Where Do Ideas Come From?
I get asked this question a lot.
The simple answer is, ideas can come from anywhere, at any time.
Many a time I have woken up in the middle of the night with a thought; other times it’s happened while I’m driving, and sometimes it’s happened when I haven’t really been thinking about anything at all.
Whenever and however they come – make sure you capture them in the moment, while they’re fresh in your mind – don’t go back to sleep and think you’ll remember it in the morning!
And what you don’t want to do is say something to yourself like, ‘for the next 30 minutes, I’m going to sit and think of ideas for my story.’ That never works – don’t put pressure on yourself to come up with ideas – let them come to you.
Some ideas can be abstract, totally ‘out there,’ and others can be based on real-life experiences; both your own, and those of others.
In the opening scene of Dane Thorburn and the Brindabeare Knights, Dane splits his chin open. And guess what – when I was the same age as Dane in that scene, the same thing happened to me – twice! And I have the scars to prove it. While the circumstances were totally different, it was an idea from a real-life experience that worked in that scene.
It doesn’t matter how weird, wonderful or otherwise your ideas may be – capture them; no matter where you are. You never know when or where they may fit in your story.
