Where do you get your ideas from?

Ever since I started taking writing serious people who know me invariable asked that age old question: Where do you get your ideas from?

And every time they ask, for the briefest of moments I consider giving them the Harlan Ellison answer.

Or the Iain Banks answer.

That there’s an idea service/little old lady who if you send them £20 each week they give you a six pack of story ideas every Monday morning without fail.

Want that address?

But seriously I get my ideas from everywhere. I can walk into a book store or a comic store and merely look at the covers of books and get ideas for stories. But mostly I get ideas for stories from three places:

The news.

Bad movies.

Life.

Because nothing inspires you more than life. And if life does inspire you to create anything then mate, noone can help you.


Also, READ everything you can lay your hands on. I expose myself to as much written work as possible. Be open minded. Inform yourself. Be proactive active in your learning.


Wake up and pay attention


Pay attention


Pay attention


Pay attention


Next post, I’ll talk about the genesis of my desire to be creative and what fired my imagination and how I owe a knight of the British Empire, a journalist from Tacoma and designer from Toyama a huge debt of gratitude.

Also I'll start to catalogue the battle I know I'm going to have with my lecturers when I hand in my proposal for this novel.


TTFN