Finding Your Idea

You probably have had ideas for novels in the past, even if you never wrote a word. All novels start with ideas for a novel. But how do you think like a novelist who is ready to get these ideas? And where do these ideas even come from?

Thinking Like A Novelist: Turn Your Radar On

Becoming attuned to noticing and recording initial ideas for a novel is an essential skill as a novelist. Ideas strike at any time – in the car, in the bath, in the supermarket reaching for some potatoes - so it's crucial to keep your creative radar on and to capture them as they appear. Perhaps the biggest barrier to becoming a novelist is the self-belief that drives people to say, “Oh, I could never come up with an idea for a novel.” That is just not true. Human beings are innately storytellers. Ideas are everywhere. You can just have to learn to spot them. But you need to learn to turn your radar on, to notice and remember those ideas.

Ideas for a novel can come from all sorts of places:
- Personal experiences, life experiences, memories.
- Real historical events or things you read on the internet or in the news.
- Pay attention to the world around you, conversations you overhear, things you observe, scenes you encounter in real life.
- Dreams and daydreams: the subconscious mind is where your ideas will often appear, if you are attuned to noticing.
- Books, movies, TV shows, news, and social media can all spark the initial idea for your new story. (But don’t copy!)
- “What if?" – This question can transform a simple thing you notice into a compelling plot. “What if instead of X happening, Y happened instead?”
- “Why?" – Delve into the emotions and motivations behind people's actions, secrets, desires.
- “How?" – Consider how different stories could unfold and intersect, from the very simplest sketches of ideas or by putting characters in a particular situation.

Back to the supermarket, reaching for the potatoes. You remember or think about any of the above. You think up a situation, or a character. Catch it. Remember it. Do whatever you have to do but the idea down. Lock it into your head.

- Use apps like Evernote, OneNote, or the built-in notes app on your phone to quickly jot down thoughts or ideas.
- Voice Memos: If you're on the move and can't type, just blurt it out for later!
- Notebooks: Some writers prefer writing in a physical notebook. The advantage of this is you might quickly find yourself expanding the idea. Have a handbag or a briefcase? Then you can carry a notebook.
- Email: Sometimes, I just email myself ideas from my phone on the go. It’s actually a great way to remember ideas until you get home, because when you log into your email on your laptop, there is your idea thrown back to you again.

It is easy not to keep hold of them. Think of your ideas as cash money – something of real value. Think of your store of ideas as a bank account – check in now and again, to see how it’s doing, what its value is.

Make it a habit to review your captured ideas regularly. If you have a single idea you like, that maybe you want to develop more, try to hold it in your head and think about it day to day. When you get a second or third part to the idea (if it’s a character, what is their secret or what happens next to them, or if it’s an action, what is the outcome or what is the reversal ahead?), repeat these processes until a fuller story starts to emerge.

Basic Ideas To Grow Into A Novel

Remember, you can develop different aspects of the below simultaneously. The idea is to let something more complex and rounder to appear.

Story/Plot

This is the most obvious one: just come up with a story idea and begin to turn it into a plot. It can be the slightest hint of a story to begin with (a hobbit leaves his home to search for a magical ring that has tremendous power), nothing more than a sentence, but from there, whole novels unfold.

What is the difference between the plot and the story idea? The plot is the sequence of events that make up your story, including what we know now is a quest, with plot points, a climax and a resolution. The story idea is a brief description of what is actually about. But your story idea will grow into a fully realized plot, especially if you are using this book.

Think about the main quest or conflict and how it will unfold. Sketch out some major plot points, don’t worry about having all of them or even whether these ideas make it to the final book. Just start: starting is how you move on to finishing.

Character

Characters are the heart of your novel. Begin by imagining your protagonist. Who are they? What are their goals, fears, and motivations? What journey might you take them on? What challenges might they face, and what might they learn?

Developing a strong, relatable character (even if they are unlikable – think of The Talented Mr Ripley) will provide the foundation for your story. Think about people on the news, in TV shows, whom you know, or used to know. Who could be turned into a version of themselves in a novel? There are ideas for great characters everywhere.

Voice

Your voice as a novelist is how you express your ideas and tell your story on the page. It can be in first person, third or even (but be careful!) second. It could be witty and playful or dark and creepy. Experiment with narrating bits of story in different voices in your head until you find one that feels useful. Maybe it is the first-person voice of your amoral-assassin anti-hero, or maybe it’s the elegant, authorial third-person voice telling some grand story set over many generations. Practise trying out narrative voices in your head. If a particular voice comes to you naturally and instinctually, work on that, trust in it. Notice how novelists use a voice in their work. Depending on genre, think about why they did that and whether you want an approach which is standard for your market and something more distinctive.

And remember: most novels employ a fairly elegant, neutral kind of voice. If that’s right for you, that’s totally fine.

What-If

Sometimes a novel begins with a very basic what-if scenario. What if a group of schoolboys crashed on a desert island? (Lord Of The Flies) What if civilisation just ended one day? (The Road). You then use the above ideas to develop it further. In the first example, the boys form a primitive society. What happens then? Some boys began to use force and coercion to control that society. And then? Another group of boys try to hold on to the values of the society they left. What events would happen, what characters might emerge? In the second example, the father is trying to get the son to some place of safety. So the book is a literal quest, to get from danger to (possible) safety. What do the father and son encounter along the way? How are hopes raised and dashed? What kind of things, in the chaos, does the father have to do? What have other people done, as civilisation crumbles?

Keep thinking up questions, and answering them, as you build out your ideas.

Twist/Reveal

Especially for a thriller or crime novel, starting with a unique twist or reveal can be a brilliant way to start a novel. Some thriller novelists often start with just thinking up that brilliant unexpected turn that keeps readers on their toes.

Ideas are everywhere, but you need to be open and receptive to them. Here are some ways to collect ideas.

A World In Danger

Think of a situation or place and put it in danger. This could literally be a place (a country facing war, a family home at risk of being repossessed) or a situation (a marriage, a successful career, a group of friends, that faces a new danger or threat).

Remember
- Cultivate the desire to start writing your novel
- Procrastination is the enemy of creativity.
- Set Small Goals: Break down the process into easier tasks. Focus on the basic building blocks, a character, a voice, a story/plot. Write that. Think up a voice. Start writing or even speaking in that voice.
- Establish a regular writing schedule. Give yourself time to think about your novel, but also allow yourself to think about it when you are doing other things (remember the supermarket and the potatoes!).
- Eliminate distractions, turn off notifications, dedicate specific time solely to writing.
- Join a writing group or write with a friend and check in with them about progress.

The truth is, there is no perfect time to start writing your novel. Waiting for the ideal moment is waiting for a moment that never comes. Your kids still need to eat, your mom can still get sick or just call at a bad time, work can still go nuts. But if you want this, if you want to write a novel, the time to start is now.

How To Write A Novel Chapter By Chapter available here: https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Novel-Chapter-Outlining-ebook/dp/B0DJ8TMVWL?ref_=ast_author_mpb

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