How do your ideas for a manuscript start?
Do you find you start with a character? Place? Event? Inspiration from a Dream? Memories? Quotes? Concepts?
I guess it's only fair I answer this question before I force you to...
For me, it varies.
FRACTION OF STONE (to be released March 2013! Eep!) was inspired by Akara, the female protagonist. I wanted to create the most broken girl imaginable. Then I realized I needed to put her in a story.
ALREADY THERE, my collab with the great Jen Morris, started with two sisters. We wanted to write about two sisters from alternating point of view. Okay... what should those two sisters do?
THE CRICKET PROJECT, my YA Science Fiction currently under major revisions, was inspired by a concept, an idea. What if we could make anything happen (a wish, essentially) by using the energy of a star? Then I needed characters to tell this story.
So, how do your ideas for a manuscript start?
This might sound silly, but I never really put a lot of thought into where my ideas come from. Thinking it over, though, they mostly start with a character, and I then have to work out how best to mess with them LOL!
ReplyDeleteMy current WIP was inspired by another novel I'd started earlier this year. I decided I wanted to make it more YA. I always start with a character or place. :D
ReplyDeleteIt really depends. Sometimes it's just a thought or a line, sometimes a character. For my YA zombie novel it was my husband. He's a major zombie fan. :)
ReplyDeleteHey, I saw on Jessica's blog that you said you're from Wisconsin. I didn't know that. Where in Wisconsin? I'm in SE Minnesota, only about an hour from Wisconsin, so I was just curious. :)
I begin with a character and then build a world for them to live in.
ReplyDeleteMy ideas come at random, sometimes from a song, from pictures I see. This latest WIP I've started came from a dream, actually! I'm trying to figure out where to go with it, but having fun so far!
ReplyDeleteI tend to be a concept girl. REFUGEE started with the concept of "how do you deal with betrayal" and the sequel is about "how do you win someone back after betrayal" :) I sure hope Tag pulls it off :)
ReplyDeleteCharacter first, story second, world last. And it always begins with an idea from a movie.
ReplyDeleteMy ideas come from all over the place. Random things my kids say, thinking of a character, a dream, random plot idea. There's so many great places to get ideas, they just keep popping up. I just wish there was time to write them all (or at least the good ones).
ReplyDeleteMy stories almost ALWAYS start with a character. If they start with an idea for an event, then the character has to come before I can write.
ReplyDeletebut the original ideas come from EVERYWHERE - other books. movies. songs. driving. nowhere. old journal entries. my husband's cases...
Awesome sources of inspiration for your novels.
ReplyDeleteNEVERLOVE - originally inspired by Adele's song "Set fire to the rain"
MINGLED - a NaNoWriMo project inspired by Hunger Games, only what if those selected weren't chosen to fight to death, what if it was for something else?
I also have an MG idea bouncing around in my head inspired by a Writing Prod at Randy Lindsay's blog, Author in Training.
For my first novel (now 100% trunked forever/practice novel) I was inspired by how the men dominate fairy tales and fantasy novels. So I wrote a feminist Beauty and the Beast. There were only 4 male characters!
ReplyDeleteIn VD, the novel I am revising, I love the movie Heathers and wondered why there wasn't a book similar to it. So I wrote it. Now it's not quite 100% Heathers-y but it still has that gritty, crazy feel. :)
My varies too, but usually a character and a concept come pretty close together. I usually see a world, and then what type of person comes from that world, and what is their story.
ReplyDeleteI'm like a lot of the answers here already:) I grabbed one idea snagged by a thought taken from two different movies: Barbie's Charm School and Sky High.
ReplyDeleteAnother unique idea came from a trip across town. I can't spill the beans yet because I am still writing my outline and synopsis, but I will tell you this: We were driving by the cemetery and what I saw was first comical (I know that sounds insensitive, but it was NOT a funeral) but then a really cool thought developed that I think makes for a creepy novel idea, with a twist...
