| It's not always the quality of what you start with . . . it's how you develop it. A few people have asked me over the last few months how I got the idea for writing my book. I perhaps get asked that question a little more often than others in my field because my subject matter is quite off the beaten track, and many people know that I'm relatively new to writing. I think people assume that I must either have had some 'lightbulb' moment or gone through some meticulously planned schedule of research before embarking upon such a whacky project! Well, the answer to this to be quite frank, is neither . . . or both! |  |
You see, there are lots of ways to get inspiration to create something whether it be writing or any other form of creative art but there is one strand that always seems to flow through, and it was brought to my attention earlier today as it happens . . (hence the inspiration to write this post.)
Let me explain:
I work in a school supporting and teaching kids with special needs in design and technology/resistant materials . . . (that's designing and making things out of wood, metals and plastics in layman's terms.) We really do work on creativity, and inspiring the students to take ownership of their own ideas is a huge common goal, whatever level they are at. Well, earlier today, with a GCSE group my colleague was emphasising the importance of the students showing the development of their initial idea. It doesn't matter if they'd changed their minds a little bit, if they'd felt their first idea had gone a bit flat - what mattered is what they could show they had done to develop, to extend, to grow their original idea . . . and how they'd got to that point.
Let me explain:
I work in a school supporting and teaching kids with special needs in design and technology/resistant materials . . . (that's designing and making things out of wood, metals and plastics in layman's terms.) We really do work on creativity, and inspiring the students to take ownership of their own ideas is a huge common goal, whatever level they are at. Well, earlier today, with a GCSE group my colleague was emphasising the importance of the students showing the development of their initial idea. It doesn't matter if they'd changed their minds a little bit, if they'd felt their first idea had gone a bit flat - what mattered is what they could show they had done to develop, to extend, to grow their original idea . . . and how they'd got to that point.
It got me to thinking how fiction writers in the main follow this plan whether they realise it or not.
Okay, there are going to be some that tell you that the whole idea came in a flash and that all they had to do was write it down . . . I can understand that.
There will be some that tell you that they were visiting somewhere - sitting in a cafe perhaps or somewhere similar, and someone came in and did something and that gave them the idea . . . I can understand that too.
But, all these aspects are really just starting points, there are still a lot of blanks to fill in and that takes work. It takes a lot of thoughtful development of what you've started.
J. K. Rowling has said that when she got the initial idea for the Harry Potter books it came to her quite quickly whilst on a long train journey. This doesn't mean that the whole thing was planned out in her mind on that same day, but it does mean she had the seeds of a strong (as it turned out quite genial) idea to develop. She also said that the final chapter of the final novel was actually sketched out after the opening chapters of the first! The final novel wasn't published until seven years later so that tells you that there was a clear structure to the whole thing right from those first seeds . . . but still her journey took her many different directions as she went through that meticulous process of developing it.
So, what does this tell us?
Well, as my Granddad used to say to me
'There's more than one way to skin a rabbit' . . . but the final result needs to always reach a similar level of success - the skinned rabbit must be edible!
Creativity takes you on a similar journey from a single point - a seed of an idea to the final product that bears the fruits of your labour of love.
Going back to myself here then, where does my inspiration come from?
Well, it's never exactly the same, the process seems to vary from project to project - sometimes things just come to me quite quickly to start off the story and then it just flows, sometimes I get a strong seed of an idea but then get stuck. Whatever route it leads me down I don't force it, I let things happen naturally. If it comes swiftly and engulfs my creative brain then it means it must happen quickly - if that means a little desperation to get things done then it's going to mean late nights - perhaps lots in quick succession! If I get a 'slow burner' then that's cool, slow burner's are good, but - they either flare up at some point or they don't. To me this doesn't matter. I don't get hung up if my idea falls on it's head. If I have to force it I know that it probably wasn't a strong enough idea in the first instant and the best place for it anyway is really just the archives of my sketch notes.
When writing The Spirit of Peterborough and some of my short stories, the ideas came from the strangest of places and at the strangest of times . . . (I like strange!)
An idea I am working on now came directly from a dream I had one night about a year ago . . . I hurriedly wrote down the basics at 7.30 that morning before I went to work, knowing that the details might well become blurred during the working day and that later that evening might just be too late! This idea became a quirky short story a week or two later but has now grown from it's initial seeds into possibly something much bigger. . . I have developed it, but I have not forced it.
I wrote one of the stories included in The Spirit of Peterborough the day after a famous local football match and related it back to another match several years earlier, the story is not about football but it is about a ghost.
On the same night my son thought he had seen a ghost locally. Whether he had or not is irrelevant but the two things happening together that weekend inspired me to write the entire story in the following 5 days . . . and it's not been altered very much to this day.
I also wrote e second story - completely different but inspired by where my son had seen that supposed ghost and what might have happened! That one didn't make the first book - maybe in the sequel?
These are just examples from personal experience, I could go on but I won't because getting ideas is an endless process but it is a process that everyone can partake in. There are no hard and fast rules as long as you don't just plain copy someone else's exact idea.
