Monday, November 11, 2019

Story Ideas: More Than a List of Sources, They Must Spark Passion




Before our post today, I would like to take a moment to honor our veterans and families.  Thank you for all you’ve given in service to our country. Please let us know in the comments today if you're a veteran or family member. We want to honor you!





We recently had a blog reader email us asking where we get our story ideas, and whether it’s okay to write a story if the idea got sparked while reading someone else’s story. I’m not an attorney or able to give any legal advice about copyright law. But I can say that story ideas come from everywhere! And certainly, our creative brains get clicking while we’re reading. If you’re concerned, I’d suggest reading more info on copyright (click here). It specifically says ideas cannot be copyrighted. Still, I suggest reading up on the topic. It’s always good to be informed!

However, all of us reading here today could be told to write a story, and given details about the characters and plot, and each story would turn out differently. We all bring different perspectives, different life experiences, different voices to our work. This is what makes stories so rich!

I thought it would be fun to share a bit today about where some of us get our story ideas. I recently polled the Seeker authors, and we had a discussion about this topic. Here’s what they shared with me…




I get a lot of my story ideas from research on my work in progress. I come across some interesting detail that doesn't work for the current book but sparks a whole idea for another book. I've also gotten ideas from movies, books, travel and people watching.

My idea for The Kincaid Brides Series came from a long-ago trip to Carlsbad Cavern.

Petticoat Ranch came from my husband growing up with a family with seven sons, then us having four daughters and watching his mind be boggled by the way girls act.

The Sophie's Daughters Series was based on my belief that despite all the very strict rules for women's behavior back in history, folks who headed west probably went their own way a LOT. Women NOT riding side saddle. Wearing pants. Working alongside husbands and husbands not being afraid of women's work. Thus the female doctor, wrangler and sharpshooter....all manly jobs.

A new idea came from the founder of my home town, Decatur, Nebraska....he LIED and said his name was Stephen Decatur, related to a famed Revolutionary War general. And OUR Stephen Decatur was a scoundrel...much of that has been hushed up. I'm changing the names to protect the legacy.




Lots of my ideas come from research and visiting museums. Or from wanting to tackle a social issue like PTSD, war veterans, orphans, social sins...I tackle all those issues in my upcoming Regency series. Finding a timeless issue and putting it in a different social, economic, or historical environment and seeing what happens. :)



We all get inspired by stories and each person tells it differently.

I'd remind folks that it's not just creativity. It's science. Action/reaction. Character arcs. I think that's where writers lack inspiration, is keeping people in their lane and building the story from how they would react under the circumstances. The mathematical side of writing fascinates me.

I'm a people watcher. And listener. And, like Mary, when I'm researching one book, a detail will jump out and be used for a different book.




The basic is, where don't I get story ideas? They're EVERYWHERE. I have WAY TOO MANY, and not nearly enough time to write them all.

One example - I got the idea for Christmas in Hiding when I was standing at my kitchen sink doing dishes.  I could hear a block party on the next block and I started thinking, what if everyone was invited except one person, and what if everyone got poisoned (not fatal) except for that one person? Would she get blamed? Would she have done it? Ultimately, everything about the opening scene (and the book) changed, but that party was what triggered it.  

Another story idea (that I haven't used yet and probably won't) came as I was walking to school and saw a muddy communion veil by the curb. Like every other idea, my brain immediately turns it into a story. How did it get there? Was it just lost, thrown away? Since I write suspense.... the questions get darker. 




Ideas can come from just about anywhere. Watching the news, hearing a story about someone… Other times things just pop into my head. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in the middle of writing a book and then read another one with the same premise. But every writer comes at a specific situation with a different perspective. Like Ruthy said, no two books would be written the same. Different voice, different life experiences, all those things play into the telling of a story.



From my experience:

I get ideas from everywhere—listening to conversations at restaurants and elsewhere, watching people (while trying not to look too nosy!), reading news reports, and listening to sermons. Because I love to write about opposites attracting, I often dream up two entirely different people to throw together in a story.

In Her Unlikely Family, I wanted to put together a stiff banker in a tough situation with a unique, generous waitress ready to jump in to help. In The Doctor’s Second Chance, I wanted to throw together a small-town rugged home contractor with an uptight big-city pediatrician whom he resented.

In A Family for Faith, I was on a flight home from an RWA conference and watched as a single dad tried over and over to put a bow in his daughter’s hair and could not manage it. I yanked out a notepad and started writing ideas for a story about dad with a daughter at an age where she really needed a mother. I also used the real-life experience of a friend of mine as part of my divorced heroine’s backstory—where her child chose to go live with his dad and the pain that caused. So that story had ideas from everywhere!