Hi Kelley! *waves hand crazily* *smiles*
All sorts of different places, sometimes a 'what if' type question, sometimes a scene with a clear character in it and I extrapolate from that. I have periods where ideas seem to come easily, and periods where I wonder if I'll ever have an idea again.
ReplyDeleteMy current WIP idea came from a place. The next one that I'm still brainstorming came from a tattoo I saw. So interesting to see where ideas come from!
ReplyDeleteThe idea for Strength came from two things:
ReplyDelete1. [Plot] A nagging supernatural concept in the back of my mind.
2. [Romance element] This song.
Great post, Kelley! :)
Personal experience, people, news, crime. Thanks for sharing yours.
ReplyDeleteWow, I have to admit that reading these comments makes me feel really intimidated. I never ever come up with a character then a plot then the world. I never consider who would be the best main character, none of that. All of my ideas for novels are downloaded into my brain in a strike of lightning from an unknown source. Complete. World, plot, character, lines, turning points, pinches and climax. It never feels like a brush with anything supernatural or god-like. For me it always feels like I'm receiving a package from a really busy and late UPS delivery guy, barely waiting for me to sign before running off into the distance (and never giving me a chance to check for shipping damage).
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the original ideas are always riddled with soft spots. Cliche and trope-ish, so the real work isn't writing them down, it's subverting the problem areas. I think it's because they are filled with tropes and cliches that they come so easy. Maybe I should hold up my Muse next time and meticulously inspect the package before signing for it.
It's different with each project. My first one started with a character-A very broken girl. Second one started with an idea-What if you could see your guardian angel. And you know Already There. And Sir Callan started with a story for my boys.
ReplyDeleteUsually it's something I see as I'm going about my daily business. People walking down the street, someone says something interesting at work. A couple of weeks ago I saw an airplane descending in preparation for landing, but because of the angle and the way the light was hitting it I didn't recognize what it was for a few seconds. All sorts of ideas started flying then.
ReplyDeleteCharacter usually comes last for me though. I just usually have a visual in my head, like a tableau I guess, that I just have to write about and then things kind of spin out from there.
The draft I just completed of my first novel started with a flash fiction I popped into my head when I was half asleep.
dreams, day dreaming, movies, music...lots of things. It's what you do with those ideas that matters.
ReplyDeleteCan be anything...a song, a phrase, how a person looks. My problem isn't the ideas...it's getting them out of my head fast enough!
ReplyDeleteLike Elizabeth S. anything can spark an idea for a manuscript for me. Nevermore came from reading a call by Entangled Published for fairytales with a zombie twist, Briar's bullfrog prince character came from reading your blog that had a snapple fact about bullfrogs never needing sleep and Shade Me (my Camp Nanowrimo project) came to me while watching a Twilight Movie for the thousanth time.
ReplyDeleteHmm, interesting questions, Kelley Lynn.
ReplyDeleteUsually I'll start with a "panoramic" view popping into in my head. (My mind wanders to entertain itself!) I'll imagine an epic scene out of nowhere and want to recreate it. From there I'll jot down brief notes (so I won't forget), and eventually I'll put down an outline to see if it "sounds as good" as the original scene in my head. (I used to be a pantser - now I outline.) :)
I have not set answer. They come from lots of places. Sometimes they just pop in. Sometimes from other stories. Sometimes from songs. The next one I will start this fall came from an episode of Law and Order Criminal Intent. It's not a crime story though, it was more the characters.
ReplyDeleteI find inspiration in almost everything I see/hear. Usually, though, a novel idea will start from a random scene inspired by a random event; ie music, concept, wherever. If I like the scene that much, I then figure out who the characters involved are, ask why they're there, and develope an idea from there.
ReplyDeleteMine come from all over: a unique occupation I wanted to write about, the life story of a college friend, another novel that made me ask a lot of questions about death, one from a news report I saw online, and even my ancestors' stories. Inspiration is everywhere!
