Learning How To Idea
A few weeks ago, an ad on Facebook caught my attention. It was an ad for a writing course specifically about how to conjure ideas! Clearly Facebook knows all because that’s (shockingly) something I’ve always struggled with. My ideas for writing tend to just show up when I’m not looking so this was a new challenge to actively seek them out!
The course was called “Seven Ideas in Seven Days” and was offered by Writers HQ. It was short and sweet but I honestly learnt so much from it; about how ideas are literally everywhere, in everything you hear, see and think about. The structure of the course meant I got a new idea every day! I unfortunately caught the flu half way through which threw off my writing storm a bit but I made it through and honestly think I have some good ideas on my hands!
I wanted to post what I’ve written here (below the cut), with a brief look at the tips in the course! If you choose to glance through the ideas I came up with, let me know if anything looks promising to you or if you have any other ideas or feedback, anything is appreciated!
DAY ONE (take a mundane event or everyday task and look at it from different perspectives):
Channel 0: [omniscient] A large family is only ever together at funerals (and weddings, stuff like that.) The youngest sibling has recently died after a tragic accident. There are six siblings in total, their parents long gone.
Channel 1: Viewpoint of the second youngest sibling, Matthew, who was closest to the deceased and considered his brother to be his best friend. The duo were inseparable and he is heartbroken to be without him. He hasn’t seen any of his other siblings in over two years, since the death of their mother (the father having died years before that). And he doesn’t want to see them, either.
Channel 2: Viewpoint of the deceased brother - a kind of ghostly perspective. He looks over the scene of his funeral, introducing his siblings to the reader, critiquing them and silently joining their awkward conversations.
Channel 3: Viewpoint from the eldest sibling, who is dying from terminal cancer. She too, notices how seldom she sees her family and notes that she likely never will again.
Channel 4: Game-of-Thrones style perspective switch between each of the characters throughout the day of the funeral.
DAY TWO (use a random literary quote generator online and take the last couple of words as a title! Then visit Flickr and take the third featured image as your book cover. Now, what’s the story?)
R1 (developing the story, random ideas):
A detective story or murder mystery. A body is discovered in a marshy, boggy, forest area by passerbys (hikers? joggers?)
Maybe someone who’s been missing a while - search party discovery
Maybe something more supernatural - a group or couple out hiking and then, suddenly, one of them disappears. Found later, butchered.
More horror film-esque - a night camping in the woods
A serial killers territory or dumping ground
Or the moor is alive - it swallows you whole
R2 (favouring supernatural idea): Who - A group of friends (18-25yrs) out camping. The forest/moor is rumoured to be haunted and dangerous. Amy is the most scared and skeptical of the group. But boyfriend Tom promises to protect her. (see where this is going?)
Two groups of couples (one hetero, one homo) and two single, “platonic” friends.
One of the “platonic” friends (Sophie) is first to disappear - later found by the other singleton James.
Throughout the night, the group starts to disappear, one by one, murdered by unknown forces. Eventually, it’s just Amy and Tom. But in the end, the moor gets him too as it swallows him whole, faster than quicksand.
Finally, Amy makes it out of the living moor, but just barely. The lone survivor.
Pitch:
The Moor is a suburban legend, a myth, a mystery and naturally … a tourist attraction. A group of fearless young people decide to investigate the legend of the “living moor”, treating it as nothing more than a regular camping trip. Amy tried to warn them.
The Moor is a living thing. And you just walked right into its mouth.
DAY THREE (Image Prompt):
Where are they/it? Suburban. London.
When is it?- 1940’s
Why is it/they there? A young woman packs her belongings into her suitcase. She contemplates one last time about her decision to leave home.
Who are they? This young woman has had enough of her rough home life. She wants to see more, she wants to experience the world. But still, she is afraid. She has never done much of anything on her own, having gone straight from school into a less-than-loving marriage.
What happens next? She finally makes the decision to leave home, packing what clothes and other things she can into her suitcase. And she’s not about to leave the dog behind with that man, either, no siree. She and her dog make their way to the train station, their destination unknown.
