BEING A WRITER: Illuminating Those Ideas

Not every idea becomes a full-blown story.  I wish they did.  I'm not giving up on the ones that haven't.  I keep hoping that one day that idea will take shape and glow brighter and brighter.

I suspect every writer has her/his own way of making something of those original ideas.  That means that there's never a right or wrong way, just what works best for each.  That's great news!  Well, at least as long as the idea grows.

Let's make life (and creativity!) interesting and work on a list of ways to grow ideas.  I'll start with some of my own--yes, I have more than one--and go from there.

• Go to bed thinking of my idea...which sometimes leads to never getting to sleep.  Obviously not the best of the lot.
• Do mundane chores...cooking works well...to get thoughts away from the idea with the hope that some epiphany will occur.
• Interview characters.  This works if one or more character is involved in the original idea.  Characters have been born, just for this purpose.
• Take a shower or bath.  There's something about all that water...
• Meditation.  This is because while meditating, one should empty her/his mind.  This could also be labeled as reverse psychology and sometimes (rarely) works on small children.
• Cry
• Scream
• Sleep all day
• Decide it was a dumb idea, after all.

I'll be honest.  The thing that works best for me is to let the idea simmer in the back of my mind, while my subconcious works on it.  If that fails--and it has, many times--I call Kristi and Kathie, my brainstorming buddies and ask for help.  Plead for help.  Cry for help.  They've never failed me yet.

More on brainstorming next week.