We’ve all been there: unable to think of an idea worthy of 80,000+ words and months or years of our time. Sometimes, this leaves us spending months or years without writing a single word as we try to come up with an idea.
I know I’ve certainly been there. But I have three main methods to help me think of ideas when I am lost:
1. Observation of Others
As strange as it may seem, watching other people can inspire you. Observe friends, family, or even strangers day-to-day. Sometimes, the things they do, or the things they say, or even the way they look, can inspire an entire story, or even simply a character to build a story around. Sometimes, music, tv shows, and movies, can inspire the same thing!
The main character of West of Dawn was inspired by a character (and real person) in the bio-pic Race. The humility of Luz Long from Race inspired Luz Lupton from West of Dawn and enabled me to base an entire story around this trait.
2. Write What You Know
This one may be the easiest method. Pull from your own experiences to develop your plotlines. What has happened to you that might make an interesting story? What about someone you know? By writing what we know, our stories are more easily planned and our writing feels real to the reader.
When I was in grade 11 Writer’s Craft, my teacher had us write a story based on something from our own lives, and that was the highest grade I received in that course. The teacher told me it was the most honest and inspired she’d ever seen me. Follow this method and see if that happens to you too!
3. Keep a Dream Journal
I know people have probably told you this before, but that’s because it works! Dreams are weird. They cannot be explained. But they are also some of the best stories we will ever come up with for those very reasons.
The only problem is: we often forget them just minutes after waking up. By recording our most vivid and entertaining dreams immediately after waking up, we will eventually find ourselves with a journal full of potential book ideas to choose between!
Hopefully some of these methods will help you form your next book idea. I’m happy to talk further if you’d like help expanding on your idea, or you can subscribe to my newsletter for more tips and tricks!