Abigail Winston has not had the easiest life. But then again, she can’t complain, it could’ve been much worse. Mother always said that once she had a roof over her head, she had nothing to be sad about. And yet there she was, crying her heart out into her pillow, a pillow which has soaked up far too many of her tears over the years under this blessed roof. She could hear the music blaring from the gramophone downstairs. It was the same as always, the same tune, the same routine. She made her way home from her day job as a seamstress to be met by the backside of his hand for whatever reason he could pluck out of thin air. The dinner wasn’t done. The dishes were dirty. The dog was barking. The neighbours were noisy. The floor was a mess.
“Why do you make me do this?” He asks, seeming to be genuinely perplexed at her nature. His hand is red raw from slapping her thricefold across the face. “You know I don’t want to hurt you.” He says, as he pulls her in towards him and kisses her right where he had just slapped her. His lips sting.
But finally, as if some kind of cosmic epiphany had just hit her, she decided that she had had enough. It wasn’t her fault, it never had been. There was nothing wrong with her, it was all him. It was all down to the voices in his head that told him it was his right to treat her this way, she was his wife after all, his property.
But no more.
She scribbled a note upon her vanity table, almost deciding to throw it into the bin altogether. Maybe it would be better to leave without saying anything. What would be the point in trying to explain her reasons for leaving? He would never believe them. He wouldn’t care. But she wrote it anyway, trying to keep her words as devoid of emotion as possible.
She didn’t love him, perhaps she never did. Marraige is just something everyone has to do, right? What a world.
She pulled out the suitcase from the closet and threw in her most prized possessions, but mostly clothes. She hurried down the stairs, knowing he’d be back from the public house any time soon now. Pausing at the door, she turned around to find him standing there; Toby … the dog.
“He’s never been kind to you, either, has he?” She found herself asking. The dog yapped and ran towards her and the decision was made. She wouldn’t be alone after all.
She made her way down the suburban street with little Toby running along beside her. She caught the questioning glances of many neighbours as she passed them. Of course, she could not hope to leave unnoticed. Jonathan would be well informed of her departure, suitcase and all. But still, she carried on and tried to ignore the ball of anxiety building in her stomach.
A half hour later, she had finally reached the gates to the train station. “Where am I even going?” She thought to herself. She hadn’t thought this far ahead. It had been a spur of the moment decision in the end. Maybe she should turn back. Yes, back to what she knew, that would be best.
Toby yipped up at her, snapping her to attention. No, this was the right thing to do. She had to leave. She needed to get on the soonest train, that would take her farthest away, somewhere he would never guess to look for her.
Cornwall. She had never been there. She barely knew where it was, only that it was pretty far out of London. She didn’t allow herself to hesitate and bought herself (and Toby) a ticket. A one-way ticket. There, she had done it. There was no going back now.
Her heart hammering in her chest, she turned towards the gate leading to the train at a steady pace. Perhaps she wasn’t paying enough attention to her surroundings as suddenly, someone bumped into her, causing her to drop the suitcase and for it to burst open, spilling out some of her hastily packed things.
The stranger stopped and bent down to help her. “So sorry, miss! I should’ve been looking where I was goin’! You alrigh’?” That voice. It couldn’t be.
She looked up at the strangers face and realised he was no stranger at all. “Well, I’ll be … Abigail. It’s been an age.”
DAY FOUR (choose an emotion that you want to invoke in the reader and work backwards)
Emotion: Inspired
Need to experience: Success in the face of adversity. A hopeless situation turned hopeful. Perseverance. Never giving up, despite the odds being stacked against you. Succeeding. Leaving behind a good legend. Paving the way for others.
Who: A homeless person with a wacky invention idea. A single mother on the cusp of poverty who’s just trying to do right by her kids. A severely bullied kid who intervenes in someone else’s bullying. A political activist who keeps going despite being arrested, even beaten, a number of times. A dystopian world where the smallest voice can be the loudest.
I can often feel inspired to suddenly change my life, to stop just accepting how things are and do something about it. I am in control. But they want to take that control away from me.
Young girl in a world that wants to suffocate all that she is. A very strict world with lots of rules and regulations. Akin to a dictatorship.
