Where do ideas even come from?
When a good one hits, it feels like a divine gift. But when our creative well runs dry, it seems like good ideas are impossible to come by.
The thing is, you can write from a place where ideas are always available, even when you’re feeling blocked and uninspired. I promise! There are always ideas available to you if you know how to find them.
Here are three ways to come up with story ideas when you think you’ve run out of them.
Get Curious
I’ve never written a good story after sitting at my computer and staring at a blank page. There’s never once in my fourteen years of writing been a time when I’ve forced a good idea out of thin air.
I have, however, had great ideas come to me when I’ve gotten genuinely curious about something.
In one case, I spent four and a half years writing and revising a novel that began out of curiosity. While doing a writing exercise, I saw a specific image in my mind that I couldn’t shake. I kept wondering about it, feeling desperately curious about the people in the scene, so I wrote to understand it… and from that curiosity, an entire novel idea was born.
If you’re curious about even the smallest thing, like a word or image or feeling, you can turn it into a big idea.
Curiosity is a clue about what interests you. It’s a sign that there’s something for you to uncover. Follow your curiosity as far as you possibly can, even if it seems “too small” to be a big idea. Oftentimes, the smallest detail sparks the biggest inspiration.
Experiment
Sometimes we feel like we’re out of ideas because we’ve been doing the same thing for so long, we’re just bored.
A lack of ideas can sometimes just be a sign you’re in a writing rut. To get out of that rut, try experimenting with the things you read and write. Pick up a book in a genre you never read. Write in a style you’re a little bit afraid to try.
Go as far outside your comfort zone as possible and play with the form, the style, the language. Give yourself permission to write what’s forbidden or scary. Be bold and as unlike yourself as possible.
You don’t have to ever see it in print, but the process of doing it could very well flood you with ideas.
Even if the product of your experiment isn’t something you stick with, there’s a chance the process will spark an idea you can stick with.
Revisit Your Own Ideas
In my writing life, for every ten story ideas I have, only one ever sees the light of day. That might be different for you, but the point is this: you probably have generated ideas in the past that you never explored further.
If you keep idea kernels or scraps of stories in a document or notebook, somewhere now is the time to dig it out and read through it.
Some of those bits and pieces will be useless. They’ll make no sense to you now or they’ll just seem silly or uninteresting or not worth your time.
But there may also be some exciting ideas in the mix that you’ve completely forgotten about. You can only take action on so many projects at once (if you’re me… it’s just one at a time), so perhaps you’ll stumble across an idea you were previously excited about but didn’t have the time to work on.
Just because it’s an old idea doesn’t mean it’s bad. You might’ve just needed to wait for the right time to pursue it.
How do you come up with ideas for your writing? Tell me below!
And don’t forget… join me on Instagram for new content all month long about how to come up with story ideas.
If you’re already on my newsletter list, you can find your downloadable PDF already in your inbox! Just look for my newsletter, open it, and scroll down. Every monthly blog post will come with a downloadable resource to help you make the most of that month’s topic, so be sure to sign up here if you want in!
You don’t have to write every day to be a “real” writer.
If that’s one misbelief holding you back from a great writing life, feel free to let it go.
The reality is, consistency is what matters.
And for each person, consistency will mean something different. Maybe for you, consistency is writing daily, or three times a week, or every single weekend. Maybe it’s writing on your lunch breaks four days a week or getting up early to write every other morning.
You’re a real writer if you write, not if you adhere to “rules” about how to be a creative person. Skipping a day of writing doesn’t negate all the previous work you did.
But how do you build consistency so you’re writing regularly if that’s something you have yet to master? Here are a few easy steps.
Create Momentum
One reason some people write daily is that it generates momentum, and once you’ve got some momentum behind your writing, it’s easier to write regularly. It’s also easier to combat resistance and self-doubt.
While you do not need to write daily to feel forward motion with your work, it can actually be a great tool in the beginning.