You know, for this post, I was originally going to try to create a list of places or methods for getting story ideas. But now that I’ve re-read all the input from these writers, I don’t think I’ll try to do that. Every one of us gets ideas from whatever inspires us, whatever makes us question things, whatever sends our brains off in wild directions (worse-case-scenario-itis for some of us!). :)

If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, look at what interests you. Open your eyes, ears, and heart. Pray for God to show you something that you can get passionate about. Because no matter how great an idea might seem, it really needs to be something you can wholeheartedly throw yourself into for the book to resonate and have heart.

Each of us is unique. Each of us has a lot to offer the world. Now go, enjoy writing those stories that are uniquely yours to tell!

Let’s chat! Tell us where you get your ideas. And those who aren’t writers, tell us story ideas you’d love to see written.


****** 
After more than 10 years of pursuing her dream of publication, Missy Tippens, a pastor’s wife and mom of three from near Atlanta, Georgia, made her first sale to Harlequin Love Inspired in 2007. Her books have since been nominated for the Booksellers Best, Holt Medallion, American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, Maggie Award, Beacon Contest, RT Reviewer’s Choice Award, and the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award. Visit Missy at www.missytippens.comhttps://twitter.com/MissyTippens and http://www.facebook.com/missy.tippens.readers.



34 comments:

  1. How can I be the first one here? :) Thanks for the ideas on how to get ideas! This is the hardest part of the process for me and it always has been. I've always heard that writers should have so many ideas and things they want to say that they are compelled to write. I've never felt that way, so part of me has always doubted that I'm a writer (not true, I know, but those lies can feel so true). Anyway, I'm trying to open myself up to seeing the story sparks everywhere. One manuscript that I wrote, that probably has the most potential came from an incident that happened to a friend. She is from Ukraine and her husband worked for the police department at the time. They had a victim that only spoke Russian, so they called her in the middle of the night to help them out. That had me thinking "What if?" for years, until I finally wrote a story about it.

    Anyway, thanks for the great post. And as a military brat I have lots of friends and family who are vets, but my favorite, of course, is my dad. He went to college to be a math teacher, ended up enlisting in the Air Force instead of getting drafted into the Army during Vietnam, and retired 22 years later as a Lt. Colonel. (Then he went on to teach math to middle schoolers for almost 20 years, which might have been even more dangerous.) He is my hero!

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    1. Glynis, if it makes your feel better, it seems I hardly have ideas anymore. My curren proposal idea came from Janet Dean while we were brainstorming! So I understand that feeling you have. That middle of the night phone call sounds like it could make an exciting story!

      I LOVE that story about your dad!! Yes, what a hero!

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  2. LOL, Missy -- you had me at "PASSION"! ;)

    EXCELLENT blog, my friend! I loved reading how Mary, Ruthy, you, et al were sparked to write different stories.

    Mary made me smile with her comment about Ivan's family and you with your "spark" for A Family For Faith -- I can sooo see it!!

    Ruthy said, "I'm a people watcher. And listener. And, like Mary, when I'm researching one book, a detail will jump out and be used for a different book." I must be a "people watcher" and "listener" too, because Ruthy was actually my inspiration for writing my Western series, Love's Silver Lining. I wanted to try something new after my Boston historical and Isle of Hope contemporary series, so I was "listening" (aka reading/responding to the Seeker loop) one day, when Ruthy was talking about her Double S Ranch Western series. The minute she started telling us about it, BOOM! In my mind's eye I saw a big map of Virginia City, Nevada burning while I heard, "Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Bonanza!" That was the spark that took me to Nevada in the 1860s-80s, so THANK YOU, Ruthy!! :)

    But I would have to say that my biggest spark came from reading Gone With the Wind at the age of 12, which as many of you already know, not only lit the spark for my debut novel, A Passion Most Pure during WWI, but pretty much provided much of the basis for that very series.

    Missy, great post, my friend, and great "sparks" from all the Seekers within, who when put together, are truly a bonfire of creativity!

    Hugs,
    Julie


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    1. Julie, you just made my day seeing you here! I'm so glad you stopped by!

      I love how you got your Western series. That is so cool!! Almost like getting a book idea practically formed. Ruthy probably had no idea what she sparked! :)

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    2. Imagine that. Having Julie at passion. ;)

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    3. Great to see you, Julie. We miss you here in Seekerville!

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    4. Hey, Missy, I feel badly that I don't get by more often, but I've cut most blogs out because they're like rabbit holes for me -- I spend all my time reading instead of writing! But I could NOT pass yours up today, my friend!

      LOL, Mindy ... imagine that! ;)

      Hey, Sandy, great to see you, too, my friend! Hope you are doing well. :)

      Waving back, Jan! SO fun to see you guys!

      Hugs and more hugs,
      Julie

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  3. Missy, I enjoyed this post about ideas. In several online writing classes I have taken, the instructors encourage us to keep an "idea file" so our writing well does not go dry. I started doing that, but oh my! It quickly grew with snippets of ideas. I'm writing a story loosely based on a little piece of something that happened in my mother's life.