A single mother, Margaret, circa 1960’s Ireland who had to have her child in secret as she was unmarried. She leaves home, determined to protect her child. The father doesn’t know. How far can she go before the child is discovered and they are ultimately pulled from each other? She finds friendship in an older woman who was once sent to the “mother and baby” home after her own unmarried pregnancy in her youth. “It’s like a prison,” she says, “A torture chamber … under the guise of God’s work.”
She fears every day for the life of her child. But it won’t stop crying. She tries to keep it happy but its screams echo right through the walls. She can’t stay in one place too long, lest somewhere see her and report her. Her family have reported her missing, her face is plastered across every town that she can get to. She alters her appearance as drastically as possible, new haircut, new hair colour, different clothes. She has barely any money to her name, and she can’t get a job since she needs to mind the child constantly. She turns to prostitution, a quick job with high pay. Anything for the child.
The older woman tells her all about her time in the home, of the daily routine and the daily “retribution”, the punishment for having betrayed her promise to God.
As she listens to the stories, Margaret becomes determined not only to save herself from the grip of the Church but to save other mothers too from their righteous judgement. She tries to find others who have survived the homes and learns more and more horror stories from them. The babes were stricken from their breasts, never to be seen again. Those that died in infancy were tossed aside in a mass grave, little more than garbage in the eyes of the nuns.
Margaret starts to draw up flyers, leaflets and posters to alert people to the real goings-on in the homes. The homes designed to “reform” and “rehabilitate” wayward women. The propaganda must be subtle at first, a whisper in the collective unconscious until more and more women wake up to the problem in their society. The propaganda must be spread without its source being known. Margaret’s connection to it can never be discovered because of course, the child would be too.
She develops a steady group of friends, women who have all been subjected to the Church’s law. One such woman, Josephine, only 15 years old, was impregnated by her local priest. Together, they round up more and more women and stage a protest outside of the home. They infiltrate and extract the imprisoned mothers and snatch up the innocent children. The mass grave is discovered and the Church’s secret is revealed.
In the end, Margaret and her group of friends set up a real home for unmarried mothers where both woman and child are cared for until they are able to care for themselves.
DAY FIVE (take a paragraph from a book you’re reading and pose what-if questions)
A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow
Pg 75
The queen-to-be invites a traitors daughter to supper.
What if the daughter bears the queen ill will?
What if the queen bears the daughter ill will?
What if the queen is worried that the daughter (a servant) will cause the king to stray?
What if the queen fears that the daughter, too, will prove to be a traitor?
What if she is a traitor?
What if the daughter uses the invite as an opportunity to enact a plan against the queen or some other vendetta?
What if the supper goes horribly wrong and the queen is murdered and the daughter is accused?
DAY SIX (Analysing the ideas):
Idea One: The Family Funeral
Idea Two: The Moor at Night
Idea Three: Abigail
Idea Four: Mother and Baby
Idea Five: The Queen and the Traitors Daughter
IDEA #1:
What interests me about it?
I’ve thought about this idea for a while, sparked by an observation on my own family. I come from a pretty big family and the prospect of only ever seeing them at certain events such as weddings and funerals is disheartening. But I think it’s something most families can relate to, especially as the children get older and separate into their own lives. We all get too busy to meet up until ultimately, we lose our last chance to see each other at all. Writing this story would be interesting to explore family dynamics and how they can be affected by tragic grief.
Will I be interested in it long term?
I intend for this to just be a short story so it shouldn’t take more than a few weeks/months of my time once I get down to it.
Is there an obvious journey?
I see this as a scene in the funeral home with the family reuniting. I would like it to show the frayed family coming together again in the face of their united grief, choosing to set aside their differences and grudges because life is short.
Has it been done before?
I guess that episode in “Haunting of Hill House” (episode 3?) is rather similar with the family, once torn apart, coming together for their sisters funeral. Tensions are high, and they argue quite a bit but ultimately, it’s a lovely reunion. I guess it’s likely it inspired me subconsciously to think about this story and my own experiences. But I wouldn’t quite go down the spooky route with my story!
What about the research?
