Welcome back to Motivational Monday! How’s it going? Writing every day?
Probably the most asked question a writer gets is, “Where do you get your ideas?” (My husband says I should tell people that I have a squirrel who whispers them to me…LOL!)
Since I’ve just finished the edit on my newest book, it’s time for me to get some ideas for future books. For me, this is the most fun part of writing.
I get ideas from listening to friends tell stories. My knit group is a wealth of funny stuff–most of which I can’t use and still be rated less that XXX. You’d be surprised at the stuff that comes out of the mouths of “old ladies!”
I get ideas from looking around me, at people, places, things that are happening, stuff in the news–the list is endless. You just have to be open and pay attention.
Write down EVERYTHING! You should always carry a notebook with you. Some of the things you see or hear when you’re at a mall, at Walmart, etc., can be gems, but you’ll forget them if you don’t write them down immediately.
The other thing I do is ask, “What if . . . ?” I’ve come to know my characters pretty well in the Two Old Biddies Series, so I know what kinds of trouble they can get into. I’ll say, “What if, when Alice starts her new Grey Squirrel Mining Company, someone tries to keep her quiet about finding a vein of gold?” or “What if Miss Vicki gets a customer who gossips and lets something slip that she shouldn’t have?” or “What if Megan and Ron’s dogs dig up a human bone in their yard?”
Just let your mind go nuts! Imagine, as if you were a kid again, making up tall tales. Come on. I’ll bet you told some whoppers in your time. Transfer that inner child’s mind into your adult mind, and see what you come up with.
Happy Reading and Writing to you all,
Jill-Ayn
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