Welcome to IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a haven for insecure writers of all kinds. IWSG is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. To find posts from other contributors, click here. Thank you to the July co-hosts: PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre!
July’s question: 99% of my story ideas come from dreams
Where do your story ideas come from?
That said, I can pretty much say ideas come from anywhere. Last
week I sat in a meeting about an upcoming kitchen renovation and the designer shared
some intriguing information. As soon as I left her showroom I thought, “That
would make a good story.” Who knew that would happen while waffling over cabinet colors?
One night many years ago, I floated half asleep in the wee
hours when a fully formed voice inside my head announced, “The queen of the
1977 Tarrant County Honeydew Festival abdicated her crown twenty-four hours after
receiving her scepter.”
Huh? Rolling over, I grabbed a pencil from the bedside table
and scratched the words down so they didn’t disappear. I held on to the sheet I'd scribbled them on until I could figure out who'd been talking in my brain. Eventually, a daughter, a mother and a grandmother came to me and their shared story
became one of my “practice” novels.
Most writers know that stories are everywhere. All
we have to do is keep our eyes and minds open. Oh, and definitely put something within reach to record those snippets the midnight subconscious
delivers.
What was the most surprising way a story came to you?
15 comments:
Those are some unique inspirations.
Cool that you heard that voice. I always thoughts out of nowhere and most often while I'm in the shower.
Love that dream idea! Want to read that book. I dreamed once that the Valkyrie were on a rampage to destroy Brett Kavanaugh and his like. Ha! I might have got a poem out of it.
I so agree with you that ideas come from everywhere. Like Alex, I figure out a lot of plot problems in the shower.
This shows that ideas really do come out of the ether. Many people would be worried by hearing voices in their head, but it's good news for writers!
That's really interesting how that voice came to you. Sometimes I feel I get my ideas from forces beyond my control.
I always come up with a character first and sometimes I guess I draw that character from something I've watched or read and felt the creator of that character missed a chance or sent the character down the wrong path.
Why did she set aside her crown? LOL
I'm never coherent enough to actually write down from dreams. But your prompts sound intriguing.
Hi, Liza! What an interesting way for a story idea to come to you in a detailed sentence! I only get passages in Latin or chemical equations, and when those show up, I know I'm too stressed in my everyday life ~ lol. I've kept paper and a pencil in a drawer in my nightstand for decades just in case something came to me in a dream. Nothing substantial yet, but I'll continue to have the paper and pencil just in case. You're right when you say that story ideas come from anywhere. You just need to be open to the possibility. Have a great July!
I'd never be able to find the pencil and paper! It's good that it works for you. I hope it continues :-)
It's been a long time since I've received ideas from dreams, but when it does happen, it's awesome. I love your dream idea!
I absolutely, positively LOVE that story ideas about the Honeydew Queen! And I've had ideas come to me like that. Fully formed and read to be put to paper.
Practice novel. I like that. I have plenty of those lying around!
Great blog
Please read my post
I so agree, "...put something within reach to record those snippets the midnight subconscious delivers." These gifts so often quickly disappear, never to be found again.
Cheers, @ Lynn La Vita
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