When I haven’t written in a while or I’m feeling kind of resistant or stalled out, that’s usually a good sign I need some momentum. So in that case, I’ll commit to writing daily for a certain period of time rather than “forever.”
I know there are benefits to writing daily, but it can feel defeating to believe “real” writers write every single day without fail. That’s just not true.
I set the bar low and give myself a lot of grace, but still make sure I’m writing something daily for my selected block of time. The habit of sitting down to write for 21, 50, 100 (or whoever many) days pushes me forward and actually makes writing easier.
Once I’ve gained momentum, I don’t have to sustain a strict daily writing practice.
However, I do need to stay connected to my writing, so I try to not go more than a couple of days between writing sessions. Anything longer and the process of re-entering the work is much harder for me. You may notice this too, or maybe it’s easier for you.
Either way, I think of my writing practice as me holding a thread that’s connected to my story.
Each non-writing day that passes, I feel my grip on the thread get a little looser. At some point, I’ll drop the thread entirely and have to work to find it again.
So I hold onto that thread to keep steady forward momentum and help my writing practice feel smoother.
Schedule Your Writing Time
This isn’t a revolutionary tip, but it does work.
I like to plan my writing in two phases: the overall time I think a project will take, and then the weekly steps I can take to get there. Scheduling it is how I get the writing done!
For example, while revising my novel, I work off a master revision schedule that tells me which chapters I’m working on each week and when the entire process should be wrapped up.
Then each week, I zoom in a bit closer and write out the specific things I need to do that week and add it to my schedule. I generally have the most time for writing on Wednesdays, so I might schedule two chapters of revision for that day, while the rest of the week I just focus on smaller sections within each chapter.
Whatever your process looks like, the key is just that you add your writing time to your schedule.
Make appointment blocks in your Google calendar and keep those meetings with yourself the same way you’d keep a meeting with someone else.
Your time is just as precious as someone else’s.
Or maybe you’ll take a looser approach and plan out a word count goal for the week. If you want to hit 1,000 words by the end of the week, designate how many words you’ll try to write on certain days and add it to your to-do list. Monday – 500 words. Thursday – 200 words. Saturday – 300 words.
Bottom line: help yourself be consistent by scheduling your writing and keeping those appointments like you would keep them for anyone else.
Be Flexible and Curious
The biggest problem with the adage that you must write daily to be a writer is that it’s inflexible.
And what most writers need is a lot of grace, flexibility, and curiosity in their life rather than rigid “rules” that only serve as a way to stoke perfectionism.
Writing isn’t something you’ll ever perfect. But what you can do is improve and learn and get better the more you practice.
If you want to write consistently, you must be flexible with yourself.
Be willing to begin again when you lose grip on the thread connecting you to your words.
Be curious about what you’ll discover if you commit to writing with regularity. Not just what you’ll discover in your own story, but within yourself.
Be excited to make a promise to yourself and stick with it, and be open to the possibility that you’ll build momentum for a while and then lose it, and need to start over. Be ok with all of it.
There’s no need for either/or thinking as a writer. This is an art form, a craft. You’re an artist who is learning and practicing, failing and succeeding.
You don’t need to sit at a desk and write for three hours every single morning to be an artist.
But you do need to sit with your work often, and with an open mind.
If you want to see progress, you’ll need to write regularly, even when it feels impossible. Even when you think you have nothing to say. Even when you’ve been away from the page for too long.
And don’t forget… join me on Instagram for new content all month long about how to write consistently.
Plus, you can download your free infographic on How To Write Consistently here.
If you’re already on my newsletter list, you can find your downloadable PDF already in your inbox! Just look for my newsletter, open it, and scroll down. Every monthly blog post will come with a downloadable resource to help you make the most of that month’s topic, so be sure to sign up here if you want in!
Tell me, do you have any habits that help you write consistently?
If you’re human, you’ve probably experienced this before.
