5 Ways to Generate Ideas
The one thing my students regularly ask me about is how to generate ideas for their projects. If you’ve experienced this worry, then don’t stress. The first thing I recommend is that you get to use to generate ideas before considering how to spot a good idea and develop it into a story.
The more ideas you generate the more “good” ideas will come and you will spot them from the rest (even if it’s spotting the best of a bad bunch). So this post is simply about quantity over quality, and I’ll address dealing with self-criticism and what to look for and how to develop ideas in future posts.
I regularly use these five ways to generate ideas and they’ve worked for me, and I’m sure they’ll work for you to.
Interview friends and family
Sit down with someone you know or want to know better and interview them. If the subject is agreeable to this but uncomfortable, it’s a good idea to send them the list of questions beforehand.
This is a great way to identify possible topics because:
You have a connection to that person and later on it’s easier to imagine them as a character in the situation or in an experience.
They will come up with amazing lines of dialogue and expressions you would never have created.
You may find out about a different point of view of an event or an experience you also witnessed.
You get an insight into character traits. It might not be what they say, but what someone leaves out or how they express themselves.
What’s vital here, is that you record it (with their permission). Take down a few notes if necessary but I would keep eye contact and be involved in what they say as being more important. But recording the interview and listening it back, you’ll find a ton of useful ideas and expressions in what they say.
Write Lists
When coming up with ideas, character names, places to situate your story, always come up with more than option. Writing lists helps to move past obvious answers and helps to get ideas flowing by just writing down as many answers to questions.
To get you going, answer the following. Write at least ten answers to:
Things you love
Things you hate
Things you’re good at
Things you’re knowledgeable about
Important decisions you’ve made
Your answers may seem like a pointless lists but they are ideas. They’re not stories yet but everything you write has the potential to start a story. Your brain may provide you with ideas and memories connected to your answers, make you write them down too.
Watch Films
My students often tell me they get an idea watching a film and it’s the same for me too. It’s usually because something they are working on in the back of their brains finds a connection to what they’re watching. Maybe it’s the style of film, a scene, a character or a plot point that makes you think of an idea.
Generally, there is no one way to write a story so watching films also expands your expertise on the various ways stories can be told. This same piece advice works for watching television, web episodes, and listening to the radio. An idea may not be suitable for a film but it could be suitable as a potential novel or for television.
Write Down Everything
Whenever an idea strikes, write it down or as soon as you are able to. You may overhear a stranger talk on a train or it might be something you experience. Write it all down.
Why? Because you will forget and your brain will get use to you recording down interesting snippets in your day. This in turn will help you to spot a potential idea in your day to day life. Personally, I use Notes on my phone which is helpful as (sadly) I always have my phone on me and it synchs with my computer.
Do Nothing
I do think it’s a good idea when writing to get into a schedule, but what works is not thinking about potential ideas. I tend to get some ideas late at night as I drift off to sleep (and then can’t sleep because of the adrenalin of my amazing idea) or when I’m in the shower.
Your brain still works on things even when you’re not (in your eyes) writing. Going for a walk, doing chores, meeting up with friends, etc. will make you relaxed and then something you see or hear tends to make a connection. As long as you do the step above and write everything down, you will still come up with ideas. Relax.
And Lastly
An idea is a snippet of something, a starting point, an instinct. You may have other ideas connected to it but it’s fine if you don’t. You’re in search for ideas, and they don’t tend to come fully formed as stories.
Good luck and let me know how you get on.
