The Fuel of Creative Writing: Ideas

In creative writing, ideas are everything. No matter how good a writer you might be, without ideas you will have nothing to create.

You are actually already bursting with great writing ideas, whether you know it or not.

Trust me, you have enough raw material inside you right now for more novels than you could ever hope to complete, no matter what age you are or how uninteresting you believe your life might have been.

All you need is a foolproof method for discovering these novel ideas, and you will find it right here.

First, though, a warning...

Do you remember at school how your teachers told you to spend the first ten minutes of an examination reading the questions? Well, it's the same thing with writing...

• In creative writing, ideas might be plentiful but that doesn't make them all valuable. In fact, settling on the first idea that drifts into your head could be costly if it later turns out to be the wrong idea. You could face months or even years of wasted work - and I should know because I've done it.
• So, don't rush into a decision. As this section shows, writing ideas are actually simple to find, and not that time-consuming to find, either - unlike writing the novel, which will most likely take you years.
• It makes sense, therefore, to wait for the right idea to come along (you'll know when it does), and not to settle on second best for the sake of another day's or another week's searching.

Of course, there is another potential problem here: being so cautious that you never commit to anything...

• Yes, you'll know when the right idea comes along (the infinite possibilities it contains will keep you awake at night with excitement).
• But you still need to make that decision to go with it - to dedicate a significant chunk of your life to it, effectively. And that takes courage.

Procrastination can be fatal in creative writing. I have been guilty of it myself in the past - not committing to a writing idea until I was sure it was the perfect idea; not realizing that a truly perfect idea would probably never come along.

I am not qualified to tell you how to make the best use of your writing time (or, in the case of procrastination, not making any use of time). But for some expert help and advice on managing your time, check out this excellent website on effective time management techniques.

Okay, it's time to roll up your sleeves and get down to the nitty-gritty of finding some ideas. Winning ideas for creative writing might seem elusive if you have already racked your brains and come up with - well, not much. But if you go about it calmly and logically there is really nothing to it.

Introduction to Finding Ideas for Novels

What Are Novel Ideas?

The first thing you will want to know is what it is you are searching for, exactly. This article reveals all.

Where Do Novel Ideas Come From?

And while we are dealing with the basics, you might be wondering where all these creative writing ideas you're about to magically discover are hiding.

Writing Autobiographical Fiction

All fiction is autobiographical to an extent. We have only ever lived one life (our own), and so we cannot help but write about it. The danger is being too autobiographical, as this article explains.

How to Write What You Know About

One piece of advice you hear a lot as a novel writing beginner is to write about what you know. But how does this square-up with the advice in the previous article – about not writing purely autobiographical fiction? You will find the answer right here.

A Top Tip For Writing a First Novel

Before moving on to talk about how to find writing ideas, an article to help you avoid one of the classic creative writing pitfalls.

Finding Creative Writing Ideas

Finding Writing Ideas In 2 Easy Steps

Now for the main event. My two-step process for finding ideas for fiction is simplicity itself, but also magical in its results...

• In Step One, you learn how to brainstorm in a highly-focussed and highly-productive way.
• And in Step Two of the process, you learn how to take all those brainstormed notes and play around with them, trying out different combinations, until you find the perfect writing idea for you.

Testing Creative Writing Ideas

Are Your Ideas For Writing Any Good?

How will you know when you have found the "perfect" idea? The truth is, it can be incredibly difficult sometimes to tell if you have discovered a diamond or a worthless lump of coal. This article will help you to decide.

How to "Road-Test" a Novel Idea

And if you want to be even more certain of a writing idea before you commit to it (a novel, after all, is a massive commitment), you can discover how right here.