Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Finding Ideas

I love the idea..Image by apesara via FlickrWell, yes, I know the internet is just full of things to help you find ideas, but sometimes those things are just not what you are looking for. Having finished my novella -- yay! -- I'm going to attempt another along with working on a longer novel in the hopes that they will rise up and say "Send us more of these works of unparalleled beauty!" It could happen!

Anyway, I'm looking for a new novella idea: romance, medieval, short. I think I have an idea about a celtic god and a mortal . . . princess? That just came to me.

Still, it is hard to find ideas when there are so many and then to shape them into something that will work. Of course, when you discard what could likely be a great idea just because you are worried that the idea sucks -- that causes a lot more problems.

I guess it is all part of the process. Anyone out there have there own idea finding rituals to share? I always seem to try something new with every piece I write.
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8 comments:

  1. Something celtic sounds great. There are so many obscure celtic creatures and deities that haven't really entered the public imagination as much as some others. Picking up a book or doing a search on them could be inspiring. What are my idea finding rituals? Mmm. I light candles and sit in a darkened room and chant 'ideas, come to me. Come. Come'. Heehee, no I don't. I find listening to music, watching a movie or reading a book can help get the creative juices flowing and set me thinking on the right path. I also keep a file of any dreams, ideas, weird thoughts or conversations and things like that which have taken my fancy. When I really can't think of anything I refer back to my notes to see if anything stands out and if it can be used. I have also found that if I'm not feeling very confident and hate all my ideas, if I start writing something as if I were someone else (for example, writing a story as if I was a person from history or fiction) it can free up my mind to let the ideas flow. What I write pretending to be that person may not be usable, but it may help me come up with something that I can use.

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  3. I've never learned much about celtic history/myths so that's intriguing to me.
    Idea finding rituals... i dunno. varies a bit. sometimes I will listen To a song And the emotion In it will inspire a character, who in turn, inspires a story, or just an emotion inspiring a story.
    good Luck!

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  4. The hardest part for me for me is not finding the initial idea, but figuring out where to go from there -- finding ideas for a middle draft, not a blank page.

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  5. Gratz on finishing the novella and all the best with the new attempts, hope you've made progress.

    Dont have any particular methods of my own for ideation so to speak.. but mostly I just unwind with friends over a weekend, maybe a few drinks and then when on my lonesome the days after, just let my mind wander as free as humanly possible without being so phased out I freefall off my balcony and let my mind catch what it will.

    yeah, im from the school of 'let it come to you, dont force it' and believe that you can write by sitting down, but you need to give your mind space to wander and postulate whenever you can.

    Cheers.

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    C. Beth (The One-Minute Writer)

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