I have an idea ... and so should you

We writers are all talk. Everything we do involves words, and we talk a big game. But, when you get right down to the heart of things, writing is about ideas.

Ideas are the writer's currency. They can be worthless and priceless simultaneously. Good and bad, big or small, ideas drive writing like nothing else can.

It's very difficult to write without an idea of what you want to write about. Especially when it comes to novels, it's not as if we already have each word written (or chosen) in our heads before we sit down at the keyboard. In one sense, we make it up as we go along, but we're also adhering to our original idea.

You can't copyright an idea, though one writer's interpretation of an idea will be drastically different from another's. The thing, too, is that "an idea" means different things to different people. To me, an idea is a place to start. My approach is simple like that. To some, however, an idea is synonymous with the entire story. To illustrate:

I say, "I want to write a story about the fifth son of a national hero, whose squandering of the ancestor's wealth and reputation have brought so much dishonor to the country that a war begins." I don't know how this will end, but right there I have a main character who is interesting to me and a few conflicts that need to be resolved. I can write that.

Others may say, "I want to write a story about a boy who goes to a magic school. He is picked on but finds good friends, and a villain seeks to kill him for reasons related to his parents' death. As he grows up, he learns how to rely on others as well as himself. With cunning and bravery, he defeats the villain and makes the entire world a better place." This is a bit much for me, really.

I mean, sure, I know my "good guy" is going to win before I start writing. We always know the good guy is going to win. It's the how that makes a difference, right? That's the part I prefer to leave for later, since it's going to depend upon what I've written up to that point. It's going to depend upon what kind of character he or she turns out to be, and what obstacles I've put in his or her place along the way.

I've talked on numerous occasions about where ideas come from, so I'll table that for the moment. The point is that how you use your ideas will dictate what kind of writer you are. If you need a complete idea, then you are an outliner and you should head in that direction. Sometimes it even helps to start at the ending and work backwards, so that your writing is merely filling the empty spaces where things need to happen to connect the dots.

For my part, I prefer to start at the beginning and see where the story takes me. I like to explore, and am willing to backtrack if necessary, even if that means it takes additional work and time. To me, the idea turns into the story, but I get the impression that to some others the idea needs to already be the story. I just can't work under those conditions. It would be like trying to write someone else's idea. There's no mystery to it, no wonder, no exploration.

This is extra important on a day like today, when Nanowrimo is set to begin for thousands of would-be novelists. Even the nano handbook says to spend a few days planning out your idea, rather than just launching right into writing (which means all you folks who predict your 1,667 words per day are already a bit off). However, planning can mean finding a place to start or charting the entire course. It all depends on what works for you.

I'm also prone to saying things like all it takes to write a novel is effort and time. This assumes you already have an idea. If, however, your struggle is that particular prerequisite, all the effort and time in the world will just frustrate you further. What you might need is some outside assistance, if you're stuck, or a different angle of approach, or a mental reset button. Generally speaking, I have more ideas than I know what to do with at any given time, but to me ideas are small things.

If you need a big idea, you might have to actually go out and search for it.



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