Hahaha, This created a perfect picture in my mind of the story-body running away from the ideas that are chasing it, trying to fixate it, lol. This is me as well! And I also take a lot of notes as I think, because I have a hard time keeping track of all the ideas. I've also recently bought Scrivener, ready to give it another try, because my notebook-based system was getting hard to overlook. I have like thirty or more notebooks and there are ideas from all kinds of projects all mixed together so when I need to find something in particular it's almost impossible without reading each and everyone from start to finish! Gaah! I hope this will be a little easier, keeping the notes computerized.
I brainstorm as I'm going to sleep. For some strange reason, I tend to work out plot problems the easiest when I'm tired. No idea why my brain is wired that way. Now to actually write, I need to be wide awake.
Just before bed I get my most exciting ideas. Something about laying down in a calm, relaxing atmosphere at the end of a long day, that gets my mind brainstorming well.
I thought I was a little different but I can see I'm not, which is good, in this instance! What I'm wondering is if brainstorming and automatic writing are the same - for me. What I want or think I need to do is just sit down and write with no filter on the flow.
Lots of ways, most of which answer to being open to the absurd or ridiculous. Think of the way runway fashion eventually translates into the clothing you see in stores. Most things you see walking down a Paris runway aren't really wearable by the average person. Most of it isn't meant to be. Some of it would actually be illegal to wear in even the most liberal societies. It's meant to be a concept, an idea, a line, a silhouette intended to inspire. When a story starts in my head, it's usually like that. It's a dress with an open bodice completely exposing the model's breasts. It's a man in patent leather lederhosen by PRADA™ with a clear plastic crotch, no underwear. No one is actually going to wear that shit, and the initial scene that comes to me isn't a scene that will ever make it into the actual story. It's just an idea with a look and a feel and some people. And then I think about it. How can I take it apart and keep the parts I like, and work them into something "wearable"? That's one way... Another way is to never discard ideas just because they don't seem plausible in the real world. That doesn't matter, really. A few years ago, on another forum, a member posed an interesting brainstorming question concerning a legal system that had a punishment system based purely on a literal use of the concept of an eye for an eye. Nearly everyone who responded only did so to comment on how this would never work in the real world, that it was too full of problems. I found it hard to understand how all these members missed the fact that the meat of such a story would be found in the very problems they were mentioning. That's where the conflict would be and it would be there in abundance. Sadly, pragmatism trumped creativity in the open discussion, but the member and I had a great conversation via PM about the possibilities in her story, which I thought were very interesting. Be open, be ridiculous, saunter down the runway with your boobs or wiener out (whichever applies).
Thanks! Lots of encouragement in your reply @Wreybies . I think that's what I'm looking for. This is really interesting & something I want to think about and understand better:
So what you're saying is the very thing that gives me the most conflict might be what makes the story really interesting? Now that is a cool thought, whether that's what you mean or not. And now I'm thinking out loud: in other words, when I come to a hard place (for me) in the story working through that hard place to the other side might make the tale even better.
And you know, that would make perfect sense. It would be hard work to do that and hard work always has a good payoff.
Several processes, depending on the actual situation outside (e.g. at work or on holiday,..) - I might just sit for long and stare at a keyboard or out of a window, pondering problems - I might start freewriting - I might start cooking or hiking - But the most productive and satisfying, not to mention the most fun I have is when the process of free-writing coincides with the storyline and situations gets resolved in whole new ways I hadn't imagined before. You might say this is pure pantser-behaviour, for a few tens of minutes, from a general planner like me. I love every minute of it!
What I mean is that some of the most interesting things to be said in a story need for plausibility to be quiet for a little bit and let other dynamics speak. Examples: In the film Her, we are asked to engage a story where computer OS's have clearly achieved living consciousness. There are all kinds of implausible parts to this story. Never mind the technology. Let's assume it can happen. No government would ever allow such a thing to be sold at the mall as though you were buying the latest iPhone. No government would allow these beings to just roam the internet without controls. And where are the religious groups burning building to the ground in protest over these demonic creations of Man? If you look at it purely from a surface take, from a "could this happen" stance, the story is ridiculously implausible. DOESN'T MATTER. The story isn't about artificial intelligence. It's about human connections and relationships. Anyone who thinks it's about an A.I. named Samantha has missed the point. In China Miévile's The City and the City, we have a situation where there are two sister cities that butt up against one another. They have two very different cultures. Where the two cities meet is not always clean and clear, and the citizens of both cities are trained to "unsee" the denizens, artifacts, shops, stores, anything that belongs to the opposing city. Acknowledging the presence of the other city or its citizens is illegal. There's a crazy system they have for crossing over to the other city that involves a sort of symbolic customs process where, once you cross, you can then "see" the other city, but you have to "unsee" your city of origin. Other than this bizarre set-up, the rest of the story is very real-world. Obviously, this situation would never, ever really happen. DOESN'T MATTER. The story isn't about two cities with a bizarre border and cultural practice. It's about how we are trained to "unsee" certain things in the real world, how our cultures make us blind to things. That's what I mean.
Yes, I understand this. I loved the movie Her because it was so unorthodox, or implausible, as you say. Romance is that way sometimes. It felt like one huge metaphor to me, about how ridiculous love is.
Normally it happens when I'm walking. I either get into two tangents, the first is "hmm, that could be cool", and the other is pondering mundane stuff that's really weird when you actually think about it.
When it comes to songwriting, I write my best lyrics in the shower. And then I promptly forget them by the time I get out. Which means, on more than one occasion, I've had to step out, towel off, and write some lyrics or record a melody on my phone voice memo app, then resume my shower. If I don't get it down immediately, it's usually gone. Fiction, on the other hand, is a whole different beast. I think I already made a post about it earlier in the thread. Luckily for me, that one isn't nearly as time-sensitive!
I have ideas when I'm doing something else - no where near a pen and a piece of paper. Strange. I think what frustrates me the most is how my emotions are all tied with my creative. If I'm down I can't think of a thing to say except how crappy I feel.
This is soo me. Happens all the time. If I'm down, I can't write. This is weird since most people on here thrive creatively when angry or upset.
I dont really brainstorm. An idea will pop into my head. I will think about that idea for a while, probably off an on for a few days to weeks and some even years for I will sit down and write it out. Sometimes I will do what I call "play writing" were i just write just for fun to feel our ideas to see if they will become good stories of if i should trash it...or sit on it. I dont look for story ideas. they come to me and then i decide if they are worthy or, if my skills at this point are worthy to write it.
I brainstorm around the journey and the character change and the theme: http://www.kalbashir.com/Oscars-2016-Winner-And-Nominees.html
