Where Ideas Come From

Recently a friend asked, "Where do you come up with that, er, stuff?" I laughed and made a short answer long. It's long because there's no clear answer. Here's what I told him.

Stephen King said (about talking with other authors), "We don't ask each other where ideas come from. We know what we don't know." I didn't understand it until a couple of years ago, but he's dead right.

He and I also agree that they start with the words "what if...?" In some sense, it's really just that simple. What if a car came to life? What if there was a super deadly virus? What if a guy ran a really long prison breakout plan?

Once you're able to accept that it can be that simple, ideas come from anywhere and everywhere. The hardest part is not judging yourself right away. Sure, you have to make choices at some point, but at first, you must be open to any and everything.

My writing journey began in late 2016. I had some ideas running in my head that wouldn't stop running. They were things like, What if hospitals didn't have to treat sick people? What if the opioid epidemic continues to get worse? What if the divisions in America keep getting wider? Eventually, I let them out of my head and wrote my first books, the American Revolution 2056 trilogy. 

One of the countless things I learned from those books was to accept King's theory that ideas start with "what if?" And boy, once you accept that, there is no limit to the ideas.

So what did I do with that new knowledge? I set out on my next writing adventure, of course. The series I'm working on is about a couple that wants to spend their time relaxing and sailing around the Caribbean, enjoying the sun and the beach. But what if they ran into an adventure? 

Then in the midst of a long winter, I decided that that idea could be more. A lot more! My couple, Gus and Greta, are going to sail around the world. And run into more adventures. In theory, should I stay motivated and live that long, it's a 17-book series. So where would I find that many good ideas for plots?

I've said it before, I'm a history nerd. Love it! So with some imagination and the internet, I started looking at unsolved mysteries from different countries they could sail to. Or miscellaneous stories of crime or adventure. Then the internet (God bless it) used its magic to start showing me random facts about unsolved crimes around the world. In the end, I had to pare down my list of big ideas.

That's for big ideas- plots and the like. Specifics about scenes and characters work differently for me.

Then one day I was on break from writing and saw a super newbie writer ask, "How do I get ideas?" I thought about it a bit and then answered him. Most ideas can be generated by the simplest method of all- get out of the house and live life! Not much exciting happens in my living room, so I know that I have to go out and do stuff. Once you're open to the idea, characters and ideas are everywhere. The hippie dancing down the street to the music in his head? Great character! A little free library? What a great place to find a clue A friend's kid says something cute? Perfect. Work? OMG, more ideas than you can ever imagine.

The ideas are all around us. We just have to open our eyes, ears, and minds to appreciate them.

Of course, Stephen King also said that his ideas come from Ithaca. Ithaca? As in, New York. And people say he can't do comedy.