Where do Ideas Come From?

Where Do Ideas Come From?

         "Where do you get your ideas?” is probably the question most frequently asked to authors. Many of the successful authors have developed stock, often trite, answers to this question.

"Sears, between the shoes and pants."

"I keep them in a box under the stairs."

"All my ideas are original and spring from my head."

         Well, I'm going to answer the question honestly. I can't say whether or not my answer applies to any author other than myself, but I'd be willing to bet it is the truth for most to a lesser or greater extent. The truth, for me, is that most of my ideas come from stealing them. The only reason I haven't been sued for plagiarism is that I know the right ways to use stolen ideas. Well, that and the fact that what I do isn't really plagiarism in the first place.

         A few years ago, I picked up a used book by Robert Bloch (I think that was the author's name) about Murphy's Law. Since that time dozens of editions of the same idea have come out, dealing with different professions or years. One of the laws cited was, "Stealing from one source is plagiarism. Stealing from many is research." (Please note that if I had used the above quote without citing the source that would most certainly be plagiarism. That's the reason for the sentences preceding it.)

         So, what does that have to do with stealing ideas? When I steal ideas, I take them from multiple sources and merge them in a way that makes them original. It's as simple as that. How many plots in popular novels today are 100% original? Most of them are the same plots that were in use in the 70's, the 50's, Victorian England, Shakespeare's time, all the way back to classical mythology. So if, for example, you write a Fantasy story about a group of heroes looking for a way to defeat some seemingly unstoppable evil, you will be compared to Tolkien. That is because he wrote what has become the great grandfather of Epic Quest Fantasy. And the weird part is that it wasn't an original plot when he wrote it. He took ideas from other sources, mythological as far as I know, and adapted them to suit his writing needs. Any author can do that. When you get an idea for a story, make a quick shopping list of characters, settings, and other items you will need, and then when you see something appropriate, grab it.

         The problem many authors run into is how to make the old ideas fresh and original. Take note of the word 'adapt' in the Tolkien reference. He didn't just take ideas from various mythological sources and drop them into his stories. You shouldn't do things like that either. Change them to fit the world you want. Twist them around so they aren't obviously taken from another source. Also, make sure you take your ideas from as many different sources as you can. Characters, for example, can be lifted from stories, shows and movies in genres completely alien to yours. You can also get many great ideas from real life. Do you know a store clerk that is really nice and competent? Graft her onto an innkeeper in a fantasy story. Do you have a particular teacher you disliked in grade 3? Attach some part of him onto villainous henchman number 8 in your political thriller. Just make sure you only take one or at most two traits from a real person. The more the character is like the real person the more probable it becomes that you will be sued for defamation.

         Settings are also easy to lift. In many ways, they are easier to alter than characters are. High rise buildings can become tree cities. A suburban street can be mutated into a row of small traditional houses in the Japanese country side. Paintings, book covers, album covers, any and all of these can be sources of inspiration for settings. A browse through your favorite book or music store can now be written off your taxes as a research trip. Okay probably not. Check with a qualified accountant if you want to try that one. Some fictions are more risky than others.

         Plot elements may seem more difficult to adapt. In reality they aren't. Many plot twists are based on character interactions. Someone the protagonist trusted betrays her. Someone the hero believed was an enemy turns out to have been working towards the same ends all along. A villain’s toady spills vital information at a critical point, but it might be a red herring. All these work well across genres. Many plot devices that require certain genre conventions (magic, political intrigue, high technology, natural disaster) can be modified to fit the available means. The spell in a fantasy novel that paralyzed the hero and left him at the mercy of his enemies can just as easily be a tranquilizer dart in a more realistic setting, for example.

         Now, once you learn how to read and watch everything as potential sources for ideas, you can move up to the next level, reality. The daily newspaper can be invaluable for plot elements if you get stuck in a story. You can generate entire stories, or even the basics for whole novels out of headlines. Walking down the street can provide hundreds of good character ideas. Looking at travel magazines and books in the library can provide all the exotic settings you could ever possibly need. The real world is a vast library of characters, settings, and plots, more than any author could ever use in a lifetime of writing.

         So, make a list of ideas you need. Take a notebook with you where ever you go. When a good idea walks past you, write it down. Think about ways to change it to better fit your stories. Try using it in a story you are working on. You will quickly find you have all the ideas you ever needed right at your finger tips waiting to be used.