Tag Archive for: ideas

People Watching Opportunities

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by Sparkle Abbey

As writers we love watching people. Sitting back and looking for something that might spark an idea for a character or storyline. The clothes someone is wearing, a subtle hand gesture or facial expression, a speech pattern, any and all of that can inspire our characters. And conversations, too. Not that we’d ever eavesdrop…

At their core, people are fascinating. And when they get together, whether it’s a political caucus, a run on supplies at the hardware store, or a packed sports arena, those places they gather become prime people-watching territory. Here the political candidates, their staff, and the news media have all moved on. But now we’ve got a swim event with top-ranked Olympic swimmers in town and high-school basketball tournaments are in full swing. Hotels are packed, parking is at a premium, and we find ourselves with even more opportunities to observe and make notes.

There were the patient ones who waited in long lines, chatting quietly or on their cell phones. The elderly woman who grabbed the last hand sanitizer off the shelf looked like she’d just won the lottery. The guy who attempted to pay to get out of the parking garage with a credit card but was in the cash-only line was not feeling so lucky.

Over the past few weeks, we have definitely refilled our pool of creative ideas. And it isn’t even time for the Downtown Farmer’s Market or the Iowa State Fair, which takes people watching to a whole other level. We can’t wait!

What about you? Where do you people watch?

Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee
Ashford and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets
cozy mystery series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get
together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don’t tell the other neighbors.) 
They
love to hear from readers and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest,
their favorite social media sites. Also, if you want to make sure you get
updates, sign up for their newsletter via the SparkleAbbey.com website.

Fresh Out of Ideas?

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Where do your
ideas come from?
Hands down, the
question I’m asked most often.
I have a vision
of an old School House Rock song. I can’t remember which one…Get your Adverbs
Here, maybe. There are shelves stocked with words. Wouldn’t it be lovely if
ideas worked the same way?


“I’d like a
murder, a motive, and some secondary characters, please. A sale on sub-plots? I’ll
take two.”
The reality is
that ideas sometime take their time arriving. They’re there sitting on a shelf
deep in my brain but the salesman with his spiffy vest and tie is missing. I
have to paw through the merchandise myself if I can even find the shelves.
Walking helps.
That repetitive motion allows me to access different parts of my brain.
If I really need
an idea, all I need to is take a shower with no paper or pen anywhere nearby.
Is the brilliant idea that just popped into the front of my brain worth dashing
naked through the house? Yes? No? If I don’t jot it down, it’s gone forever.
And then there’s
that magical place between sleep and waking where ideas percolate like an
old-fashioned coffee maker.
My ideas come
from reading a fabulous book and thinking I’d have answered what if? differently.
My ideas come
from the news, favorite television shows, and beloved movies.

And finally, my
ideas come from the people around me (because who hasn’t thought, “I could kill
her”).



Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions. 

Her latest book in The Country Club Murders, Send in the Clowns, is available for pre-order.

I’ve Got an Idea!

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by Linda Rodriguez

Right now, I’m in the middle of a book. Actually, I’m
usually in the middle of writing a book or about to finish a book or about to
begin a book. It’s the cycle of life for writers, especially novelists. The
middle of the book, though, is the hardest because it’s where it all begins to
break down or bog down or seems to. I know of very few writers who haven’t
faced despair, or at least mild depression, somewhere in the middle of the
book.

That brilliant idea that sent me excitedly to the keyboard
to start this journey of words seems further away from actuality than ever.
It’s very hard work to try to get it on paper and make the reality the reader
will find on the page match up to the beauty of the idea in my head—and of
course, none of us ever quite manage it. That’s part of the reason why we keep
trying.

Right now, though, I’m struggling as I try not to drown or
suffocate in all the thousands of words I’ve typed and continue to type, which
seem more and more shabby and mundane—and very far from that shining thing in
my head that I’m trying to make real on the page. I’m tired and overwhelmed.
And I just want someone to come take this magnificent idea and make the book
for me. Isn’t it enough coming up with such a grand concept?

For a moment, I revert to the childlike person who
approaches writers so often to say, “I’ve got a great idea! You can take it and
write it up into a book, and we’ll split the profits.” We writers shudder when
such people come around, not wanting to insult them with the truth—“You want me
to do all the work and share my money with you?”—or—“Buddy, getting the idea’s
the easy, fun part.” But at this stage of the book, I have brief stressed
moments of the same kind of magical thinking.

I turn to some of my favorite writers at times like this.

