Writing Tips #1-The IDEA

Every Story Starts with an Idea

Not all ideas for stories come fully formed. Some come partially formed. Others worm and wiggle they way into our heads ready to be written. J.K. Rowling famously said that the idea for Harry Potter popped into her head while riding the train to King's Cross.

When we start our story, it often begins with an idea. What that idea is can vary widely from author to author but ultimately is still the starting ground for the world we want to craft. Whether that is a story about a swashbuckling pirate searching for an ancient treasure or a woman of color overcoming the challenges of a prejudiced society, the IDEA is where we all begin.

An Idea ≠ A Story

Quite often I find myself thinking, That would be a great idea for a new story.

However, a good idea is not always a good story. Many of the greatest stories (whether fiction or nonfiction), are actually a mesh or conglomeration of several ideas that play off each other. For example, in one of my worlds, the main idea is, What if the evil wizard wasn't actually evil? This idea on its own is a great starter, but it isn't enough to tell a rich story with dynamic characters. Now if we mix that with the idea of What if the "good guys" aren't so good and have built a society of prejudice and second-class citizens?, now we have the start for building a world that may lend itself to interesting characters, plot, and setting.

I know I have personally come up with ideas that sounded great, but then later when I actually sat down to outline, they were not something that I felt could be pulled off. (I'll talk about this more when I discuss Outlining.) Having a story about Cowboys with Magic! seemed like a cool idea, but that singular idea didn't have the strength to stand on it own.

Write Down Your Ideas!

That said, don't be afraid to write down your ideas. You may even realize that you might be able to synthesize ideas into a new story that you hadn't thought about! I'm currently doing this now and am working on developing a world around the two-three ideas that form the central theme of that world.

The IDEA stage is often the first stage in writing. Don't be afraid to let your mind think about the world you are crafting. That idea is the lifeline, the main artery of your narrative: fiction or nonfiction. How you put those ideas into writing is up to you, but the important thing is to start!