The One Question I'm Asked More Than Any Other...

 

If I am at a social event or visiting with a group of new people or even introduced to someone by a friend, as soon as they discover I am a writer, the first question most will ask is, 'Where do you get your ideas from?'

This seems to be the core fascination as far as writers are concerned for both readers and non-readers!

So, today I am going to answer that question from my point of view - of course, it could be different for every single writer.

The majority of my ideas come from setting - I will visit an historical house, a royal palace or a stately manor and it is pretty much guaranteed that I will come away from that visit with at least five plot ideas and ten characters fighting to the top of my imagination.

However, there are plenty more places where writers and aspiring writers can look for story ideas, here are a few to get you started...

1) TV programmes/Films - not to copy them in any way, but rather allow them to be your inspiration. What would you have done differently? Was there a character that you loved or hated? How would you have written them differently? 

2) Newspaper articles/stories - this is a great source for ideas. Scour local and national papers for intriguing or romantic stories. Where could you go with them? Would they work in an historical setting even if the story you are reading happened yesterday?

3) Your life experiences - what has happened to you? Think of your childhood, adolescence or adulthood. Remember the emotions you felt when certain things happened to you. Dig deep and draw on those feelings of sadness, happiness, joy and disappointment. Emotion is a power tool in novel writing!

4) Famous people - celebrities or figures from the past are a huge inspiration for me...almost as much as historical buildings. I love imagining who they are behind their public persona and then that person becomes my lead character OR I take who they are in public and have them hiding who they really are. Does that makes sense?

Story ideas are everywhere! If you want to write, you will find an idea and then persevere, be open to change and rewrites. Writing a book is hard - I won't lie to you about that but neither will I lie about the fact that ANYONE can do if they have the tenacity.

Which I know all you aspiring writers out there have plenty!

If you need help with your first chapter or may your book idea, why not get in touch?? I have helped so many writers via my First Chapter Critique service and I would love to add you to that list of successes!

Here's the link to my dedicated webpage: https://bit.ly/3trN2Qy