Idea Generation

[jrod]

When I teach my Writing For Comics class it's a guarantee that someone will ask me, "where do your ideas come from." If anyone has seen me in these pitching threads, I throw out ideas left and right. Little elements to add to a story that'll make the project feel more robust and layered. So I thought I'd start a thread on idea generation so we can all talk about where ideas come from.

AS A RULE, please don't just come in and leave a comment about where your ideas come from without commenting on someone else's post. The reason I usually hate message boards is because you start a thread like this and everyone comes in and talks about how awesome they are and then pop back out and wait for someone to pat them on the back. In this thread, pat people on the back, sure, but also tell them if you disagree with them, why you disagree with them, and if you do disagree with a point, offer a different viewpoint.

Let's have discussions, here. I'll follow my own rules, too. And let's have at it.

[jrod]

So I'll start. Besides life experiences (of which I have plenty) I find that reading little pieces of everything helps me come up with ideas for stories. I read novels and comics for pleasure, of course, and watch movies all the time, but I don't think you get enough when you just stop there. When you read a novel, you're generally reading something you care about and you're not opening yourself up to new ideas and theories.

So where do I go to get a wider breadth of knowledge? My library's magazine section. My library has magazines for everyone. Parenting magazines, knitting magazines, extreme sport magazines, science magazines. I make it a point to go to the library every month or so and spend several hours reading random articles out of random magazines. You don't have to commit a lot of time to an article, maybe five or ten minutes, tops, and you'll gain exposure to something that would otherwise fall off your radar. I read things that are in line with my current philosophies and I read things that go against everything I believe in. Because it's important, as a writer, to experience everything - for characters, character's stories, and lifestyles that you normally don't know about.

Some mag's I actually have subscriptions to because I find them particularly helpful. AMERICAN HISTORY magazine, SMITHSONIAN, stuff like that.

But magazines, they're wonderful sources of information that I feel writers should be using on a daily basis. What about you all?

[RonaldMontgomery]

I have a picture of JRod on a little side table with a drawer. Occasionally, I'll put things like bottled tears of a baby, love letters, and newspaper death notices in the little drawer before bed. When I come back and open the drawer in the morning, my offerings are gone and there's usually a piece of fine linen paper on which is written, in an elegant scrawl, a list of story ideas.

[jrod]

Originally Posted by RonaldMontgomery

I have a picture of JRod on a little side table with a drawer. Occasionally, I'll put things like bottled tears of a baby, love letters, and newspaper death notices in the little drawer before bed. When I come back and open the drawer in the morning, my offerings are gone and there's usually a piece of fine linen paper on which is written, in an elegant scrawl, a list of story ideas.

I know a guy that actually does collect obituaries and uses them for character ideas.

[RonaldMontgomery]

Originally Posted by jrod

So where do I go to get a wider breadth of knowledge? My library's magazine section.

This is a great idea. Just going to the public library is good. I think a lot of times it's too easy to become ensconced in home, drive to work, work, drive home, and you create this monoculture bubble of your tastes and prefererences.

This really is a good idea. Do you want a piece of cake in the drawer tonight?

[jrod]

Originally Posted by RonaldMontgomery

This is a great idea. Just going to the public library is good. I think a lot of times it's too easy to become ensconced in home, drive to work, work, drive home, and you create this monoculture bubble of your tastes and prefererences.

This really is a good idea. Do you want a piece of cake in the drawer tonight?

I'm on a diet...but I'll always appreciate a beer. Dogfish's 90-minute, Bell's Two-Hearted, or Rogue Dead Guy would be best, thank you very much.

So, Ronald, where the idea for CALIFORNIA ASHLEY come from?

[James W Powell]

My first job out of college was writing obits. Loved it. I filed away lots of ideas from what I learned.

Jason, you've got some solid ideas there. I'll have to take that library idea seriously. I tend to do something similar, only online. Bizarre news articles are obviously a great place for "bigger" ideas, but I tend to dig for the more subtle nuances of character, about what drives a person to do what he/she does. I know that's not an "idea" per se, but knowing how a character thinks and knowing why they do what they do, that's a building block to a good story.

