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The Official Website of
Author LK Gardner-Griffie |
How Authors Get Story Ideas
One of the questions that
most fiction authors are asked at one point or another is "how did you get
the idea for the story?" Sometimes this is a hard question to answer.
The easy answer is: LIFE
Actually, there are several ways in which an author can come up with an idea
for a book.
Through reading or hearing about a current or past event. Maybe you read
about a historical event and something about the situation intrigues you and
you start imagining characters and how they deal with the events occurring.
This can be through newspapers, something you see on TV, or even other books
you read.
Visual imagery - You might see a picture that draws your attention and you
can start building up a story about what happens in the picture. I still
have one book that I haven't written where I came up with the idea in this
very same way. I was visiting a friend's house and she had a picture on the
wall of sketching of two girls and just looking at the picture, I started to
imagine the story of what was happening in the life of those two girls. I
even knew their names just by looking at the picture (Cassandra and
Alexandra). I have jotted down my ideas for this story and one day will get
around to writing it.
A setting - I once went to school in Owatonna, Minnesota, and realized that
the school I went to would be a great setting for a story. I knew that my
main character would be someone who was not used to having any rules
enforced on her, and the school rules were very strict. This story will
actually (when I finish it) cover the course of 3 books, because the story
that I want to tell with it is too long for one book.
Daydreams - Sometimes your mind wanders off on its own and something you see
or hear sparks a line of "what if" thinking or imagining and you realize
that when you get through to the end of the "what if" that you have the
basis for a story.
Dreams - Believe it or not,
Misfit McCabe was the result of a dream that I had. When I woke
up from my dream, I knew that I had the making of a story - I knew the
beginning, the middle and the end. I didn't know all of the details of
course, but the major points of the story were all there and all I had to do
was write it.
Reading another story - Sometimes you read a story and think to yourself
"that's not the way I'd write it", and then write your own version of the
story. Or maybe it's just part of the story where you think an underlying
part of the story was left out.
Study an author whose books you like. Identify what it is that you like
about how they write. It's also important identify things that you don't
like and know why. It helps you to avoid the same thing in your own work.
Some writers
carry a notepad wherever they go so they can jot down ideas as they come
up. Or they will keep a journal to at least write something down every
day. The more you write, the better you can become.
The internet is like a cornucopia of ideas waiting to be found. Google or
Yahoo writing prompts and you will find several exercises to give you
ideas. Something like: Start with a character that has an unusual
fear. What is the fear? How does the character react when he/she has to
face that fear? If you start with an idea like that, you are well on
your way to creating a story, as well as character development.
These are just a few of the ways in which you can come up with a story. Can
you think of others?
The main thing to remember is that you shouldn't try to force yourself to
come up with ideas. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to coming up with an
idea is the fear of not being able to come up with an idea. Just relax and
let your mind wander. Something will pop in sooner or later.
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Copyright 2008 by LK Gardner-Griffie - All rights reserved |
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