Earlier in the week Robin Lee Hatcher shared a post about how she comes up with ideas for her books. I always love hearing writers talk about their creative process and how they develop their stories.
Robin said this: “So very much of the writing process, so much about the gift of creativity, remains a mystery. At least that’s true for me.“
I found her answer fascinating, since my method of story development is very different. I decided it would be fun to share my perspective and show how unique we all are in how we approach writing.
My creative process is much less mysterious. In fact I depend on very tangible things to help me get my creative juices going. Here are several of those things:
Research.
As a historical writer, I rely heavily upon history books for inspiration. For example, when I was writing my orphan train series, I read as many research books as I could find on the topic. In doing so, I dug deep which always unlocks a treasure of ideas for stories, many of which are based on real people and events.
I also love to read biographies which offer another source of amazing ideas and inspiration. I’m able to find such interesting (and sometimes shocking!) details, habits, events, and characters.
As I research (both in books and online), I keep a running list of everything that interests me in the brainstorm section of my plot notebook. I don’t ever throw out any ideas, no matter how crazy they might sound.
Novels.
As strange as it may sound, yes other novels really do inspire me. No, I never, ever copy ideas. Obviously writers would get into a LOT of trouble if they took what someone else created and rewrote it to make it theirs. That’s pretty much the same thing as plagiarizing.
Instead, I read with my eyes wide open, constantly learning new writing techniques, how authors create especially memorable characters, how authors evoke my emotions, or how they bring words to life.
In addition to learning, I also glean facts, behavior, dialogue nuances, character traits, setting details, etc. that interest me and lead me to do further research. Those gleanings spark my imagination, and I begin to ask myself questions like these:
• This is wild. But what could make it wilder?
• I like this situation, but what could make it tenser?”
• What’s worse than that?
• How can I make this even larger than life?
• What’s more dangerous?
Movies and TV Shows.
As I watch movies and TV shows, I go through much of the same process that I use when reading novels. I always view the shows through writerly lenses—evaluating characters, plot, dialogue, etc.
I recently watched a PBS show that had to do with the topic of the series I’m writing next. As I watched, I took vigorous notes on the way the characters spoke and acted, setting and sensory details, and more.
Again, I never copy anything I view. But the stories I view help to inspire new characters, plot ideas, emotional arcs, antagonists, and more.
People-Watching.
What do all three of the above methods have in common? People-watching. I don’t need to go to a mall or coffee shop to find interesting characters or stories (although sometimes that’s fun too!).
Instead, I’m people-watching all the time from the comfort of home. My writer’s mind is constantly at work observing human interactions. And that is where the beauty of stories is found.
What about you? Do you ever People-Watch? Have you noticed anything lately that is novel-worthy?
Jody Hedlund
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Jody, I find ideas through all of your methods too. Histories and biographies are favorites but played a bigger part when I was writing strictly historical fiction. With the historical thread in my current series, I already knew that part because of history. As for movies, I remember sitting in one once and an action scene was happening and something the character said gave me an answer to a problem I’d been wrestling with in a current book. It was all I could do to stay in the theater instead of racing home to get back to writing. But to me, all that I take in goes down into my subconscious, and I never know when it will bubble up. That’s why it is a mystery. 😉
Thanks to both Robin and Jody for the insight into the creative process. It seems that both of you rely on experiences, whether real life or researched. It’s the individual author’s imagination, the way she/he answers the question, “What if?” that gives each book its individuality. That, too, I think, is based on the author’s experiences.
Thank you for giving insight into the process of developing ideas for your stories. I definitely people watch. I think I got big into that in college. My friend Darren and I used to watch people at parties all the time and we would make up conversations for each and every person we watched. It entertained us for hours. I haven’t really thought about using those things…time to rehash!