You want to start writing, whether it’s for the first time ever or for the millionth, but the prospect of actually taking the first step is daunting.
Although it’s not difficult to pick up a pen or open a blank Word document on your computer, it is hard to mentally get out of your own way sometimes.
If you’re torn between the desire to write and a ton of resistance to starting, read on.
Identify What’s Stopping You And What You Want To Write
Sometimes resistance to starting something new stems from an unclear idea about what exactly you’ll write. Our brains like certainty and predictability. When something is new or uncertain, our natural instinct is to hit the brakes before we even get going.
But as you can imagine, this is super unhelpful for your writing life!
First thing’s first: what’s at the root of your resistance? What’s underneath your mental chatter? Fear of failure? A boatload of self-doubt? Concern that everyone will hate what you write?
Even if you only have a vague idea of why you’re having trouble starting, it’s better than having no idea. For example, maybe you’re secretly terrified that you’ll never actually finish what you want to write and all of your efforts will be pointless. And maybe you’re also scared to let yourself down.
Once you know what’s fueling your resistance, you can question its validity. Is it true that you won’t finish this? If you don’t finish it, is it true that your efforts would be totally negated? What’s the worst that you can imagine happening if you do let yourself down?
You don’t have to write this out or spend tons of time on it. While you’re walking or doing other mindless tasks, you can let these questions marinate. The more you question your resistance and approach it with curiosity, the easier it is to overcome.
After that? Identify what you want to write!
Are you hoping to work on writing prompts for a while for the practice? Do you want to work on an idea you’ve had? Are you starting a novel? Short story? Memoir? Essay? Something else?
Satisfy that part of your mind that wants to know what’s up and be clear with yourself about what you’d like to work on. It’s a whole lot less scary for your security-loving brain that way!
Keep It Simple
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but there’s no award ceremony for writing yourself to death.
No one is going to give you a trophy for setting the bar so high you can barely reach it.
You will receive zero recognition for failing to reach your own impossible goals.
Write this down and stick it to your bathroom mirror if you need to: the harder you make it on yourself, the less likely you’ll be to actually write.
Keep it as simple as possible when you’re starting out.
The easier it is for you to write, the more often you’ll do it, and the more momentum you’ll build up over time. Momentum is what will keep you writing. You can’t gain that kind of traction if you’re always “failing” to meet your own standards.
What does it mean to “keep it simple?”
You decide that. But for me, when I was getting back into my writing practice after a few months away from it because of an autoimmune flare, keeping it simple meant writing at least one sentence a day.
If I wrote one sentence, I considered it a win. One sentence was totally doable. Anything beyond that was a bonus. As you might’ve read here on my blog before, this one-sentence-a-day-minimum practice launched a novel that I then worked on for 4.5 years.
That is momentum!
Keep it simple. Start small. Let your effort snowball organically from there. Trust me, it will.
Allow It To Suck
Sometimes, if we’re afraid that what we write will be really bad, we’re extra-resistant to starting.
The logic sort of makes sense: if we don’t ever write it, it can’t suck.
If you’re ok with never trying, that’s ok! You don’t have to write. Truly, the world will go on without your work in it.
But… if the idea of not trying really bums you out, you have to be ok with whatever you write sucking. Especially when you’re first starting out as a writer or starting a new project.
We all write first drafts. They aren’t usually all that good. That is not only ok, but it’s EXPECTED! You have to let go of your attachment to your writing being perfect straight out of the gate and embrace a sucky first draft.
You can’t edit and polish and revise something that doesn’t exist, right?
I always tell myself I’ll fix it later. That’s the mantra that gets me through any resistance when I know something I’m writing isn’t very good. I just think I’ll fix this later! and keep on writing.
And you know what? I always do go back and fix it later once the whole thing is done and I can see it for what it is and what it wants to be. It’s much easier from that vantage point to make a piece shine. It’s almost impossible to do it from the starting line.
