The Write Way | ✔︎

02 | IDEAS

     Ahh, ideas. Where you get it, or where anyone gets it for that matter, might be the most asked question in all of the arts and the humanities. What I'm here to tell you is this: nobody really knows. We can only guess at the source of our ideas—for example, someone writing a tale about forbidden lovers from feuding families might credit Shakespeare, but Shakespeare has the story for Pyramus and Thisbe by to thank, and Ovid has perhaps life to thank.

     In Riley Redgate's novel, "Final Draft" (which I will recommend to anyone who'll listen), she writes: "Sometimes she was sure the human race had only a handful of sentiments to express and had spent three thousand years shuffling words around to express those feelings in ways that could masquerade as new."

     But more important than that are the lines that follow it: "...why did it have to be a shortcoming to write about death or love like people had a thousand years ago, or wonder about pain and comfort like they had a thousand years before that? Old feelings strung rope bridges througout history."

     And for all intents and purposes, I agree. By all means, write a story about forbidden lovers; it may be overdone at this point but that hasn't stopped people from falling in love with other people they shouldn't, right? Just don't forget to "shuffle words around," as Redgate had put it, and put your own spin on the story, allowing yourself to be connected to the tale's ancient history but still be new and yourself at the same time.

     I personally get my inspiration from the media I consume—movies, books, music—and real life. This could mean stories my friends tell me about their lives (with permission, of course), or an overheard conversation on the way to school.

     Life is brimming with ideas if you know where to look, so just keep an eye out in case one decides to barrel straight through you like a bull in a bullfight. Don't try to force yourself to come up with anything if you can't; if you're feeling blocked, go for a walk. Write in your journal. Try to keep some distance from your work in order to refresh and rejuvinate your creativity, and allow new ideas to get through to you. Sometimes, when we're so adamant about something, we fail to see the other things trying to capture our attention. Ideas are just like that.

     Another alternative to that is something my professor in Introduction to Fiction Writing taught us. Take a story that you like—hell, take two, then mash them up together. Remix your favorite stories. Write Beauty and the Beast as an Instagram model and a furry who meet at a convention and fall in love. Go crazy! No one has to read it. What matters is that you're writing, having fun, and engaging with your craft. It might seem inconsequential right now, but every word, every story you write—finished or unfinished—helps shape who you are as a writer.

     The world is full of ideas, so have at it, friend. Have fun.