Hello readers. Today I am going to discuss how, as a writer, I come up with an idea for a story. I am going to discuss where an idea can come from, how to retain it and then how to develop it.
If we look around us, in everyday life there are billions of things to see. From observing objects such as a funny-looking tree, a weirdly shaped road, a cloudy sky or even people in the street, you can see that the world is filled with amazing things. For example, the idea for my first book:’ The Universe of the Lamppost’, came from the sight of a lamppost outside my house. I would imagine what lived inside the lamppost and from this, I created a story. Similarly, you could look outside and see a grey cloudy sky and imagine this to be a tornado or teleport, leading to another world. The beautiful thing about the imagination is that it is limitless in creating ideas.
When I have an idea, no matter how bizarre, I have the ability to develop it. As anyone does. Usually I look for a number of things around me to give me ideas and then from this, I can create a story. So for me, I read a number of children’s fantasy books, which featured different imaginary worlds, and then I looked back at the lamppost outside my house and imagined what it would be like to have a different world inside a lamppost.
It is very important to capture ideas once they come into our heads. We have billions of thoughts each day and will forget the majority of them. Therefore, when I have an idea for a story, I note this down and then develop it from this. When first starting on a story, I brainstorm a number of thoughts in a notebook.. Then I consider characters based on people I may have seen. When I have thought of ideas for characters, settings and key points of the story, I then proceed to writing the story.
The key message I wish to pass on in this blog, is that if you are struggling to come up with ideas for a story, just look around you. There is so much to see. Then make sure you write down anything you think would make a story (no matter how small an idea you think it is). You can then link things together and you have the basis for a story from just anything you see. The beauty is that it is what lies in your imagination and so you have the power to create and modify a story as much as you like.
Now in November, I begin to see fireworks and bonfires. A story, for example, might include a magical fire or a firework display that attracts aliens to Earth. In December, Christmas will be approaching: a time when even more stories have been and will continue to be created.
I hope that this blog was useful to you, and that you continue to read, whilst allowing your imagination to run wild.
Jonny Pardoe
Jonny Pardoe © November 2016
Photo by Júnior Ferreira on Unsplash
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Jonny Pardoe