I guess it would be worthwhile to seek out other people’s stories of how their families reunited and came back together after a tragedy - or perhaps the very opposite. I don’t know if I’d be brave enough to quiz my own family about how they feel!
Why do I need to write it?
Because yes, life is busy and we all have our own things going on but family is important. You never know when someone may be taken from you, tomorrow is never guaranteed. I want people to pause and think about their relationships and whether they’re holding onto unnecessary anger. If that person was gone tomorrow, could you live on knowing you’ll never make amends?
Who’s going to care about it?
I think this is something a lot of people - particularly those from larger families - can relate to.
Is it a goer?
I think this is a great opportunity to explore characterisation and storytelling so yes, I intend to work on it!
#2: The Moor at Night
What interests me about it?
I’ve always wanted to write a spooky horror story. I love watching horror stuff - especially supernatural stories - although I haven’t read many.
Will I be interested in it long term?
This is a fairly fresh idea and I think it’s a little too “cliche” yet and needs something else to really interest me.
Is there an obvious journey?
Uh, everyone dies?? Except the girl who was warning everyone that the Moor is serious business. So, not really, other than the survival. Or maybe Amy starts out extra scared but has to become brave to escape, yadda yadda, who knows.
Has it been done before?
In the sense of a devouring swamp, I don’t think so. It makes me think of the Blair Witch stories that I loved to read growing up. But it needs something to pull it out of being a “basic horror” monster eating story.
What about the research?
I think I need to sink my teeth into more horror stories if I ever hope to write one. I watch plenty of movies but finding a book that is actually scary is rare, I think. And well, movies are all about the cliche so maybe more novels can open me to new ways of thinking about horror and how to scare! That, and research into pananormal/supernatural stuff could breed new ideas!
Why do I need to write it?
This one would just be fun to write, I think.
Who’s going to care about it?
People who like horror stories, I suppose??
Is it a goer?
Not sure yet. Think it needs a lot more development or rethinking more creatively.
#3: Abigail
What interests me about it?
I like writing stories that show characters coming out of a bad place and into a better life. I think this story could show people that they are in control of their lives. Too many people settle and just “make do” with their life situation even though they’re desperately unhappy.
Will I be interested in it long term?
Hmmm, again there’s not much here in terms of a “story” just yes. A traumatised, abused woman finally leaves her unhappy home behind and … what?? She meets an old friend at the train station, perhaps a past sweetheart. What happened there?
Is there an obvious journey?
This would be quite a character driven story. Abigail’s goal is to get out and make a new life for herself. Does this make her into a sort of outlaw? Does she have to fashion herself a new identity? Likely, her past will eventually find her again. What lengths will she go to to escape it? Hmmm, maybe there is something here….
Has it been done before?
Given how bare-bones this idea is, most probably. The story of an abused woman running from home has likely been done to death (although I can’t think of any in particular). So I’d have to find something to let this stand out.
What about the research?
I think I should start by reading similar stories, particularly non-fiction books of women who have escaped abuse for extra inspiration.
Why do I need to write it?
Again, I think people need to realise that they are in control of their own destiny. You don’t have to just “put up with it.” This would be a story about empowerment and learning to put yourself first.
Who’s going to care about it?
I guess this could cater to the feminist cause and female empowerment.
Is it a goer?
Again, not quite sure until I’ve developed the idea a little more but I think there might be something there, alright.
#4: Mother and Baby
What interests me about it?
This is a topic that’s quite prominent in the Irish consciousness. The whole scandal around the mother and baby homes won’t be forgotten anytime soon. This idea was born out of a “what if” really concerning that topic. What if we had known sooner? Could we have stopped these terrible things from happening?
Will I be interested in it long term?
Not too sure, this one isn’t drawing me as much as the other ideas I’ve had. Yes, it’s an interesting topic and one we should never forget but I’m not sure about this story.
Is there an obvious journey?
This story is quite about empowerment as well, standing up for what you believe in and refusing to back down. It’s about change and fighting for the greater good. Many of the characters involved will go on their own journeys of growth.
Has it been done before?
