Tuesday 30 September 2008

New ideas all over the place

I still rememeber, about 2 years ago (certainly before I started writing Ella) I read a threat over at the Forum where Diana once again wondered about people asking authors where they get their ideas from. And she added something to the affect "The problem for authors really is stopping the ideas from popping up all over the place."

Back then I thought "Well, you are not a real writer then. You may like to write, but you don't have even one idea for a whole book popping up." (You see, I put no pressure on myself. "A whole book" indeed *g*)

Two years later, the situation is exactly the opposite. I have- what, 10? - ideas on a list I keep, one story on the backburner, but simmering on in my mind and one story currently developing (or not at the moment - see my former post *g*).
And just yesterday another story popped up. Phew :)

I guess once you start to earnestly get busy with thinking about writing in general or maybe even a story in particular, everything just gets rolling.
You write and get an idea, but it doesn't fit the story. Make a new story out of it. You read a line in a book/magazine/..., see something on TV, hear something somewhere and think "Hey, that's great/interesting/whatever, but it doesn't fit your story. Make a new story out of it.
And quicker than you can blink, you have a whole bunch of story ideas.

Hey, that's great! Only, it doesn't help with writers block :) *

So for now, I'll be grateful that my brain is indeed able to produce story ideas at random and numerously and I will think about my current block later. :)


* I know that working at a new idea did and does help writers getting on with something they are stuck at. It just doesn't seem to work for me. I start working on something and some time later I am where I'm with Before and After now. I don't want to be one of those people who end up with a dozen half finished stories (nothing against those - I just don't want to be one of them).

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