By Dame Kaz

Even though I’m still pretty near the start of this whole ‘Getting Published’ business, I’ve been around the block a few times with the writing itself. But it honestly still surprises me every time I get asked that question. I get asked it quite a lot, too! You know the one:

Where do you get your ideas from?

Sometimes I think that what people really want to know is: “How do I get where you are?” Or: “Can you point me in the direction of the Magic Button that will mean I am Published?”

And there really isn’t anything wrong with any of those questions. However, if you really do want to know where I get my ideas from, I will tell you right now! I will even answer seriously, and not give any of those tongue-in-cheek answers that some authors give when they are being asked The Question for the thousandth time.

The Idea Store

My ideas for stories and novels come from everywhere. EVERYWHERE. They really do. Anything and everything is fair game for my story-writing brain. Sometimes I think that my brain has a mind of its own… I could quite happily be watching a TV show and someone up there on the screen will say something sort of cool or off-the-wall, and my brain takes over and starts whirring away in the background. Then, later that evening – perhaps while trying to get to sleep – I will suddenly ‘come up with’ a new idea for a novel. “A-ha!” I will cry. Or maybe even, “Eureka!” (or maybe not) I might even think that I am a genius, what with all the amazing ideas that just pop up in my head without any effort on my part.

Of course, the next day I’ll realise that the ‘idea’ was, in fact, inspired by that one throwaway line of dialogue from whatever TV show I’m currently into. But that is totally okay. Sure, it may mean that I’m not a genius after all, but it is still a perfectly normal way for writers to generate story ideas:

I am inspired by other people’s stories. (For me, it’s often movies.)

Case in point: After watching THE BOURNE IDENTITY, I immediately found myself with the idea for an urban fantasy novel where the roles are reversed, i.e. it’s the girl who doesn’t know who she really is, but she is powerful and has super-sekrit ninja skillz, and she goes on the run with a hot guy with a sexy accent. Only they are not on the run from the government. No. They are on the run from demons. (Some would say there is not much difference, but that is another blog post!) And there you have it – the inspiration behind DAUGHTER OF LIES, a project that I need to do some revisions on when I have the time.

We are often moved to write something in response to a different art form, or maybe even as a direct response to a novel we’ve read and enjoyed. We might, for example, read TWILIGHT – just to use a vaguely popular example you have possibly heard of (*g*) – and think: “I could write a vampire love story, too! With a teenager falling in love with a hot vampire guy.” Only, you would do well to make sure that your vampires don’t sparkle and are not called Edward, because then you could find yourself in a whole world of trouble. You could at least reverse the genders, just to make sure your own vampire book stands out a bit.

Or you might realise that TWILIGHT is just another version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, and how about writing your own cool, updated version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ – peferably one where random items of crockery don’t burst into song:

Mrs Potts & Chip

In fact, that brings us onto another major source of ideas for the things that I write:

I am inspired by myth, legend and folklore.

But when I talk about folklore, I’m talking about delving into the original texts rather than the Disney versions (though Disney movies are still FUN!). As I’ve mentioned before, THE IRON WITCH was originally inspired by an unhealthy obsession with the many different ‘Armless Maiden’ tales:

Table Suréalisme by Alberto Giacometti

There are so many folk and fairy tales that are just crying out to be addressed in contemporary fantasy! My bookshelves are groaning under the weight of the Grimms and Perraults and Andersens. Art and other forms of entertainment are inspired by these sources all the time; take, for example, this poster for a new production of DUKE BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE by the English National Opera in London:

Doesn’t that image alone inspire you? (You can see a bigger version of it at the ENO link.)

I could go on at even greater length*, but I’ll leave you with one of my other common sources of story ideas:

I am inspired by works of non-fiction.

At any given time, along with all the fiction I read I am also dipping into non-fiction that might spark an idea or two. Right now I’m reading a mixture of writings on Norse mythology and history; alchemy and Magi; urban legends; the Perennial Philosophy; and more. That’s just what I can think of without looking at the pile of reference books in the other room. Sometimes I need to research a subject for a novel (e.g. alchemy for the sequel to THE IRON WITCH), and within that reading I end up scribbling interesting names and terminology that might become the inspiration for a completely different story.

Believe me when I tell you (to paraphrase Fox Mulder):

The ideas are out there.

It’s just that you sometimes have to go and find them.

*And I didn’t even get onto dreams and how they have inspired me with ideas! I have a whole post-apocalyptic novel waiting to be written, which all began with a single image in a dream.

ETA: I forgot to say, please do chime in with anything you want to say about ideas for novels and stories – where you get some of yours; the things that inspire you…

Related posts:

1. Finishing What We Start*
2. The Next Project
3. Thinking Like a Writer

Tags: Karen Mahoney, writing

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 2:05 pm and is filed under Karen Mahoney, Writer's Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.