or the mall or other places where there are large groups of teenagers, I keep my ears tuned in. Sometimes I even purposefully move to where I can hear.
Also, hang out with interesting people, and – er – “borrow” their stories. Like I remember a story my brother-in-law told me once about one of his friends saying he’d been to a rave in high school. Chris didn’t think his friend seemed like the “Rave” type, so he was like, “What do you mean?” So his friend said, “You know, a big party in a field. A rave.” And Chris said, “That’s not a rave. That’s getting drunk in a field with your friends.”
Which struck me as funny, so I worked it into a story of mine. It looks like this:
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“So then I say to him, ‘That’s not a rave.’ And he says, ‘It’s not? What is it?’ And I say, ‘That’s getting drunk in a field with all your friends!’” Josh laughed, one hand slapping the table, the other firm on Izzy’s back.
“Josh, that’s hilarious,” Leigh said.
“You should have seen his face when I explained what a rave actually is.” He looked at Izzy. “It was priceless, wasn’t it, Izzy?”
“Priceless,” she validated. He rewarded her with a wink.
Write down anything that strikes you, and find a place to store your ideas, because there are definitely dry periods in writing. Periods where you think, “Am I ever going to have another idea? Am I done for?” And it’s wonderful to have that big binder, or that big document, or that big box full of thoughts you’ve saved.
If you’ve got thoughts about other ways to gather and store ideas, please share! Or if you have writing questions,
e-mail me.