To Wrap Up:
- Identify what’s stopping you and what you want to write. Demystify your own resistance and your own ambitions so your brain will feel ok with the process.
- Keep it simple. Set the bar low enough that you can meet it for a while to build the momentum that will propel your writing for a good while.
- Allow it to suck. You’re human. Your writing isn’t going to brilliant on the first pass. Let it suck and remember you can fix it later.
And don’t forget… join me on Instagram for content all month long about how to start writing!
Plus, you can download your free Getting Started Flowchart here.
If you’re already on my newsletter list, you can find your downloadable PDF already in your inbox! Just look for my newsletter and scroll down. Every monthly blog post will come with a downloadable resource to help you make the most of that month’s topic, so be sure to sign up here if you want in!
What’s your top hangup when starting to write? Tell me in the comments!
Most writers wonder if their writing is any good at least once or twice a second.
I’m kidding, of course. Typically, we try to only contemplate this every 3-4 minutes, max.
But seriously, are you even a writer if you don’t ask yourself if the stuff you’re creating is any good?
I have a distinct memory of being in the middle of the first draft of my first novel, happily typing away, tens of thousands of words deep into that project when the thought first hit me: IS THIS EVEN ANY GOOD??
I was in a Starbucks when this happened. My earbuds were in, my writing playlist pulling me through what just minutes before had been a great writing session.
Self-doubt can hit hard and suddenly like that, but it usually doesn’t mean anything.
I see now that the real question I was asking myself about that novel was, how will I survive if this doesn’t get published? Or how will I survive if it does get published, but people don’t love this story as much as I do?
Or, really, at the core of it: what if I write this and fail?
“Good” is hard, if not impossible, to measure because it’s tremendously subjective. What’s good to one person is terrible to another. That’s what makes art so incredible! And also terrifying.
Here are some better questions to ask yourself the next time you wonder if your writing is any good:
- Am I enjoying writing this? (If yes, carry on. If no, stop!)
- Is this something I would read? (If yes, carry on. If no, stop!)
- Do I feel there’s more for me to uncover in this story? (If yes, carry on. If no, stop!)
- Am I scared that I’ll fail, embarrass myself, destroy my chances of becoming a writer, etc? (If yes, carry on. If no, still carry on.)
You should always keep writing if you feel connected to your story. It’s ok to wonder if it’s any good! That probably means you care a lot about how other people will receive it because it’s an important story to you.
I was truly in love with the book I was writing. Wondering if it was any good wasn’t a sign that I should throw away 50,000 words and start over. Far from it.
It was a sign that I cared about what I was doing so much I wanted some kind of promise that it was good. Worthy. Important.
You’ll never get that guarantee while you’re in the writing process. As comforting as it might be, it’s an impossible thing to find.
Your writing group and your mom and your best friends can all read your draft and say it’s great, but until you make peace with what you’re really asking, you’ll still wonder.
And, to be clear, I’m not saying you should never put in an effort to grow and improve as a writer.
There’s always a gap between what we want our writing to be, and what it really is. Strive to be better, always.
But don’t discount the fact that what you’re writing right now is valuable as it is.
Don’t quit it because you’ve convinced yourself it’s simply no good. You’re not allowed to make that judgment call; your readers are. And you won’t have any readers if you don’t finish your piece.
So figure out what you’re really asking when you ask if your writing is “good” and make peace with it. Then keep writing. You won’t feel like you’re getting any better if you quit before you see what the finished product looks like.
And trust me, you deserve the chance to see what your completed story or book or collection looks like. So do the people who will read it.
Tell me below if you ever wonder if your writing is good, and what you might really be asking yourself with that question.
I wrote my first novel accidentally.
Well, I started writing it accidentally. I hadn’t set out to pen an entire 95,000 word novel, yet that’s what happened.
My second novel was one hundred percent intentional. I knew I was going to write another book and I had a pretty good idea what I was doing when I got started.