I guess I do things backwards. I don't come up with story idea in the plot sense, I generally come up with a character's motivation or desire first. "Oooh, what if there's this boy who wants nothing more than to get out and see the world." Then I start formulating ideas about why he wants to leave and some impediments to that goal.

Tying that all back into obits: When I wrote about someone's life, I always drifted off, wondering who this person was. What motivated them? What did they regret not doing? It really got me focusing on characters more than the superficial plot elements. (Sometimes this is a disadvantage, because I don't always think "big" enough. I tend to think a quiet, small story with powerful emotions is enough, when what I often need is a spark, a hook, that triggers a reader's interest enough to dive in and meet that character.)

[Barri "Clubber" La]

J-Rod. I'm liking the use of magazines for inspirations.. true life tales and so on from gossip mags could give a writer, who may not have yet "LIVED" a long and varied life, the 2nd hand experiences that they themselves would never know.

I've never actively sat down and tried to come up with new ideas... I have a little note book my wife gave me for Christmas with loads of random little statements in there that I've jotted down as things pop into my head.

E.G

My Story "Army of One" was stated after listening to Knights of Cydonia by Muse.
Here's what I have as far as notes.

"Thundering horses feet" (there’s the snorting of horses and SFX of galloping horses at the start of the song

"a fool King." & "Take me alive, make things right" bit of lines from the song

that turned into a story of a Celtic girl charging into a 10,000 strong roman legion (cavalry also) and fighting to save Britain from the invading Roman army. As a "fool/Mad General watches) :-)

Actually listening to the song keeps me writing it!

[chris stevens]

"California Ashley herself is about my daughters and how much I love them."

now, not being a jerk, but i wouldn't guess that having clicked into your site just now and reading today's page.

ideas? for me, they all come out of the life you live and how open to experience you are, how sensitive you are to the world around you and your sense of living in it. this is filtered through the scope of influence of other works. i think everything i ever write will, to some degree, be influenced by my teenage readings of alan moore and arthur rimbaud. the poet dylan thomas informs my cadence, and the open&searching prose, the need for true expression, of jack kerouac leaves me something to strive for, constantly.

my jungle jane story came from randomly picking up a national geographic with an article about jane goodall and her family of chimps with names like david greybeard and gremlin. the earfarmer story i'm working on comes from a busted love affair, an infatuation with 'blade runner', discovering carl sagan and wanting to make comics that read like miles davis' early 60's records sound.

i don't have as many ideas as i used to. i'm not worried about it, i've got plenty to work on for now. if i was looking to generate ideas, as this thread states, i'd go with jason's 'hit the library and grab a bunch of mags'. little nuggets you stumble on can pop in your head like magic.

james, writing obits? and you're such a cheerful s.o.b.
that shit would drain me. i'm too sentimental.

[RonaldMontgomery]

Originally Posted by chris stevens

"California Ashley herself is about my daughters and how much I love them."

now, not being a jerk, but i wouldn't guess that having clicked into your site just now and reading today's page.

You can be a jerk. I don't care.

BUT--

I'm surprised to hear you make a judgement without reading the whole story.

[jrod]

Originally Posted by RonaldMontgomery

You can be a jerk. I don't care.

BUT--

I'm surprised to hear you make a judgement without reading the whole story.

I was going to yell at Chris for that but your quote coupled with a picture of a naked woman spitting cum out of her mouth is honestly too fucking funny. But I will read more of the book.

More coming, lots to address.

[r nelson]

Originally Posted by chris stevens

"California Ashley herself is about my daughters and how much I love them."

now, not being a jerk, but i wouldn't guess that having clicked into your site just now and reading today's page.

Reading this made me go look, and after the initial surprise, I can actually see it. Having a daughter, the idea of her ending up a prostitute is probably the WORST fear I could have in life. So in a strange sort of way, I can see how California Ashley is about how Ronald loves his daughters or, at least, inspired by it.