I love what I do. I love the process of transmitting my thoughts, ideas, beliefs, emotions to others. Story telling is just one way I do this. Music and art I've also dabbled with and no doubt will some more at some point in the future.
The point is anybody can do this. If you have the germ of an idea don't hold back . . . DO SOMETHING WITH IT.
It's not always the quality of what you start with . . . it's how you develop it.
Everybody can do something creative that is different from the next person:
What creative talent do you have?
Do you write, draw, paint, play or make music?
Do you design stuff? Do you doodle on your notebook and sometimes people look over your shoulder and say 'Hey, that's pretty cool'?
Are you someone who walks into a room and 'ad lib's? - you have a flair for witty comment!
Can you rearrange furniture in a room to completely transform it? - that's creativity at it's most useful!
Can you decorate, up-cycle stuff, recycle materials to come up with something quite crazy? - that's really 'in' at the moment.
Whatever bag your into I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a comment below and I will get back to you and help in any way I can
Okay, there are going to be some that tell you that the whole idea came in a flash and that all they had to do was write it down . . . I can understand that.
There will be some that tell you that they were visiting somewhere - sitting in a cafe perhaps or somewhere similar, and someone came in and did something and that gave them the idea . . . I can understand that too.
But, all these aspects are really just starting points, there are still a lot of blanks to fill in and that takes work. It takes a lot of thoughtful development of what you've started.
J. K. Rowling has said that when she got the initial idea for the Harry Potter books it came to her quite quickly whilst on a long train journey. This doesn't mean that the whole thing was planned out in her mind on that same day, but it does mean she had the seeds of a strong (as it turned out quite genial) idea to develop. She also said that the final chapter of the final novel was actually sketched out after the opening chapters of the first! The final novel wasn't published until seven years later so that tells you that there was a clear structure to the whole thing right from those first seeds . . . but still her journey took her many different directions as she went through that meticulous process of developing it.
So, what does this tell us?
Well, as my Granddad used to say to me
'There's more than one way to skin a rabbit' . . . but the final result needs to always reach a similar level of success - the skinned rabbit must be edible!
Creativity takes you on a similar journey from a single point - a seed of an idea to the final product that bears the fruits of your labour of love.
Going back to myself here then, where does my inspiration come from?
Well, it's never exactly the same, the process seems to vary from project to project - sometimes things just come to me quite quickly to start off the story and then it just flows, sometimes I get a strong seed of an idea but then get stuck. Whatever route it leads me down I don't force it, I let things happen naturally. If it comes swiftly and engulfs my creative brain then it means it must happen quickly - if that means a little desperation to get things done then it's going to mean late nights - perhaps lots in quick succession! If I get a 'slow burner' then that's cool, slow burner's are good, but - they either flare up at some point or they don't. To me this doesn't matter. I don't get hung up if my idea falls on it's head. If I have to force it I know that it probably wasn't a strong enough idea in the first instant and the best place for it anyway is really just the archives of my sketch notes.
When writing The Spirit of Peterborough and some of my short stories, the ideas came from the strangest of places and at the strangest of times . . . (I like strange!)
An idea I am working on now came directly from a dream I had one night about a year ago . . . I hurriedly wrote down the basics at 7.30 that morning before I went to work, knowing that the details might well become blurred during the working day and that later that evening might just be too late! This idea became a quirky short story a week or two later but has now grown from it's initial seeds into possibly something much bigger. . . I have developed it, but I have not forced it.
I wrote one of the stories included in The Spirit of Peterborough the day after a famous local football match and related it back to another match several years earlier, the story is not about football but it is about a ghost.
On the same night my son thought he had seen a ghost locally. Whether he had or not is irrelevant but the two things happening together that weekend inspired me to write the entire story in the following 5 days . . . and it's not been altered very much to this day.
I also wrote e second story - completely different but inspired by where my son had seen that supposed ghost and what might have happened! That one didn't make the first book - maybe in the sequel?
These are just examples from personal experience, I could go on but I won't because getting ideas is an endless process but it is a process that everyone can partake in. There are no hard and fast rules as long as you don't just plain copy someone else's exact idea.
I love what I do. I love the process of transmitting my thoughts, ideas, beliefs, emotions to others. Story telling is just one way I do this. Music and art I've also dabbled with and no doubt will some more at some point in the future.
The point is anybody can do this. If you have the germ of an idea don't hold back . . . DO SOMETHING WITH IT.
It's not always the quality of what you start with . . . it's how you develop it.
Everybody can do something creative that is different from the next person:
What creative talent do you have?
Do you write, draw, paint, play or make music?
Do you design stuff? Do you doodle on your notebook and sometimes people look over your shoulder and say 'Hey, that's pretty cool'?
Are you someone who walks into a room and 'ad lib's? - you have a flair for witty comment!
Can you rearrange furniture in a room to completely transform it? - that's creativity at it's most useful!
Can you decorate, up-cycle stuff, recycle materials to come up with something quite crazy? - that's really 'in' at the moment.
Whatever bag your into I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a comment below and I will get back to you and help in any way I can
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