Where do authors get their best writing ideas?
Do writing ideas just fall out of the sky? Is it reasonable to sit around waiting for a great idea to land on your lap, so you can write the next big bestseller?
I don’t think so.
When it comes to developing worthwhile writing ideas, it’s either feast or famine for most of us. Some writers have so many ideas, we can’t decide which one to pursue. Other writers struggle to find something worth writing about; they don’t have enough ideas.
And even if you have a compelling idea, the idea itself might not sustain a story or a poem. It’s not enough to have a concept: you need characters, settings, plots, subplots, and themes.
When writers are at a loss for ideas, they often self-diagnose with writer’s block. But many are merely dismissing their own good ideas (often because they aren’t perceived as original enough), or they don’t want to put a lot of effort into looking for ideas.
However, there’s no shortage of sources we can turn to for inspiration. Why not start at the top? Why not find out where some of the most successful authors have gotten their brilliant writing ideas? If that doesn’t inspire us, I don’t know what will.
No Imagination Necessary
First, let us dispel the myth that if you want to be a writer, you must have a vivid imagination. Plenty of writers have found success by being simple observers.
Mark Twain is a shining example. His idea for Huckleberry Finn (aff link) was based on someone he knew from real life. It turns out that the beloved character was practically a replica of Twain’s childhood friend, Tom Blankenship:
“In Huckleberry Finn I have drawn Tom Blankenship exactly as he was. He was ignorant, unwashed, insufficiently fed; but he had as good a heart as ever any boy had. His liberties were totally unrestricted. He was the only really independent person—boy or man—in the community, and by consequence he was tranquilly and continuously happy and envied by the rest of us.” — Mark Twain
Have you ever known someone with a standout personality? Such a person can influence your work in the same way that Tom Blankenship influenced Mark Twain.
Political and Social Commentary
Of course, Mark Twain is not the only author to successfully draw from real life. During the 1930s, hundreds of thousands of people migrated to the western United States from the Dust Bowl to escape intense dust storms that were destroying agriculture and the local economy. John Steinbeck (one of my literary heroes) told their story in The Grapes of Wrath (aff link):
“I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this [the Great Depression and its effects].” — John Steinbeck
Steinbeck’s Pulitzer-Prize winning novel is a thoughtful commentary on social injustice and the forces behind poverty and oppression.
Thanks to the internet, political and social issues are well documented and easily accessible. If you can find an issue that matters to you, just look to the news and documentaries for true stories that you can use for inspiration.
Dreaming Things Up
Creative people from all walks of life from artists to inventors have found answers and ideas within the magical world of dreams. One of the most successful living authors of our time, Stephen King, attributes a dream as the inspiration for Misery (aff link), a novel that was also made into a film and an off-Broadway play:
“Like the ideas for some of my other novels, that came to me in a dream…I fell asleep on the plane, and dreamt about a woman who held a writer prisoner and killed him, skinned him, fed the remains to her pig and bound his novel in human skin. His skin, the writer’s skin. I said to myself, ‘I have to write this story.’ Of course, the plot changed quite a bit in the telling. But I wrote the first forty or fifty pages right on the landing here, between the ground floor and the first floor of the hotel.” — Stephen King
Unfortunately, many of us don’t remember our dreams, and if we do, they’re hazy at best. Luckily, there are some proven techniques to help us learn how to remember our dreams. Try a few of them and see if you can’t get your next big writing idea while you’re sound asleep. You can also keep a dream journal and then harvest it for inspiration whenever you need it.
Making Connections
Suzanne Collins broke the mold with The Hunger Games (aff link), one of the most successful series of the aughts, and the adapted films turned the series into a cultural phenomenon. This dystopian, young adult story takes place in a future where teenagers fight to the death in an oversized arena. Collins came up with the idea by connecting two seemingly disparate ideas:
“One night, I was lying in bed and I was very tired, and I was just sort of channel surfing on television. And, I was going through, flipping through images of reality television where there were these young people competing for a million dollars or a bachelor or whatever. And then I was flipping and I was seeing footage from the Iraq War. And these two things began to sort of fuse together in a very unsettling way, and that is…I think…where I really got the idea for Katniss’s story.” — Suzanne Collins
The world is full of strange, wondrous, and horrific people and events. You too can draw unexpected connections between them to form the basis of a captivating story idea.
