The following is an excerpt from The Children’s Writer’s Guide.
One of the most common questions asked of authors, whether from children during school visits or in interviews, is “Where do you get your ideas?”
In so many ways, ideas are all around us – in newspapers, magazines, pictures, photographs, other books whether fiction or non-fiction, television, movies, even video games.
History can be a constant source of inspiration for writers, but so are personal experiences, family vacations, family, friends, or pets.
Many writers have had ideas come to them in dreams – often not the entire novel, but at least a significant enough piece of the puzzle to set them on their way to crafting the actual story.
My own ideas come from anywhere and everywhere: when out walking the dog, in the car, something in a conversation, a newspaper story, a billboard, an item on the evening news, TV, movies, books of all kinds, song lyrics, historical events, ancient mysteries, long-lost civilizations, the supernatural, ghost stories, the paranormal or something completely out of the blue.
Sometimes the challenge is to stop having ideas.
I’ve been known to get ten ideas at once, which amazes my school audiences, but I also have to point out that I can go for six months with no ideas at all.
Some of the concepts may never be used or may be only part of a story or a title.
The ideas could even feature a character or a piece of dialogue and you aren’t sure where they come from.
However, I do try to record as many ideas as I can, since I never know when they might fit in with a story I’m writing.
Even ideas that don’t seem to work right away may prove useful one day.
Learn more about The Children’s Writer’s Guide and all Simon’s other books on his website at https://simon-rose.com/.
Simon also offers a variety of coaching services for writers and his Writing for Children and Young Adults online course.
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