Generating Ideas: Introduction
Why should you actively generate ideas? Let's explore the benefits!
Hello Writers!
In my last post, I shared the way I organize my new ideas, whether they are full-blown projects or simply seeds waiting to blossom (you can read that below if you missed it!)
Today, I want to start a series about generating ideas. As part of this series, I’ll share some ways to generate ideas of different types (characters, plots, settings), but first I want to talk about why actively seeking out ideas is such a powerful tool!
Sometimes we get struck by the muses with an amazing idea, but other times they ignore us and we have to do the work ourselves (rude, I know – they are so fickle). Beyond not being at the mercy of the muses, actively generating ideas can be extremely beneficial for a wide variety of reasons.
Making Your Own Luck
Do you know the phrase “you make your own luck”? It, and its varietals, are a common statement or theme when people ask for the secret to success. People do, of course, have genuine luck in their lives – this usually comes in the form of privilege (which has many manifestations) or innate skill. But many things that people attribute to “luck” actually come from the person’s actions. Being proactive and engaged (resulting in being in the right place at the right time), seeking out opportunities (and being prepared to accept them when they come along), and building a network (which results in “knowing the right people”). The same philosophy can be applied to idea generation.
Generating Opportunities
When we generate ideas regularly, we are creating opportunities. We are giving ourselves the gift of a lot of ideas to choose from, any one of which might be the next best seller! I personally have a bit of an Air Motivation style – I work best when I am passionate about my current project and, yes, a bit “hyperfixated.” (While I have no official neurodivergent diagnosis, I do mean this in the symptomatic way, not the colloquial way). This also means I can get burnt out on a project when it loses its “newness.” Instead of languishing and brute forcing my way through one project, I find it helpful to hop between a few different ones depending on where my energy and focus is wanting to be. So naturally, I need a lot of ideas! One fizzles out or I get stuck? I can let my subconscious work on the problem while I take a look at my other ideas for inspiration.
We can sometimes get caught up in a single project, even when our energy and focus isn’t giving us the best results. We think we need to keep at it, force ourselves to laser-focus on the one thing, in order to move forward. That may very well work for some people, and is a valid process to attempt. But if you find it doesn’t work for you, or you are getting burnt out, you can try a more flexible process. Much in the same way that taking breaks at work will result in higher productivity, sometimes the most beneficial thing for getting our project done is to put it down for a while.
Ultimately, the more ideas we have percolating, the more opportunities (and luck!) we create for ourselves. Just make sure you organize them in a way that allows them room for growth and easy access!
Training Your Brain
When you actively work to create new ideas on a regular basis, you also give yourself the gift of experience. Will every idea you craft be amazing? No probably not. But will they at least be somewhat useable? Also probably not. But what they will definitely do is give you experience. You will have opportunities to analyze them and figure out why they are good or not so good, what about them works and what doesn’t. Your brain can take a terrible idea and use it to springboard to a decent idea, which you can sculpt into a great one. Your ideas will start being naturally more “workable” from the start, and you’ll open your mind to a multitude of possibilities.
Another great thing about actively generating ideas is that it will train your brain to be thinking about ideas. You strengthen the muscles that you use – so when you craft ideas, it will become easier and more intuitive/innate. It will feel like the muses grace you more often with that “luck” we talked about above. Build that idea muscle and see how natural it becomes.
Writer’s Block
I plan to have a series about ways to break writer’s block, and generating ideas is a recurring theme! Making lists of ideas can be a great way to get the wheels turning and warm up our creative muscles, allowing us to dive into our project (or giving us inspiration for a new one!)
Looking back over your old ideas can also help with writer’s block. Whether it’s giving us a new project to work on, providing more details for a flat character, or magically fixing that plot hole we wrote ourselves into, our old work is extremely valuable. Never throw any idea or piece of writing away! You never know how it can help you later. Just make sure it’s organized so it doesn’t become a scary hoarding situation – quick and efficient access is key!
Knowing What You Know
Critically, when starting a new project, we need to generate ideas related to that project. Listing out what we know (mind-mapping / brainstorming) allows us to also understand where the gaps in our knowledge are. The next step, then, is to generate more ideas to expand what we know. Ideally, this phase of planning a project involves A LOT of idea generation. Some of those ideas will ultimately not work, but that’s part of the process (and maybe it will work for some future project). If we only give ourselves one possible outcome to a scenario, we leave ourselves open to missing a better option. Many ideas have several drafts or iterations before we finally settle on the one that “fits” with the story we want to tell.
The Caveat
As with all things, moderation is essential. Too much of a good thing can quickly become a detriment. This applies to writing craft just as much as it does to anything else. We ultimately want to create finished projects, whatever that means for us individually. And while creating ideas is beneficial for the many reasons we’ve already discussed, it can come with a cost if we don’t also utilize those ideas for projects. It does us no good to have one billion ideas and then never do the work to flesh them out into a project. Just as we need to push ourselves not to constantly iterate our first chapter and to move on to the second, or stop ourselves from world building to an extreme, we need to not get “lost in the sauce” when it comes to our ideas.
We need ideas and actively generating them is a great way to glean many benefits for our craft, but never forget what our real goal is.
Happy Writing!
Coming soon…
Generating Ideas (a series)
How to Break the “Block” (a series)
Book Reviews