The first step in my process involves a concept (not original) called “the idea well.” It is the least regimented step, but even so, is designed for success.
1. Ideate/Concept Creation
This section could be considered advice, but most important, it is how I think, which drives how I create.
Stories start with ideas.
- So ideas are important.
- But they’re also abundant.
- And rarely, if ever, are original.
- And nearly as rarely, become completed stories.
- And even more rarely, become published.
- And even more rarely, get read by more than a handful of people.
Uncomfortable fact: If you have only one “idea for a book,” the odds are against you reaching the bottom of this cascading elimination series.
So, the conclusion is:
- Cultivate many ideas.
- Treat them like gems when you find them.
- But treat them like sand when you find they are not gems.
Louis L’amour famously said, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” He was a “pantser” who knew the craft like a range rider knows the feel of the saddle. I’ll take his advice, but move it up in the order of my “plotter” process.
To loosely describe my ideation process, I’m going to torture another water metaphor:
- Fill the idea well.
- Pump ideas from the well.
- Bottle the ideas.
- Ferment the ideas.
- Taste test.
1. Fill the idea well
Filling the idea well requires consuming stories, especially of the “type” I want to tell. For me, that’s mostly through reading. Although I had a career in television, I rarely watch it. Since I write in several genres, that means reading several genres. But even more generally, “type” of story is more than genre. Type includes style, pace, era, sentiment, etc. I’m looking for ideas, not stories to copy.
Since I hike a lot and live many miles from anywhere, reading stories includes getting an earful of audiobooks. I read broadly for ideas and deeply in the genres I write for perspective.
2. Pump ideas from the well.
I prime my pump by reading or listening to something, reviewing my previous content, etc. before giving my brain a chance to think. I don’t sit and do brainstorming exercises. For me, the most reliable way to activate the pump is to actively exercise, usually hiking, but could be horseback riding or another activity. I recently published a story that originated from an idea I had while shoveling snow off my driveway.
lots of snow + long driveway = lots of ideas while shoveling
3. Bottle the ideas.
Story ideas can come anytime, anywhere—while driving, sleeping, hiking, reading, or listening to another book—so I am ready to jot down an idea in a flash before it fades. I can use my phone to record it or text it into an app, pen and paper to jot it down, my laptop or tablet to type it, etc.
These ideas are usually a couple words. They don’t need to be complete sentences or even complete ideas. Now is not the time to judge their merit. I treat them like treasures and capture them before they float away.
When I get a moment to organize things, I write the idea down in a common place with other ideas. I might flesh it out some, then if more has come to me, but many remain simple snippets. In the 80s, this documentation was done on 3×5 notecards in what I called my idea box. Since the invention of the PC, the idea box became an electronic one, but we’ll talk about the actual current tools later.
Since I’m using a water metaphor here, let’s change my old name of the idea box to the idea bottle. The mechanics of the box or bottle don’t matter, though. Ease of dropping ideas in and retrieving them from the bottle does.
4. Ferment the ideas.
Though the act of documenting an idea (putting it in the bottle) usually sets it in my mind, I review the idea bottle periodically. Not usually for something that day, but to stir them up a bit, expose them to the air and to each other. Some ideas may sit for a very long time before starting to ferment. Most sink straight to the bottom whenever I stir them up and sit forever, never starting to bubble, but some get invigorated.
5. Taste test.
As I document an idea, it might seem really tasty right then, ready to become a story. But unless it refuses to be ignored, I usually let them sit awhile and taste test them again when I stir up the bottle. Then I can compare them with the other ideas and also see how they interact. A single idea might make a decent short story, but a novel usually requires several ideas that ferment together.
