Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Where Ideas Come From #IWSG

The July IWSG question of the month: Where do you get your ideas?

While this is the most common question posed to writers, it's also the most difficult to nail down. I don't think my ideas come from one place. They blossom from anywhere and everywhere. An idea can germinate from anything I see, hear, smell, feel. It's probably why, during the pandemic, I had so few ideas to play with, because I was holed up with little-to-no creative input. 

Ideas need seeds from which to grow. The seeds are our life experiences. 

The snippet of a half-heard conversation. A stranger's unusual gait. The way the city smells after rain. A dream. A movie. A book. A single sentence spoken in whispers. A new technology.

Nothing is safe from a writer.

So, if you're struggling to come up with new ideas, stop stressing and start living. Take the time to pay attention to this wonderful world around us. Read more. Take in a slow breath, and start wondering what if...

Where do you get your ideas?

This post was written for the IWSG. Every first Wednesday of the month, members post on their blogs about their writing insecurities or offer some encouragement to others. If you are new to the IWSG or want to learn more, then please go HERE.
 

 

14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Stop stressing and start living - sound advice.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I love how you describe where your ideas come from. It's the same for me--anytime and anywhere.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Ideas are everywhere if we just look.

Nick Wilford said...

You're right. If stuck for ideas, often the best remedy is to slow down and just take in what's around us.

Jemi Fraser said...

Love it! You're so right - ideas pop up from so many places!

Carol Kilgore said...

All these things for me too. They just play in my head sort off like they're on vacation until one day there's a real story idea that pops up. I don't have any idea how that happens.

Patricia JL said...

Nothing is safe from a writer. That is so true!

Botanist said...

The seeds for ideas can certainly come from anywhere. For me, though, each story usually comes from a single scene or image or concept that pops into my mind seemingly out of nowhere, that I tease out and expand into a story.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Great advice. The world is pretty interesting place if you pay attention.

Liza said...

Optimum words, "Pay attention." Well said.

H. R. Sinclair said...

I'm like you. Ideas come from the most random thing I see while out and about.

cleemckenzie said...

When you wrote that you might get an idea from "a snippet of conversation" I remembered the times I've lingered to "overhear" people chatting because I wanted to harvest some of the phrases.Shameless author confession.

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