Rogers has some guest bloggers taking up temporary residence at Kung Fu Monkey, including Michael Alan Nelson, writer of the sensational Boom book Fall of Cthluhu, who managed to post the first truly satisfactory (to me) answer to the obligatory question, where do writers get their ideas?
I’ve come to learn over the past few years what most writers probably
already instinctively know; much of writing is about observation. Ideas
usually don’t come to us in a vacuum. However, writing can be a very
solitary existence so it’s very important to get out of the house,
interact with people, see and experience new things. You have a much
better chance of generating ideas when you aren’t staring at the same
four walls day after day.
When I get stuck on anything, I go for a walk. When I get really stuck, I go for a drive, and then take a walk when I get to wherever I end up. I may not come home with lots of ideas, but I always come home with at least one. I also never know when something’s going to strike me, which is why I always carry a little notebook and pen in my pocket when I leave the house.
Man, I want to write a Cthulhu story now. Time to take a walk.
… well, probably a drive. Yeah, a long, long drive.
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I can’t not write. I often have to have a timer on or some sort of reminder to eat, take a break, not think for a moment.
All the best ideas come to me while driving, tho. Or in the shower, which can pose a challenge vis-a-vis the whole carry a notebook thing…
A Cthulhu story would rock! Your dark side is inspirational…
A notebook and pen? No digital voice recorder? It’s so… visceral, and writerly. The sort of thing Stephen King would do.
Stephen King would write his story on the dried flesh of Wil Wheaton… with the fresh blood of Corey Feldman.
That’s how he makes his books so scary.
My husband quoted himself in the story “dessert course.”
Dessert Course
“So,” said the hosiery buyer to the writer, “do you think up all these ideas yourself? Do they just sort of come to you?” The rest of the table leaned forward, except for the writer’s wife, who knew what was coming next.
“Well,” the plump fellow said, deadpan, while shifting his fingers into a steeple, “these aliens saw the top off my head and then directly inject all my story ideas into my brain with a story-ray.” The entire cruise-ship dinner table and two surrounding ones exploded with laughter. As usual, he was the center of attention.
Tami, the buyer’s wife, poked him in the ribs. “Silly,” she said, “of course he thinks it all up. That’s what they do.”
“No, seriously, man,” her husband continued, “how do you do it?”
“Writers cheat.” The writer pushed himself slightly away from the table to give himself more room—he had had double portions of the appetizer and main courses and soon he would have to loosen his belt when no one was looking. His appetite for all things sensual was well known in the literary world.
He looked around to make sure everyone was still listening and then kept going. “They cheat by borrowing from real life. If I need to have an apartment in a story, I think back to one that I spent a lot of time in earlier in my life. I know where the couch is in it, where the bedrooms and kitchens are. That way, I can picture it in my head and save time which I can then use to put into plot, dialogue, or characterizations.”
Great Smiths song in your subject line! FTW! And yeah. just yeah about the perspective a walk can bring.
Notebook is always good. I find I do my best work sitting in a cafeteria surrounded by people. I don’t necessarily kidnap them and toss them into what I’m writing, but their presence helps connect me better.
I always carry a notebook and pen. I never know when an idea might come to me. I totally agree with the go out and see things.. My best stuff comes from observations.
Uh Wil, My next ex husband is the Great Cthulhu, let me know if you need some quotes…
The danger in writing is Cthulhu story is that the Old Ones may decide to write a story about you. What they write comes true. Your don’t want that. Trust me.
My muse strikes when I dont want it to. As in, I have nothing to write it down on. By the time I find a scrap of paper and/or a pen, Turkey (yes, the Muse has a name) has decided that my time is up and therefore not going to allow me to remember what the awesome piece of writing was going to be.
Ive lost WAY to many blog posts from this.
@sandieK-never go anywhere without a notebook and pen. moleskine makes several sizes and types…they are wonderful.
I liked what Spider Robinson once said on the subject:
“People always ask me, ‘Where do you get your ideas?’, and I always tell them, ‘Right between the eyes,’ and they always think I’m kidding.”