No Excuses! Writing Ideas Are Everywhere
So much for writer’s block — and so much for imagination. We writers need only be influenced and inspired by the world (and the people) around us.
“You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it.” — Neil Gaiman
You know what that means: no more excuses! You’re a writer, so go out there, find your writing ideas, and then write. Write your hearts out.
Hmm .. a nice kick up the backside for the procrastinating I’ve been doing lately. It’s not writer’s block after all 🙂
I need a kick like that every once in a while, too.
We’ve all heard, “Nothing is new, it’s all been done already.” Most likely very true. It’s perfectly fine to draw on a favorite book, television series, or film – even a play – and tell the same story putting a different twist on it. If you break it down to its most basic plot, the play (and subsequent film) West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet.
By the same token, take the Twilight Saga, break IT down to the most basic plot. Edward and Bella are Romeo and Juliet. The Sharks (Monteques) and the Jets (Capulets) from West Side Story became vampires and werewolves.
My most recent play, The Sins of the Fathers, drew its inspiration from the web series The Confession (Kiefer Sutherland’s post 24 project). However, rather than a man confronting his biological father, who had become a priest, in the confessional, the young man confronts the priest who molested him.
The greatest stories certainly bear repeating, and it’s an honored tradition to retell an old story in a new setting and with a modern twist.
I love this article, Melissa! Many of the characters in my half-written novel are based on people I know, so it’s totally reassuring to read about other authors who have done the same. I’ve heard some scoff at the idea of writing based on reality (the whole “inexperienced writers only write what they know” bit), but that’s where I get my best ideas. And like Stephen King, I’ve gotten some rad ideas from nightmares and dreams! I didn’t know the backstory of Misery before reading this, either. Interesting stuff!
Thanks for the sweet inspiration, as usual. 🙂
Thanks, Jill! Dreams and reality are great sources of inspiration. I think we each need to find what inspires us and then embrace it, whether it’s reality, dreams, or something else altogether!
Sometimes I just take two half-baked ideas and try to find ways to mash them together. In some cases, interesting thing do come out. I wouldn’t necessarily call them “brilliant” but you never know what result you are going to get.
So true. Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games is my favorite example of this. I thought the story was brilliant!
I’ve only written one novel so far and self published on Kindle and LULU. Friends have asked me the same question. ‘Where did the idea come from’. I say ‘lying in bed one night with a song running though my head’. It was as simple as that.
I’m working on the sequel now whch came to me while on holiday and with space to think.
Most bizarrely though, i recently had a dream that was very powerful and unexpected and it woke me up. I clutched at the idea……you know how quickly dreams fade after you wake up. But its given me an idea for a third book in the series or a seperate drama. i just wish i didn’t work full time!!!
Just discovered this website and its looking really useful Melissa so many thanks.
If you keep publishing books and master the art of marketing them, maybe you won’t have to work full time much longer! Best of luck to you!.
I always love the advice on your site. This is a great way to kickstart the new year.
When I can’t think of new things I take old characters and put them in different situations. It sometimes makes me come up with a new series, but most times I can come up with new characters and tweak the stories. It helps me get past the pebble I at first thought was a huge boulder.
I love the Neil Gaiman quote. It’s on my mirror to remind me to be observant during the day.
Thanks for your kind words. Thanks for sharing your technique. It’s a good one!
Wow! I’m a middle school English teacher and I’m definitely going to be asking my students to read this for inspiration.
Inspiration is EVERYWHERE!
Thanks, Rachael! I’m glad you found this inspiring.
A useful post, Melissa. Stories are great for inspiration. I used The Prodigal Son for inspiration for a short story in response to a prompt of Homecoming. And Romeo and Juliet has inspired many a tale.
Thanks, V.M.