Of course, the Magdalene Sisters covered this topic pretty well (although I haven’t actually seen it) but that story takes place entirely within the home itself. So, it’s similar but doesn’t mean this story is invalid. This idea also makes me think of Fantine in Les Miserables who went to such depths for the sake of securing her daughters livelihood.
What about the research?
Being related to an actual event, I would have to do a good bit of research for accuracy. But that actually sounds exciting! Love me some research. Most importantly, I would seek out stories from women who actually experienced these atrocities and go from there.
Why do I need to write it?
Because we can’t forget what we, as a nation, did to so many women and innocent children all in the name of “God”.
Who’s going to care about it?
I should hope mostly anyone.
Is it a goer?
Maybe??
#5: Queen and Traitor
What interests me about it?
This was mostly a bunch of what-ifs but I think the scenario of the Queen being murdered at their dinner together could be interesting. The daughter is already of ill-repute thanks to her family and is naturally accused. This is, of course, a period story and that could be quite interesting to look into medieval stuff and how the royals live and lived. Of course, the daughter did not kill the queen, so it would also be a story about judging a book by its cover.
Will I be interested in it long term?
This idea sounds like a classic whodunnit, something I’ve always wanted to write. And in a period, medieval, royal setting? That could be interesting. But again, this seed is so little I can’t say if it will bear fruit just yet.
Is there an obvious journey?
The daughter will have to prove her innocence and discover the true perpetrator in the process.
Has it been done before?
I don’t think so? Whodunnit’s are a genre unto themselves and I’ll have to investigate the likes of Agatha Christie to see what’s been done (and hasn’t!)
What about the research?
Loads of research here into royalty and medieval life. But again, I love research so that just makes this idea even more appealing!
Why do I need to write it?
A good old murder mystery would just be fun to write!
Who’s going to care about it?
Wannabe Sherlocks?
Is it a goer?
I kind of want to develop this a bit more and see where it takes me!
DAY SEVEN (Idea Development):
I chose to focus on the murder-mystery actually as it excites me the most!
There’s a hero! Something happens and her life totally changes. She’s now got a problem to solve. Shit!
So, the hero is the daughter, perhaps a princess or just someone who lives at the palace. She comes from a family of ill repute. Her father previously betrayed the trust of the Queen and was extradited. But the Queen is loving and forgiving and takes his daughter under her wing. But no one else in the palace trusts her nearly as much. The Queen invites the daughter to supper with her. This is a rare occurrence as the daughter would usually sup alone since the rest of the palace people disliked her so. The supper is going well and everyone is having a good time until suddenly - tragedy strikes and the Queen begins to sputter and choke. She falls facedown onto the table, dead. The stain on her lips and wineglass make it clear that she had been poisoned. All eyes fall on the daughter as she is instantly accused of the crime. Guards are called and she is instantly pulled away into the dungeons before she even has a chance to defend herself.
She tries to solve the problem.
Not only has she been accused of murder, but she’s also locked in the dungeon! She has to find a way out and prove her innocence. She befriends someone in the cell beside her. A young boy, around her age. He’s been here a while, locked up for snatching a piece of bread that he swears he never touched.
Somehow or other, they get out of the dungeon. Maybe they trick a guard or find a hollow point in the wall. But they remain in secret while the girl tries to find clues to clear her name. She listens in on conversations around the castle, discovering all sorts of goings-on.
She fails miserably at solving the problem, or she solves it with unexpected consequences, and the story pivots and there is a new, bigger problem to solve.
She eventually discovers the true culprit! It’s not someone anyone would’ve expected. But, boneheadedly, she decides to confront him alone but he gets the better of her and knocks her unconscious. She wakes to find herself tied up and helpless once again. This man is someone of power, high up in the hierarchy of the palace and has everyone wrapped around his little finger. It will be difficult to prove him guilty.
The problem is fixed or remains unfixed. The hero is happy or unhappy. She is CHANGED in some way.
She eventually gets to expose the true culprit to the other people in the palace and clears her name in the murder. Of course, she is disgruntled that everyone immediately turned on her without giving her a chance to defend herself. She opts to leave her life in the palace behind and with her captive friend, they seek out a simpler, happier life together.
