WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS?

The question I'm asked most

A new friend asked me this question on Sunday. I was not surprised. When people hear that I’m a writer, they often ask this. Unless of course, they say, ‘I’ve got a great idea you can use.’ In this situation, I want to suggest they use it themself but always listen patiently. You never know, they may be right and will give me a good idea.

But most people are more interested in where I get my ideas from. I’m often wrong footed by the question for the sources of inspiration are often fuzzy, delicate, multi-layered and hard to locate. So where did other writers get their ideas?

Inspiration is key. Stephen King describes stopping work when a writing issue gets too thorny, going to bed and ‘leaving it to the boys in the basement’ to come up with a solution. It’s a fantastic term and when I’m actually writing and stuck on a problem I also lock up my boys in a hot, dark basement and find them hammering to be let out next day with the idea solved.

But getting ideas for a story needs a different type of inspiration.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island started as a story to entertain his step-son. He probably sketched the map and also used his friend as inspiration for Long John Silver.

Many children’s stories started with the authors telling them to their kids, perhaps to get them off to sleep. J.R.R. Tolkien says that he was marking some exam papers when he scribbled on the back, ‘In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.’ And lo, Bilbo Baggins was born and The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings launched.

Leaving things to the unconscious is often key to harvesting story ideas. My ideas rarely come from conscious thought, more often from idly musing, hearing a snippet of conversation, reading or noticing something which catches my eye.

The ancient Greeks attributed such inspiration as being sent by a muse and we still use the term today. In more strait-laced times a male author’s muse was often years younger than him, attractive, sexy and endlessly fascinated in him and his work. How very convenient.

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word muse, to reflect, contemplate or be absorbed in thought, derives from the Old French word muser which meant to ponder, dream, wonder, loiter, waste time. I agree with ponder, dream and loiter but most definitely don’t think it’s a waste of time. It’s thought it may have come from the Gallo-Roman word for snout, with the idea of sniffing the wind for a scent.

The modern sense is definitely intertwined with the Greek muse. Other words which are linked to it include amuse, museum, music, mosaic and bemuse. All are relevant to the act of inspiration.

But to use inspiration to come up with ideas, it’s best to jettison the basement, locks and keys, in fact better by far to do the opposite. For ideas and inspiration, I don’t lock up my boys, I send them out to ride on bikes, to walk in woods or streets or lounge in cafes and watch the world go by. And, of course, I’m one of the boys, in fact the leader of the gang.

It’s not about consciously creating but about being open to all and everything. My mind is musing, but not conscious that it’s even doing so. And then wham an idea hits me.

So where did I get the ideas from by books? To be honest, I can’t always remember. But here’s some that I can.

The Lost King Saga: I happened on an article about Edgar Atheling who was proclaimed King of England after the battle of Hastings. He was only a youngster, no match for William of Normandy, but he outlived his adversary although his story was erased by the Normans. I began to wonder what sort of person he was.

Outcasts: My wife and I had watched the film The Kingdom of Heaven and I couldn’t believe the scene where Balian knighted all the commoners of Jerusalem to help defend it from Saladin’s army. Pure Hollywood make-believe I thought and went home to check that it was nonsense. But it was true. After eating humble pie, I decided to write about what happened to the men who had been advanced to such a position in a world which believed they were unworthy of it.

The Saxon and Vikings Sagas: There are two inspirations for this. The Saxon Saga was from being fascinated by King Alfred after reading a Ladybird book about him. The Viking one because I wondered what it would like to be his opponents.

A Love Most Dangerous: I’d just finished writing Blood of Ironside and didn’t want to write anything as long for a while so I started tapping on the keyboard and I wrote the opening chapter about a woman who became the mistress of Henry VIII. This was the most inexplicable of all my ideas and must have come from the muse.

A Dance of Pride and Peril: I’ve loved Crete since my first visit in 1990. One day, here in Menton, I was musing on the bull-leapers of ancient times and happened to see a knot on a tree which looked like a charging bull.

Hinterland: This is not yet published but as I mentioned in my post There are More Things, it was a combination of astrophysics and ancient myths. And why on earth not?

ANOTHER APPROACH.

If you don’t want to wait for inspiration to strike or are stuck for an idea but itching to get writing, here’s a strategy worth a try.

First, look around and note seven things which strike you. I’ve just done this and came up with these: a smart phone, a bag decorated with butterflies, a boater hat, a mountain, a pot of flowers, several notebooks, a clock.

Next, make a list of the elements of a story: for example, Setting, Protagonist, Antagonist, Conflict, Initial Incident, Climax, Ending.

Finally, take each item you noted down and assign it to one of the elements of the story. See what comes up. It may be directly linked to the object or something more tangential.

Here’s my attempt at 6.20 this morning.

Setting (Smart phone) The changing world of technology.

Protagonist, (A bag decorated with butterflies) A thoughtful gift from a thoughtful friend.

Antagonist (A boater hat) Someone cheery and devil-may-care.

Conflict (A mountain) A barren place which challenges yet gives rewards.

Initial Incident (A pot of flowers) A natural object which is caged for display.

Climax (Several notebooks) Dreams, plots, plans.

Ending (A clock) Time running out.

Here are my initial thoughts on a story using this framework.

Setting: Present day, the world is being changed by the advent of Artificial Intelligence.

Protagonist: A clever, caring person creates something which will minimise the dangers from AI.

Antagonist: A wealthy, risk-taking entrepreneur seeks to destroy this creation to maximise AI for their own profit.

Conflict: The antagonist thinks that society should go through pain to reach the ultimate paradise. The protagonist thinks the paradise is a delusion.

Initial incident: The antagonist creates a hologram of Helen of Troy and puts it on display. Some people think this is cruel, others it is a miracle. The hologram has ideas of her own and incites a terrible war.

Climax: The world is on the brink of destruction and the two camps seek to justify why they have brought it to this.

Ending: The opposing camps have 24 hours to decide whether to end the war or fight to a bitter conclusion. We finish on a cliff-hanger.

It may not be the best idea but I’ve not had breakfast yet and it’s workable. Try it for yourself, it’s fun.