“It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we
develop our own style.” – P.D. James

“A work in progress quickly becomes feral. It reverts to a
wild state overnight… it is a lion growing in strength. You must visit it
every day and reassert your mastery over it.” – Annie Dillard

“One word after another. That’s the only way that novels get
written and, short of elves coming in the night and turning your jumbled notes
into Chapter Nine, it’s the only way to do it.” – Neil Gaiman

I go back to the mess of a manuscript because that shining,
brilliant edifice in my head will never become real to anyone else if I don’t
slog through the swamp of the middle and get it down on paper. And I hope that
some little sliver of its real gorgeous beauty somehow ends up sparkling on the
pages of the finished book. Never enough of it, of course, because that’s the
impossible dream that all we writers chase, but some small gleaming piece.

If any of you are facing the
same situation, please realize that it’s pretty universal among those of us who
try to write novels. We know we can’t recreate that perfection on the page, but
we have to give it our best shot. Because even our imperfectly realized vision
is still something only we can give the world. To quote Neil Gaiman again, “Do what
only you can do best.”


REPLY TO COMMENTS (because Blogger hates me):

Thanks, Cathy! We’ve finished books before, so we know we can finish these. Don’t we? 😉

Dear Brain…

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by Bethany Maines


Dear Brain,


While I appreciate
your many efforts and strong creative solutions, I would very much appreciate
it if you could focus on the problems at hand. Thanks so much.

Sincerely,
Self
I have a writing calendar that tells me what I’m supposed to
be working on. Outlining, editing, actually writing, it’s all scheduled out. Since
the release of High-Caliber Concealer,
third book in the Carrie Mae Mystery series is right around the corner
(November 17!), that means I should be busy working on draft one of book 4 – Glossed Cause. That also means that last
month I should have finished an outline of said fourth book. Do you know what I
have not completed? Yes, that’s right – the outline. I had completed  about 75% it and stopped because… Well, I don’t
hate it, but I don’t love it either. And then last week I realized what was
wrong with it. Not that I know how to fix it, but at least I know why I’m not
excited about it. So I’ve been twiddling my thumbs, enjoying the summer, pretending
that I have all the time in the world, and hoping that inspiration would hit.
Then, last night it did hit. I woke up with a fantastic idea.
For a different book.
I came up with a great idea for the sequel to my recent
release – An Unseen Current. I even
have a great name for it, which practically never happens. It’s really, really
exciting and not at all what I need. But if I’ve learned anything about
creativity it’s that if you fight it sometimes it stops all together. What do
you think? Should I work on this new idea for a bit and see if inspiration
strikes for Glossed Cause or should I
set the new idea aside and focus, focus, focus?

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of
Destiny and An Unseen Current.
 You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Where Do Story Ideas Come From – Part Two by Debra H. Goldstein

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Where Do Story Ideas Come From – Part Two – by Debra H. Goldstein

The question most asked after whether I miss my former job is how do I get the ideas for my stories and books? For me, inspiration comes from research, dreams, observing human behavior, contest or submission prompts or out of the air.  In my previous Stiletto Gang blog, I traced the evolution of one of my favorite short stories, Who Dat? Dat the Indian Chief! from the research stage to its February 2014 publication in the Mardi Gras Murder short story anthology.

Contests and open submission calls often stipulate a phrase or thematic concept that must be used. The problem is that with everyone entering or submitting writing to the same prompt, many of the stories will incorporate the identical ideas.  Again, I strive to find an unusual twist or idea.  For Mardi Gras Murder, I knew most people would consider writing about Krewe activities and parades or New Orleans charm, but I kept researching until I found information about the secretive Mardi Gras Indians and their parades.  That research led to Who Dat? Dat the Indian Chief!

The open submission call for The Killer Wore Cranberry: a Fourth Meal of Mayhem required The Killer Wore Cranberry is a well-established series, I knew many writers would be competing for the few open slots.  My first decision was to find a food item fewer people would focus on.  I picked greens because I could find a way to work them into a murder; they reflected the South, where I wanted to set the story; and they felt funny to me.  Once I had the food item, I had to have people do something with it.

tying the story to Thanksgiving and using a food item.  Because the publisher wasn’t going to run all turkey stories and

I was stumped and then I remembered that Thanksgiving weekend often is used for weddings because families already are together.  Having officiated at Thanksgiving weddings and attended several (our extended family has a propensity to them), I concentrated on the guest behavior and interaction I had observed at these various functions. Taken out of context, each wedding had its own humor.  The more ideas coming from my brainstorming, I realized I would have to limit my remembered incidents to avoid overwhelming the story I was writing.  The result:  Thanksgiving in Moderation.

The key for me is to take the seed of an idea and find the odd twist.  For example, Grandma’s Garden was written for a short story contest that had a rain falling prompt.  Although I incorporated some rain, I ended up using an analogy between tears and rain and contrasting regular gardening with growing flowers in window boxes.  The story, Early Frost, features two characters attending a football game.  It is a short short story that fully addresses the rivalry of Alabama-Auburn football, but has a twist that brings in an unexpected concept.  Both stories grew out of experiences – rain at the beach, attending football games, but imagination took the tale far beyond the original idea.

