Where do you get your ideas?

A question most writers are faced with at some point in their career is, “Where do you get your ideas?”

Some of the answers for this question have been: “From life.”, “From a dream.”, “From my idea box.”, “Out of my head,” the answers keep on going.

I’m not sure why this question is asked so often, but it is. There are even books out there full of writing prompts. Most writing how-to books include a section on coming up with ideas. Try a Google search and you shall discover multiple links to sites telling how to find ideas.
I’m not saying it’s always easy to come up with an idea, but the most honest answer I can think of for this question is, “From my imagination.” It starts as a seed, and it grows into a massive oak or in some cases, it withers and dies.

The seed is the starting point. My seeds come from life, dreams, prompts, images, and daydreams. I’m sure there are more sources, but there’s a few. After the seed is planted, the rest is done with sprinkles of imagination.

For instance, my short story, “Friends Forever,” began with a seed. That seed came from the movie, “The Ring.” The seed was the ‘Well’. In fact, the story began as “The Forbidden Well”, but quickly became something more with a few dashes of imagination. The seed was allowed to germinate over a few days' time. When I sat down to write, I really had no conscious idea of what the story was going to be about. As I began, an image of a little girl flying a kite flashed before me and that’s where I began the story. Everything else just grew from “a well” and “a little girl with a kite.”

So, where do you get your ideas?

storySouth Million Writers Award contest

The 2011 Million Writers Award is now open at storySouth

Support your favorite writer by nominating him/her for this award.

Nominations: http://www.jasonsanford.com/jason/2011/02/reader-nominations-for-2011-million-writers-award.html

Rules: http://www.jasonsanford.com/jason/2011/02/2011-million-writers-award-rules.html

Nominate a story and spread the word. The story has to be over 1000 words and published "online" during 2010. The submission deadline is March 15.

Did you have a story published in 2010? Share it here. I will personally nominate the best story listed.

Deadline for sharing here in order to be nominated: March 10th

Published Work Page update

I've had trouble with the links on my Published Work Page. All links are currently working.

2nd Stylish Blogger Award

I've once again been awarded the Stylish Blogger Award. It is always an honor to be noticed in the blog world. Thank you, Lindsey, for thinking of me when passing out this award.

Seven Things about me

1. I write poetry.
2. I hope to step into Stephen Kings shoes one day, although I'm not holding my breath.
3. During the day, I deliver mail for the post office.
4. My favorite color is blue.
5. My favorite musical artist is Prince.
6. I don't like cooking very much.
7. I graduated top 3 in my high school class.

I'd like to pass this award to:

1. Tracy @ Forever Endeavor
2. (Not) Just Another Writer
3. 365 Days to Get a Life
4. Misha @ My First Book
5. Suzi McGowen's Notebook
6. Stephanie Thorton @ Hatshepsut The Writing of a Novel
7. Claudia Del Balso, Writer

Hope you all enjoy your award. Thanks again, Lindsey.

Quotes

"People want to know why I do this, why I write such gross stuff. I like to tell them I have the heart of a small boy... and I keep it in a jar on my desk."—Stephen King

Writers Read

One of the best things you can do as a writer is read. Read in your genre and out of your genre.

Some writers say they don’t have time to write, much less read. Think about that for a moment. If they don’t have time to write are they even writers. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand the not having time issue, but you must make time for writing. And, you must make time to read.

By reading, you ingest what other writers do. You may not even realize it at first, but your subconscious is a sponge and it’s soaking it all up.

If you are anything like me, reading is what brought about the dream of writing in the first place. So, why would you quit now? You can learn from reading good writing, but you can also learn by reading bad writing. Those books that make you think, “I can do better than that,” can get the ball running on your next big story.

I will admit when reading some great books I may slump and say, “I can’t do that.” But, I push forward and say, “But I’ll give it a shot.”

For those of you struggling for time, audio books are a great solution. It is also a great learning experience for all writers. Listening to a book is different than reading one. You will discover a whole new world and a different outlook on the books you read.

Reading can be inspirational and can lead you to new story ideas. You can pull themes, characters, and even settings from the books you read. Now, I’m not saying go write the newest version of Stephen King’s, Under the Dome. But I am saying keep an open mind while you read and let ideas float around.

So, what are you reading?

Friends Forever

In October, my short story, "Friends Forever," was accepted by Untied Shoelaces of the Mind.

It has now been published in their fourth issue.

If you'd like to read "Friends Forever," go here.

There is a section to leave comments at the end of the story. I welcome feedback both at the site and here on my blog.