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    1. Karen, that's wonderful! I came up with a story idea based on my parents' dating time (opposites attracting), but it ended up changing so much it's hard to recognize now. However, it was still fun to start there! I think their relationship might be why I enjoy "opposites" stories so much. :)

      I, too, have an ideas file. But it's very slim and picked over now. I think maybe I should take a retreat just to dream up new ideas to fill it up again.

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    2. Karen, idea files are a great, well, idea. I try to keep them all in one notebook and keep it in a prominent place so I always no where to look.

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  4. Missy, would you believe I just had an idea drop into my head while I was washing my hair in the shower yesterday morning. I mean, I wasn't even thinking about anything, and there it was. Like God just dropped that idea right along with the shower spray. Go figure. That idea will have to go into my idea book for now, but it just goes to show that story ideas can pop up anytime, anywhere.

    And a heartfelt thank you to all of those who have served our country. My husband and daughter both served in the U.S. Navy and my father was a marine. I am humbled by their service.

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    1. Mindy, that's so funny about the idea! I actually have gotten ideas while driving (which is a little scary when you think about it.) haha

      Thank you to your family members who have served! And I know you served as well providing childcare for your grandchild while your daughter was at sea. Bless you!

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    2. Mindy, so many of my best ideas have come either in the shower or while I'm washing dishes. I think the sound of running water frees something in my brain.

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    3. You could be right, Mary Cate. If I'm stuck on a scene I will go and do dishes because that's when I get some of my best ideas.

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  5. Great post, Missy. I get story ideas from lots of places. Songs give me lots of ideas. The lyrics will get me thinking about how I could turn it into a story. I think writers are wired to think "what if" which is something else I do a lot. Other people don't always understand that. One day when all my family was back home, I was in the kitchen while the television was on. Something came on that I don't even remember what it was but I started imagining what might have really been going on. My sister was there and her response was it might have just been what it sounded like. Then my sister-in-law, who is an artist, responded that I do that because I'm a writer. She could understand that because she probably does the same thing when she looks at something and thinks about it artistically.

    I took the day off from subbing today to try to get my voice back and get over this cold I've had for a week. My husband is off for the holiday, so it's nice to spend the day with him. It is cold and snowy here.

    Thank you to all the veterans out there.


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    1. Sandy, I remember R.J. Palacio saying that the idea for her amazing book Wonder came from two things - an incident that happened outside an ice cream store and hearing Natalie Merchant's song Wonder that same day.

      Hope you feel better.

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    2. Sandy, I think that's so true about creatives. Mary Cate, I remember reading that about Wonder! Yes, I love when things like the that happen.

      Sandy, I sure hope you feel better! So glad you took today to recover.

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    3. Thanks, Missy. I've already marked myself off for tomorrow, too. Since the temperature is expected to be 8 degrees overnight, I don't need to be out and about in the morning!

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  6. Good morning, Missy! What a great post!

    My story ideas come from all over the place. For my first several books, the ideas came straight out of my genealogy research, and that is still a deep well to plumb. But my more recent ideas have come from all over the place.

    The most recent? I was out walking the puppy after dark one night last week. We live out - way out of town - with no street lights, and the moon hadn't risen yet. I'm always on the lookout for wildlife! But as I passed our neighbor's empty house, I thought I heard someone knocking on their window from inside the house. I couldn't see anyone there, especially in the dark, but my imagination took off!

    Sometimes it isn't very comfortable to be a writer... :-)

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    1. I forgot to say: Happy Veterans Day! Thank you, veterans, for your sacrificial service!

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    2. That sounds scary, Jan. But it would make a good story.

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    3. Jan, that must've been scary!! Yes, our minds can sure take off! I once saw a shoe beside the road and just had this terrible thought that a body must be nearby. Maybe I should write suspense! :)

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  7. This is a great post. It's always fun to hear where sparks of inspiration come from. The WIP I am starting was a result of listening to two women share their testamonies. As I sat listening, I thought "oo, there's a story there." When the second one shared I was floored. These testimonies were the kind that only happen in novels...

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    1. Lee-Ann, how fantastic to get a book idea that way! I hope we'll see it in print someday. :)

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  8. I love that story ideas can come from anywhere! Even other stories. I love fairy tale re-tellings, Biblical story reinventions, classic movie makeovers.

    But I love best reading a history book and discovering a hitherto unknown-to-me factoid that fires my imagination and makes me long to create a story!

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    1. Erica, I got a story idea from watching a classic movie--Sabrina, the 1995 version originally, but also went back and watched the 1954 version. Actually, it wasn't so much a story idea as the idea to build my hero for one of my books. I wanted him to be like Linus. :)

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    2. That's one of my favorite movies--both versions, which rarely happens. Linus is a great hero.

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  9. Interesting to read. Thank you for sharing.

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  10. Good morning, everyone! Coffee is on for anyone who drops by today! I'd love to hear more ideas about where you get your story ideas, and about things that you're passionate about writing.

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