In both cases, there were some strong signs that told me I needed to write a book.
Of course, it’s not a scientific process that can be determined with a little check-list, but here are five pretty solid signs that you should write a book.
1. You Can’t Stop Thinking About A Story/Image/Character
With my first novel, I couldn’t shake this one particular image that I wrote during a writing exercise. I kept seeing it in my mind for days after I first wrote those couple of sentences.
I not only kept thinking about it, but I was desperately curious to know more. Who were those people I’d envisioned? What were they doing?
I just kept freewriting until more information revealed itself. It didn’t feel like I was making it up, but rather that I was discovering it.
When I wrote my second novel, I couldn’t shake the image of four adult women who had been friends since they were teenagers together on Block Island. I kept thinking about their dynamic, their bond, their issues with each other. Again, I was so curious to know more that I just started to write and let the story reveal itself through the process.
If there’s something you can’t stop thinking about, whether it’s a scene you’ve already written, a line of dialogue, a character, a specific image, a concept… try writing on that specific thing every day for a couple of weeks and see what comes up.
In my case, I thought I was writing a short story with my first novel, but I soon realized there was too much story there to contain it in a few thousand words.
With that said, the next sign you should write a book is…
2. You Tried Making It A Short Story, But Couldn’t Cut The Length
If I try writing something as a short story and I can feel there are many thousands of words more to put down, I commit to making the piece longer.
How can you tell, though?
As someone who’s written both short stories and novels, I can say it’s not always a cut-and-dry answer. Sometimes you can just get a sense that the story you’re trying to tell in twenty pages needs two-hundred to actually work.
Other times, you might think you’re writing a novel and realize at the end of the first chapter that you’re trying to draw out something that’s much more contained.
A good way to test if a piece should be book-length is to write scenes consistently for a few weeks and see if you’re still feeling energy from the story. In both of my novels, I kept feeling like I was being pulled forward to new scenes every time I saw down to write.
But if I had started to feel like I was simply out of energy and scenes, I would’ve regrouped and let it be a short story.
3. You’re Terrified Of The Process, But So Eager To Try It
So many writers say they have a book in them, but so many writers never give it a try. If you’re terrified of the process, that’s valid.
It’s scary to try something new that could take up years of your life and which has no guarantee of success.
Why do any of us write books in that case?!
Well, it’s because we’re eager to try it. It may be scary, but it’s also exciting. No one really knows what they’re doing when it comes to writing a book, but the act of trying something new that you’re genuinely eager to try… that’s worth it.
4. You Read A Lot And Always Think, “I Could Do That”
Do you find yourself thinking, I could totally do this when you finish a book?
If you’re an avid reader, chances are you can write a book. The more you read, the more you intrinsically understand what makes a good story.
Beyond this, though, if you feel a creeping sense of envy about other people publishing books, you’re probably ready to try writing one of your own. Not only do you know that you could do it, but you have a desire for what another writer has accomplished. If that’s the case, that’s a pretty strong signal.
5. You Keep Thinking About Writing A Book
Sorry to state the obvious, but if you’ve been thinking about writing a book, you should probably just try writing a book.
I think some people stop themselves from trying because of any number of excuses:
- I’m not ready
- No one wants to hear what I have to say
- The story I want to write isn’t interesting enough
- I’m not a good enough writer
- I’ve never written anything before
- I’ll probably fail at this like I fail at everything else
- I’m too embarrassed to admit I want to write a book
- I have no idea how to write a book
- I don’t have time to write a book
- I need to make an outline first, but I don’t know what I’d even put on it
Etc, etc, etc.
You need to let this truth settle into your bones.
You can start writing a book today with zero planning and zero prior experience writing a book. All you need to do is start.
No one has to see what you’re writing until you’re ready to share it. You can edit everything later on. There’s no one waiting for you to finish by a certain deadline.
Truly, the only thing stopping you is you. If you want to write a book… why not give it a try?