I'm often with James, in that I think character first most of the time. What is it I want to say about this character? What needs to happen in the story to evoke that? Then the story comes from there. Sort of. I get ideas for situations and events within the story from newspapers, reading obituaries about once a week (real people are a lot more interesting than fictional ones sometimes), and I am SO going to give jrod's magazine idea a go. I might read a knitting magazine at dentist later today.

I manage a restaurant as my day job, so I get to see people from all walks of life, and that certainly helps with dialog writing. Hearing snippets of peoples' conversations, usually out of context, often spurs great story ideas, but most of the best ideas come from life.

I've always had an idea to write a sort of autobiographical time-travel story about the events that shaped my life, and how changing any of those major events would have changed so much else in life. When I feel like the "idea well" is dry, I often go back to thinking on that, and within a few days, something worth writing about comes up pretty quick.

Originally Posted by Barri "Clubber" La

I have a little note book my wife gave me for Christmas with loads of random little statements in there that I've jotted down as things pop into my head.

Any writer who doesn't have a notebook just for ideas is missing a ton of opportunities. I keep one by my nightstand when I sleep and, on the rare occasion that I remember my dreams, I can store the good ideas.

- Richard

[RonaldMontgomery]

Guys: the story isn't about my daughters becoming prostitutes. My daughters have NOTHING to do with that story. I am VERY SORRY if I gave that impression.

The eventual hopeful message of the narrative frame (if you went back that far to see it) is inspired by them.
The stories reflect themes for each issue. The theme for issue one is "lost women".

I feel obligated to explain this because it is very, very important to me that there be no confusion in my inspiration for making sense of the world, and the ideas I choose to make a story from.

Thanks.

[jrod]

Alright, several things.

James - you bring up an interesting point, does one start with character or plot? I honestly think it could go either way, but if you start with plot you need to pick a character that would work best in it and if you start with character you need to pick a plot that he or she would work best with. So the questions are, "What plot will provide the greatest challenge for this character?" and "What character will be most challenged by this plot?" I can't make a judgment on which approach is better, and I think it all depends on what inspires you at the time.

Barri - I know a lot of folks who draw inspiration from music. I kind of see more of a mood setting thing than an idea generation thing - you have your idea, what kind of music puts you in the right mood. That's not to say I was never inspired by a song - I'm currently working on a novel that was inspired by Cannibal Ox's "Scream Phoenix." In fact, the working title of the book is "Phoenix Screamed" and the main character's (who happens to be Jesus Christ's) blog is called "Scream Phoenix." So I can certainly see how music can inspire a story and be more than just wallpaper.

Ronald and Chris - Real life experiences and fears are always good, especially if you've had the type of life worth writing about. I know Chris, for instance, can talk for hours about the various characters and instances in his life and they'd make for good stories. My friend Tony Fleecs is the same way - his life is a comedy, he's just a magnet for the most insane things ever, and you can tell it influences his own stories (seriously, if you EVER meet Fleecs at a convention, ask him to tell you about the time his choir sang for Corky from "Life Goes On.") I think sometimes this could be a problem for SOME people, tho, especially ones that tend to have a rather routine life but they see it from an extraordinary angle. I realize I'm being pretty elitist here but, seriously, Joe Matt loves to masturbate - I GET IT. I like to masturbate too, not going to write a comic about it.

[jrod]

Originally Posted by RonaldMontgomery

Guys: the story isn't about my daughters becoming prostitutes. My daughters have NOTHING to do with that story. I am VERY SORRY if I gave that impression.

The eventual hopeful message of the narrative frame (if you went back that far to see it) is inspired by them.
The stories reflect themes for each issue. The theme for issue one is "lost women".

I feel obligated to explain this because it is very, very important to me that there be no confusion in my inspiration for making sense of the world, and the ideas I choose to make a story from.

Thanks.

DERAILED.

I believe ya - you do have to admit, tho, it's kind of funny.