Sometimes my impetus is a suggested name.  My next book, Should Have Played Poker, was prompted by wanting to incorporate the name of the first person to ever buy one of my future characters at a charity auction.  I was so tickled by her generosity and wisdom to buy my character that I wanted to put her name in a book rather than a short story.

Ideas come from all different avenues.  Most recently, a friend came up to me and said, “I have the perfect idea for your next story or book.”  Usually, when I hear these words, I run the other way, but this one was different.  He suggested, “Take the extra banana.”  No more than that, but it just might end up in a short story because it tickled my fancy.  That’s the magic of writing – becoming engaged in an idea.

For Future Reference

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By Laura Spinella
Lucy would say to Ethel, “I have an idea!” Ethel’s eyes would bug like moon pies, the idea propelling the two into adventures that had her wearing the back end of a bull or wrapping candy with hysteria induced lightning speed. Of course, there’s the classic Harpo Marx mirror scene, and if Lucy were to get that coveted Richard Widmark grapefruit, it was up to Ethel to help her scale the wall.  Well, we all know none of those brilliant harebrained ideas came from Lucille Ball’s henna rinsed head.  They came from a staff of writers whose job it was to create twenty-two minutes of riveting, if not riotous, television.
            Even in black and white, fifty plus years ago, it was still all about the idea.  I like the concept of a team effort when it comes to television writing. It’s a natural path for a forum that thrives on timing, dialogue and the occasional pratfall.  The medium lends itself to a group effort.  Book writers, on the whole, aren’t of that nature. Of course, there is the exception to the rule, successful trends where big name writers, like Patterson, take on a protégé or sometimes an offspring. But as group, we work alone. It makes the idea portion a precious commodity.  Visualize the stereotypical writer, go ahead.  I bet we all conjure up the same scene: A haphazardly dressed, unshaven writer (man or woman, I’ll leave the hormonal issue up to you) staring willfully at a typewriter.  I don’t care if you don’t even remember typewriters,  It’s like separating Easter from chocolate. The two just go together. Inserted in the typewriter is the proverbial blank page, above the writer’s head an empty bubble. It waits with hemorrhoid like pain for an idea to insert itself.  As I said, a stereotype.
            Personally, the idea of approaching any keyboard with nary an idea scares the hell out of me.  Assuming we’ve replaced the typewriter with a computer, I’d be on Facebook in .03 seconds.  Ideas don’t come as a whole. They don’t even arrive in tasty chunks. For the most part, ideas are snippets and threads that, if I’m clever, weave into fabric.  If the scraps of ideas are good enough, eventually the fabric reveals a pattern that tells a story.
            Along with the blank page comes the proverbial author question: Where do you get your ideas?  When asked this, I tend to squirm, babbling nonsense that amounts to a message in a bottle. In truth, the answer is both so vague and tedious I find it impossible to answer.  I view it as an unfortunate fact, until I ponder people like Patrick Bourne. He’s a character in my WIP, not the main character, but the one whose presence assures me that snippets are where real ideas start.  A few years ago, I was doing a newspaper piece on a beautiful vintage property. The homeowner was there, a svelte gentleman for whom the word dashing was invented. He spoke only about his house, showing me period photographs of the Georgian manor.  He was fascinating, his mannerisms matching his bone structure, distinct and inviting.  I spent no more than five minutes with him.  He had to leave for work—he was an attorney. At least that’s what the housekeeper told me, a woman who left me to peruse the property at my leisure. I admired ornate woodwork, Italian art worth more than I made in a year, Chinese Chippendale chairs and Persian rugs.  I traveled room to room, or continent to continent, unable to get my mind off the man. I know that sounds like instant infatuation, which is plausible, as he was worthy. But that wasn’t it. There was something about him that simply captured my imagination. It intensified in his bedroom, finding his closet clearly divided and completely filled with men’s clothing. There was one photograph in the room, the man I’d met and an equally fetching African American man. I probably looked at the picture longer than I should have; it was hardly the point of my business in his bedroom.
Not long after, I went back to the newspaper and wrote a lovely Sunday feature about the grand manor and its historic ties to the community. Today, I couldn’t tell you what town it was in.  I couldn’t retrace my steps if you told me there was buried treasure in the basement. A few sentences back, I mentioned that the man had captured my imagination. For most people, that’s a disposable phrase. For a writer, it’s future reference. I won’t tell you that Patrick Bourne is the man I met that day. I didn’t learn enough about him to possibly draw that conclusion. Our conversation was not personal; I don’t recall his name. Admittedly, I had privileged information, information that had time to stew and simmer in the back of my brain. All of this led to the snippets of thread that wove into fabric, creating Patrick Bourne.  Is Patrick gay? Yes. Is he an attorney?  Well, he is indeed. Are his mannerisms identical—they’re similar.  But more than anything, the blanks of his past, present and future were completely up to me, custom crafted to fit the man in my book. So while there is no team of writers, there are thousands of random yet cataloged snippets.  With any luck, a few will turn into perfectly wonderful ideas.        
BEAUTIFUL DISASTER is an RWA RITA Finalist for Best First Book, Wisconsin RWA Finalist for Best Mainstream Title and New Jersey RWA Winner, Best First Book, 2011. BEAUTIFUL DISASTER was voted a Favorite Book of 2011 at SheKnows.com. Visit Laura’s site at lauraspinella.net 
         

