The Mind of a Writer, or, Where Do You Get Your Ideas

Probably one of the questions writers hear most often from nonwriters.

Where do you get your ideas?

The answer is that for writers ideas are like air. They’re everywhere. All around us, in everything we see, hear, read and watch, there hides an idea or the kernel of a story just waiting for some unsuspecting writer to happen its way.
And this isn’t a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s like having an entertainment center/library in your head. It’s even better than an Ipod because, unlike the Ipod which you load with your choice of music and/or video, the contents of the internal entertainment center is often a surprise.

But back to the question at hand. Where do those ideas come from?

For me they come from any number of sources—newspaper articles, TV programs, snippets of conversations I hear as people pass me on the street. That androgenous cutie in front of me at Starbucks who orders his drink in that very specific, I-can’t-drink-it-any-other-way tone of voice—you know the type. I’m constantly flooded with ideas. And some of them are even good. G

For example, the other night I was watching a show on the Discovery Channel about lobster fishing and one of the younger, newer fisherman kept mouthing off to his older, more experienced crew mates, generally acting like an ass and causing trouble. Well, this guy’s behavior got me thinking …

What if there was this guy crewing on a commercial fishing boat who accidentally fell overboard and was lost at see? Only his lover, who might be a policeman or some kind of investigator, doesn’t, for whatever reason, believe his death was an accident. And what if the lover signs on to crew on that same boat in order to investigate the death? Since this is a romance our hero meets and eventually falls for the tall, blond and hunky captain of the fishing boat but, again for some undetermined reason, has to hide his real purpose in being on the boat. Maybe during his investigation he uncovers some kind of criminal activity and he thinks Captain Hottie is involved. Maybe he uncovers simple but potentially deadly homophobia. Maybe maybe maybe …

And that’s where the fun really starts, at least for me. So many choices. So many possible directions I could take this story. And it’s entirely up to me where, and even if, the story will go forward.

In short, though I suspect I’m getting a little long-winded here, it’s not the ideas that make the writer but the subsequent choices and a dose of good healthy sweat that brings the germ of an idea through its evolution and turns it into a story.

I’d like to thank L.M. Prieto for the chance to guest blog for her. I hope that deadline isn’t kicking your butt too hard.

Written by Kimberly Gardner

As early as the seventh grade, Kimberly remembers slashing her favorite rockstars and reading romance. So it’s not surprising that her two passions, romance and putting pretty boys with other pretty boys, should come together in her writing. Moliere said, “Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, then for a few close friends, then for money.” Kimberly is delighted to finally be doing it for money.
Visit The Author's Website