I don't get new ideas as often as a lot of people. Still, it works out since I can only write one thing at a time. My problem might be that I refuse to start writing before I have a good idea about how a new story is going to end. The ending is by far the trickiest part for me, so if I don't have one ready I hold off on the whole thing.
I come up with story ideas at least once a week it seems. Most of them are interesting, but seem to cliche or somehow not worthwhile to develop. I only actually develop a little less than half of the ideas I get. ~Eliza
It'll come and go in spurts personally. I'll have more ideas than I can imagine (and there I am, frantically scribbling it all in a notebook with hand writing that looks like a 2 year old just took a crayon too). Then, I'll go for a many months with nothing. Which is good I suppose, gives me time to organize, round-out and detail the five-ideas-in-two-hours epiphany I had. EIE
I seem to only get story ideas when there's some other very important thing that I'm meant to be doing.
I used to find inspiration in many different forms - music, films, history - anywhere and everywhere. I started writing poetry which made it easier to work on, edit and finish with a product that would allow my head some space to move on to the next one. When it came to writing my first short stories it went rather the same way but I found that often I couldn't leave them, do something else, and then come back to them. Oh no, I had to finish them. Now, working on a novel as I have been, I honestly crave being back in this liberated mode of thinking up new ideas every hour but have to stay on target due to the way I work. I have found the odd abstraction from the novel, a story here and a poem there, but I don't feel as if I can give my all to something big until the novel is done. In that sense all the new ideas are for creating further embellishments to the novel itself which I find rather exciting in a way. To be fair, when I had ideas everyday like I did for the first 6-7 years as a writer, I know I would not have been able to sustain my inspiration long enough to write, edit and complete a whole novel. I started what I am working on about a year ago now and there's still some to go. But my point is that you have to pick one and roll with it otherwise you never get off the starting block. I guess what I'm saying is that, sometimes, ideas everyday for new stories can mean you get bogged down in thinking that something perfect may come along and not taking them on board as a result. I'm a great believer in letting a story evolve itself and I know that some of my best writing, by my own standard, was not planned... Cheers Sam
Too many because I can't keep up with them. I have outlines waiting to be written. I have a hard time deciding which I want to write next. Recently, I got a cool idea for a novel while debating on paltalk in the Christians vs Atheist plus room. Two nations live on space stations that orbit a dead planet. The humanoid species are all born females and all turn into males at around age sixteen. One nation has a goddess and queens. (They rule from 11-16). The other nation has a God and Kings. Anyway, it was strange how the idea came to me.
I'll have to subscribe to this feed. That way every time my phone buzzes I can say, "Hold on, I'm getting a really good idea..."
I get ideas all the time. Good ideas? Rarer. Rarer still are good ideas that make me want to write them. I only get them from time to time.
What inspires your ideas? Hey all, I'm new to writing as a hobby, and it is getting more fun the more I do it, but I am always lacking ideas of what to write about. I just wanna' pick some of your brains. =P What inspires you and helps you think of ideas for plots, and motivate you to continue to work on them? Right now, for me, listening to slow instrumental music helps me alot (stuff like James Horners work). It doesn't give me an idea, more so than it brings me to a new place in my mind where I can create ideas quickly. Kind of difficult to explain.
I've actually had quite a few ideas come from different mangas that I've started to read. Something written in them will trigger some idea of how to twist things so they can work for me. That and of course music.
This is going to sound horribly vague and not remotely helpful, but life. Life inspires all my ideas. What's good in it, what's wrong with it, the seemly endless scenarios it gives rise to. My best advice is... just put pen to paper, or finger to keys and write. It doesn't matter if what you're writing is bad, not for the moment. Just write, and write, and write. Then stop. Look at what you have, and something will come to you. Some way to edit it into something better.
Music always seems to inspire people to write. even for me. Enya is the main music i listen to when i want to write or get inspiration. or music like Enya's. as long as it is relaxing and individual. but thats when i want to write stories and such when i want to write poetry or lyrics the heavier the music the better really.
The hypocrisy of humanity is an endless well of inspiration for me. No matter how many buckets I pull, the well seems to flow over its edges. I'm very grateful, though.
I think Ladylazurus has summed it up, life in general offers inspiration, it doesn’t matter what genre you write in, when you get inspired you will know it, and sometimes the easiest way to get inspired is to simply start writing, keep a journal for instance, write about your day, what’s going on at the time, and any ideas you may come across, anything, but just write. Not only will this give you practice in writing in general but you may find a something within there you overlooked previously, which inspires something greater
For me... I generally get an odd ball idea and I think, "Well now, what if-?" This happens to inspire the majority of my writings. My odd ball ideas though often come from looking at a picture or listening to some music even if it's nothing more than just humming the imperial march.
An idea? ALL THE BLEEP TIME. Every hour, every day, awake or asleep I seem to come up with some plot idea. Unfortunately they are rarely if ever connected. An android gigilo who goes rogue because he finds true love when he wasn't meant to be capable of the emotion. A union starting in a retail conglomerate that nearly destroys the home life of the union leader as he fights for the workers rights. A mysterious stone is found in an archaelogical dig site only to later be discovered as the petrified soul of a god that man has forgotten about. A small child awakes one day to find that they are unable to see and must strive to relearn the world in a way they never thought they could. A little girl goes with her parents to visit a new neighbor, a kindly old man who she later finds out has real life brownies (from the irish/scot/welsh lore) who he has imprisoned and seeks to free them. A wealthy grandfather passed, leaving his favorite grandchild only an old turn handle pocket watch which reveals the passageway to another world. There..that's um, six ideas in four minutes. As odd as it may seem to you (or not), for me I just wrote that first one and the others sprung up in my mind before I finished writing the previous sentence.
Songs, movies, TV, books. Or nature. I get an idea, and tweak it into my own little story, change things to make it work with my storyidea.
I get many various story ideas. Usually they are for fanfiction. For my high school I had to watch a lot of boring videos and usually morphed the characters into two I was obsessed with and then I changed it into them, which bore me many story ideas. I also write a lot and when I'm writing I often break into new story ideas. Normally, I get story ideas by reading other people's work. I say, "Aha, look at that!" And morph it into my own story idea. I get ideas by watching movies "Look -- they left that out..." or "WOAH I GOT A NEW IDEA" and start writing. I generally dream up the whole story and write it down afterwords.
one idea came from my love of going to amusement parks!! one idea came from working at a water park! one idea came from two movies and a game board (lol) when looking back on the idea, but the story is so original that i can't wait to write it!! one idea is about summer camp from working in a summer camp. and another idea is somewhat about my life but TOTALLY different with a crazy new scenario! My BEST ideas are ones that literrally are just random.
Anything is very much the case. Not sure about everything; I was never inspired to write about sitting on the toilet.
Where do you get your ideas? My problem is not uncommon, especially among beginning writers. I have ideas, a kernel of a premise (for instance, "man with telekinetic ability"), but can't really develop it in a way to create conflict. Does anybody have any stories or recommendations? Books (ironically) that helped them get around this?
