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Coming Up with Inspired New Ideas Isn’t Easy.

I’m always impressed with established authors who come out with a new book every year, some more than once a year. Where do they get their fantastic ideas for their novels? It’s always essential to have fresh ideas to write about. Once one project is written and waiting for a second draft or editing, it’s helpful to have a new project to start so that you have a constant supply of material at different stages of development. I’ve been told by literary agents that publishers like hearing that an author has fresh ideas for new projects to follow the one they pitch to them. However, it isn’t always easy to develop those fresh ideas. Writer’s block can get in the way of our best-laid plans. So, what do you do when you need new ideas to work with and build upon?

An important thing to remember is what King Solomon once wrote in Ecclesiastes: “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’? It has been already in the ages before us” (Ecclesiastes 1: 9, 10 ESV). When looking for something to write that “hasn’t been written before,” you’ll be hard-pressed to find it. In fiction, as in life, it’s all been said and done before. What’s essential is that you take something that might have been said before and say it differently in your way, with your character, style, and perspective. Still, you must find an idea, even if it isn’t original. How do you find it?

Things I Do to Find Inspiration

Instead of pressuring myself to do the impossible—come up with something that has never been said or used before—I accept that there are reoccurring themes, motifs, characters, and plotlines throughout the history of fiction and start there. That takes the pressure off me and gives me more creative freedom.

One thing I often do is Google general literary themes. I’ll come up with a long list of themes discussed throughout the ages in literature. Some are evergreen—they are relevant and valid no matter the period. Those are the themes I prefer to focus on. They are evergreen for a reason—because they touch on the fundamental ideas and concepts that have affected humans throughout history. Themes such as good vs. evil, love, coming-of-age, family, revenge, justice, death, corruption, courage, prejudice, heroism, war vs. peace, survival, courage, and perseverance, human vs. nature, human vs. themselves, motherhood… are all very general because they apply to almost every person in some way or another. Once I have the list, I choose one or two themes that catch my eye or perhaps I’ve never attempted to write about before, and use that as a starting point for brainstorming.

Brainstorming is simply writing down anything that comes to your mind concerning a topic without censoring yourself. No idea or word is stupid or irrelevant at the start of brainstorming. I usually take a pad of paper and write the theme I’ve chosen to focus on in a bubble in the middle of the page. From that bubble, I extend lines out around it like the sun's rays. Each line leads to another bubble. In each bubble, I write the first words or phrases that come to mind when I think about the theme that I wrote in the center bubble. I put as many bubbles as I come up with words or phrases, but if you like numbers, try to come up with ten bubbles extending from your chosen theme.

From each secondary bubble, extend rays (lines) like you did from the central bubble. For each secondary bubble, come up with 5-10 more words or phrases that come to your mind for that bubble word or phrase.

Continue with each tertiary word or phrase (you may have to start on fresh paper pages for these secondary and tertiary words and phrases). Once you’ve done this, look over your web of bubbles and see if any words or phrases (concepts) jump out at you as exciting or inspiring. These can further propel you into exploring these ideas and how they could be molded into a story.

I often use this same process with character development, settings, and symbols… it works with almost any concept. Trust your brain to come up with ideas. Try not to censor yourself until later. Here is an example of how I developed a character for my manuscript: (Insert photo).

Another way I find ideas involves leaving my writing space and exploring the world a little. That might seem daunting for some of us introverts who don’t like to leave the safety of our homes but trust me, it’s worth it.

Places I Go that I Find Inspiring

Getting out of the house often helps inspire me, giving me ideas to write about. Seeing new faces and settings can spur my muse into action. One thing I do is go for a walk around my community. I live in Leduc, a small city that is a bedroom community for the capital city of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. As I walk, my mind scans my environment for ideas from the buildings, businesses, people, and cars I pass. For example, suppose I walk past a mail carrier dropping off parcels in my box. In that case, I ask myself questions like, “How can I incorporate a mail carrier as a character in a story?” or “How could a parcel be a key element or plot device in a story?” If I walk past the local Tim Hortons in my neighborhood, I can ask myself, “What type of scene could play out in a donut and coffee shop?” or “What kind of characters would frequent such a business?” As I continue down the street, I might see a man out for a run, listening to his earbuds and nearly getting hit by a car he didn’t hear coming up behind him. Could I develop a character around that man? Might my character be a runner? What kind of adventures might a man who runs ten kilometers daily encounter? These are just examples, but anything you see can spur questions and ideas for characters, settings, and plot.

