More on ideas
Sep. 28th, 2008 03:19 pmI've been avoiding replying to comments so to get around that, I shall write a post instead. Ha.
I suspect the thing about ideas is, like most things, you get better at it with practice. And also, that it comes more naturally to some than others.
I always write a new novel in November, so in September/October my brain seems to be particulary keen to grab at new ideas.
I tend to go with the ones that are most demanding of my attention (they've got enough umph to get me through). Possibly there's no such things as a useless idea. Although, some are more equal than others? I've never conciously thought about it, really.
I've been thinking about re-using ideas too. I could take the basic idea from my current WIP and put it into a different setting, and it would easily throw out a different story (it keeps trying to). Hell, I stole the whole cast for this WIP from an earlier one. Beats stealing from other writers, I guess :)
Backtracking a bit though, if ideas can be "filtered", re-used, easier to pick up with practice, there must be concious ways to generate them too. I guess there's the old brainstorming approach (which doesn't seem to work for me for fiction) and making up two characters and writing about them (which doesn't seem to work for me) and picking random words from the dictionary (which doesn't seem to work for me). I suppose all these work for some people or they wouldn't be passed around. Yes? No? What are techniques that work?
Not I need any more ideas. I'm just curious about the process.
I suspect the thing about ideas is, like most things, you get better at it with practice. And also, that it comes more naturally to some than others.
I always write a new novel in November, so in September/October my brain seems to be particulary keen to grab at new ideas.
I tend to go with the ones that are most demanding of my attention (they've got enough umph to get me through). Possibly there's no such things as a useless idea. Although, some are more equal than others? I've never conciously thought about it, really.
I've been thinking about re-using ideas too. I could take the basic idea from my current WIP and put it into a different setting, and it would easily throw out a different story (it keeps trying to). Hell, I stole the whole cast for this WIP from an earlier one. Beats stealing from other writers, I guess :)
Backtracking a bit though, if ideas can be "filtered", re-used, easier to pick up with practice, there must be concious ways to generate them too. I guess there's the old brainstorming approach (which doesn't seem to work for me for fiction) and making up two characters and writing about them (which doesn't seem to work for me) and picking random words from the dictionary (which doesn't seem to work for me). I suppose all these work for some people or they wouldn't be passed around. Yes? No? What are techniques that work?
Not I need any more ideas. I'm just curious about the process.
