Monday, January 30, 2012

I've Got An Idea.

And so I return from two weeks in Sri Lanka, relaxed, recharged and ready to face the year.

I didn't get any writing done on holiday - I was far too busy doing things to sit down and write, but that doesn't meant I didn't have ideas and make lots of notes.

One of the things I get asked (like most other writers) is where I get my ideas from, and the answer to that is everywhere. I saw the poster for a film, and made a presumption as to what the film would be about. When I discovered that wasn't the case, I realised I had a story idea. Same with a short story I was reading. The narrative didn't go where I'd expected it to go, and so I made my own notes on my own idea.

Visiting another culture is a goldmine. Legends, people you meet and places you visit all ignite ideas in my head. And these days I carry a small notebook to write those ideas down.

I've heard people say that any idea you forget wasn't that good anyway. For a while I fell for that mistruth, and forgot a few plots that I believe were great ideas. (Fortunately, one of them recently popped back into my brain. It's safely written in my notebook now!)

Write them down, revisit them, let them bounce around in your brain and formulate. Look for the flaws, the holes, the  missing elements and allow the stories to set.

Then start writing.

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