I also love to go for nature walks. These might not give me visible cues for my imagination as much as walking down a busy street in the downtown core. Still, it’s soothing to my mind and soul, and sometimes, being able to rid oneself of stress can free the mind and muse to come up with creative ideas it otherwise wouldn’t have.

One place I go when seeking inspiration for a story idea is… the public library. Yup. I “steal” ideas from other books I see at the library. Remember what I said earlier about “nothing new under the sun?” General plotlines and themes are repeated. What makes your story different rests in the details you create for the elements of your story based on those broad themes and plotlines.

Let’s look at an example. We will “steal” from the greatest author of all time—the Holy Spirit of God and His masterpiece, The Bible—the story of Cain and Abel. You find themes of good versus evil, resentment, rebellion, death, sibling rivalry, redemption, destruction, etc. The basic storyline? One sibling finds favor from an authority figure when the other doesn’t. Resentment brews in the heart of the unfavored sibling. They lash out of fury generated by resentment and jealousy and kill or otherwise badly injure their favored sibling. Repercussions follow. Will the murderous sibling find redemption or continue down the road of destruction? From this set of themes and a basic storyline taken from the Bible, you have a good start for brainstorming your personal touches to create a unique story.

I’m currently brainstorming ideas for a romantic suspense story based on the story of the future King David and the woman Abigail found in 1 Samuel 25. Does this make me a plagiarist and thief? Well, I guess you must decide that for yourself. Still, I can assure you that the themes and basic plotlines from this Biblical account have been repeated over and over throughout history in the written word because they are so applicable to so many people and situations. My gleaning inspiration from the story and adding my twists is simply me following in the footsteps of great writers who came before me. How many ways has the story of David versus Goliath been retold repeatedly?

Another source of inspiration comes from the daily newspaper or news feed. Current events, public issues (especially ethical ones), trending topics and people—these all can inspire thematic, plot, and character ideas. One thing I gleaned from both real life and the news was the issue of the problem of domestic abuse in our society. That issue, and news articles about it, have inspired several story ideas for me. My novel I’ve been publishing on my blog, Filling the Cracks, is based on personal experiences and news reports about child abuse cases before the courts that I’ve seen in news feed and on television. Don’t be afraid to take current events and use them as inspiration in your writing. It helps you create topical material that is relevant to people who will end up being your readers.

I find art galleries a source of inspiration as well. When I look at a painting, I try to imagine what was happening in the environment when that painter put brush to canvas and created that image. Was it from their imagination or something they saw and recreated? What was going on in the background? Who were the people portrayed, and what did their lives involve? What did they do earlier that day? Later? What message (theme) was the artist trying to convey to the public through their art? I then use my brainstorming process to develop fresh ideas from my mind and experiences.

Travel is also a source of great inspiration for me. Seeing new places, cultures, and people triggers my imagination in ways nothing else does. I devised a unique story idea from traveling to and living in Dubai, UAE, for six years. The beauty of the lower mainland of British Columbia inspired the setting of another story I’ve been working on since my trip there this last summer.

Be Open to New Experiences for Inspiration

The main thing to take from this is that inspiration can come from various places, ranging from a simple Google search to traveling faraway lands and experiencing new cultures. The key is to be open-minded and allow your brain to freely associate with what it encounters, be it words on a page, photos in a magazine, a beautiful painting or sculpture, a colorful sunset, or a unique person you spot in a crowd.

I hope that this article has been helpful to you. Please let me know in the comments and share it with others if it has. If you have any questions or comments, please share them in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you.

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Pauline J. Grabia