ReplyDeleteIt's different for each for me as well. The one I have out on submission Existence stemmed from a short story picture prompt. the one I'm currently writing came when I thought of one of my favorite places (southern Utah) and wondered what would happen if Rapunzel was stuck out there :)
ReplyDeleteBrody came from me playing with the fat by my armpit. Not very glamorous. ;)
ReplyDeleteDreams! I get fab ideas from my dreams, and not so fab ideas. The trick is knowing which ones will be fruitful. :)
ReplyDeletei get ideas from watching people, dreams, the news, songs...you name it!
ReplyDeleteso happy for your release! cant wait to see a cover!
The idea for my current WIP came from my husband and daughter, who had a running joke between them about getting one thing or another done on "Grunsday." (which meant NEVER) But I started wondering when Grunsday really was -- and what if some people had a Grunsday in their week, and others didn't?
ReplyDeleteAnd what if there were people who had Grunsday, but none of the other seven days? And before you know it ...
I'm currently 2/3 of the way through my second draft.
Same as you--I get inspiration from pretty much everywhere! Some stories have begun with a concept, some a character . . . yep. Pretty much anywhere! Congrats on your up-coming release!
ReplyDeleteFor me it usually starts with a question. 'What would happen if...', 'How would someone react if...' or any question with an open answer. Then I let it build in my mind until I have a beginning and an end. After that, I make up the middle as I go along.
ReplyDelete(Well mostly. Sometimes I just imagine myself as a superhero fixing the world or the galaxy, but keep that one a secret. If anyone finds out it could be embarrassing.)
I often imagine a scene, usually a very big one in the story, then I think backwards. "How did these characters get to this point?" Once I know the answer, I start writing. Though I have begun a story with a character or a concept, this is often the way it goes for me. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat question! I've got half an idea, and I'm waiting for that 'feeling' that I'm ready to write! That's not a very professional way to go about it, is it? I'm just glad doctors don't have to wait for a 'feeling' before they treat me :-D
ReplyDeleteThe main character comes to me first. I can say that for previous and current manuscripts.
ReplyDeleteI get flashes of plot or a string of words leading to an event. I had only one story idea ever start with a character and she hasn't been important enough for me to listen to her to the end.
ReplyDeleteI get pictures and scenes mainly. For my fantasy book I started with the idea of magic through song, which appeared in a scene, and then I suddenly imagined a tree made of crystal. For my contemporary fantasy, it all started with a picture of a tree on someone's blog. That's mainly how my stories start, though I have also just started with a what-if concept.
ReplyDeleteMine are almost always inspired by a what if questions. Finding Claire Fletcher was inspired by the "What if you ran into someone and found out later they were a missing person question?" And my second novel was inspired by the question: "What if you had this lifelong, kind of benign stalker who lost his marbles one day?" I started another book that I plan on returning to soon that was inspired by the question: "What if a school shooting wasn't at all what it seemed?" The WIP was inspired by a show I saw that made me ask a bunch of what if questions. So yeah, I guess I'm a what-if type of writer. Everything coalesces around that! (Hope I spelled that right! LOL)
ReplyDeleteMy ideas start with a particular scene. Something pops into my head and I go with it. I develop the scene and then have to back track to the beginning and work my way to the end. Only once have I ever written a story in which I started with the very first line. Granted, it was only 300 words long, but still a story. (:
ReplyDeleteI get images in my head, then I write to connect them. Oddly enough, by the time I get to a particular scene I was aiming for, the scene may be irrelevant, or I choose to reverse what's going on among the characters.
ReplyDeleteMy ideas come from anywhere and everywhere. Usually it starts with characters, who after stewing in my brain for several weeks, introduce themselves to me. But it can also be a location I visit, an emotion, a thought about an object or situation. It even came from playing a board game--yes, a BOARD GAME.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your process--and late Congratulations on landing a book deal! :)