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

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by Susan McBride

One of the questions that writers are asked most frequently has to be, “Where do you get your ideas?” I remember hearing Denise Swanson once tell someone, “I order mine from J.C. Penney,” which I thought was pretty funny. Personally, I pluck mine from the Idea Tree which grows right beside the Money Tree in my backyard (oh, man, don’t I wish!).

Okay, seriously, I find ideas everywhere all the time. It’s almost impossible for me to go out anymore–or to take a shower or get on the treadmill–without the seed for a plot planting itself in my mind. When I first began writing seriously post-college, I’d cut stories from the newspaper that intrigued me, usually those concerning a missing person or a baffling homicide that got me thinking, “What if it had happened this way instead?”

That’s how I wrote AND THEN SHE WAS GONE, my very first published mystery. A little girl had gone missing from a public park in broad daylight in Plano, Texas, with loads of people around watching T-ball games; yet no one had seen a thing. That bothered me to no end until I had to sit down and write about it. The next Maggie Ryan book to follow, OVERKILL, had its plot loosely based on a school bus shooting in St. Louis. Something about being able to control what happened in my fictional tales had a soothing effect on me, like justice did win out (even if it doesn’t always in real-life).

Once I started writing the humorous Debutante Dropout Mysteries, I couldn’t exactly use such heart-wrenching real-life stories as my jumping-off point. I had to tone things down a lot (although there’s no on-the-page violence or much of anything graphic except emotion in either GONE or OVERKILL). BLUE BLOOD, the first in the series to feature society rebel Andy Kendricks, involved the murder of the loathsome owner of a restaurant called Jugs (think “Hooters” with a hillbilly theme). I’d gotten so sick of seeing ginormous Hooters billboards all over Dallas that it felt pretty good to exterminate Bud Hartman, a sexist and hardly beloved character. Next, in THE GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER, I offed a Texan version of Martha Stewart after watching one too many of Martha’s holiday specials and feeling like an inadequate dolt. I must admit, that felt very cathartic, too.

When I was asked to write THE DEBS young adult series, I had to change my mind-set. I mean, I wasn’t going to kill anyone in those books (except maybe with dirty looks and reputation-destroying words). Then I got to thinking about the teens and twentysomethings I know, and I realized that technology might have changed since my high school days but emotions had not. So the ideas for the plotlines in THE DEBS; LOVE, LIES, AND TEXAS DIPS; and the forthcoming GLOVES OFF stemmed from relationship issues. Who hasn’t experienced a friend’s betrayal, a broken heart, a mother’s ultimatum, or a dream dashed? The best part about writing those novels was getting to re-enact some of my high school drama via the characters in the book…and getting to have my debs say all the witty and acerbic things that I wish I’d said in similar circumstances. Ah, sometimes it’s really therapeutic playing God, at least on the page.

When the chance came to write THE COUGAR CLUB, I leapt at it. I’d been dying to write about women my age who happened to date younger men (I only dated one but I ended up marrying him). I’d gotten sick and tired of the way the media portrays “Cougars” as desperate old hags with fake boobs, tummy tucks, spray-on tans, platinum hair, and Botoxed features. My friends in their 40s and 50s who’ve dated and/or married younger guys are smart, successful, classy, and real. So I came up with the idea of three women who’d been friends in childhood but slowly drifted apart through the years because of jobs, marriage, children, and distance. When they’re all 45, they end up coming together again as they each hit huge potholes in their respective roads. What they help each other to realize is that true friendship never dies, the only way to live is real, and you’re never too old to follow your heart. These are the middle-aged (but hardly old) women I know. Heck, the kind of woman I am.

I’ve got a zillion ideas floating around my brain for the next books I need to write (namely, a young adult novel that isn’t a DEBS book and another stand-alone novel to follow THE COUGAR CLUB). The hardest part for me is getting the ideas down on paper for my agents and editors to see in a way that makes sense and conveys all the nuances I’m imagining. But enough about my Idea Tree. I’d love to hear from y’all. Do you order from J.C. Penney like Denise? Cut out pieces from the newspaper? Eavesdrop in restaurants? Inquiring minds want to know!