Broken Frontier

Often people will ask me, “Where do you get the ideas for your stories?”  Unfortunately for the conversation, it’s never a question that I can give a cut or dry answer to.  Nine times out of ten a story pieces itself together over time, stimulated by various sources as opposed to just one idea-filled well.

But, as far as the most basic of concept, well, that tends to come from a small handful of situations and origins, and some of them are so basic, that it’s less about what I’m doing at the time, and more about what I’m not doing… Bogging down my brain with the migraines of life.

To light the fire in the creative brain, many times you need a spark… Some idea-based inspiration to get the gears of storytelling turning.  However, I also find that there are times when the only inspiration needed is silence and solitude.

These are my Top 4 sources for inspiring concepts for future stories.

1. My bed!

I know it sounds uber simplistic, but this is one of my favorite places to forget about life and just let go, allowing the brain to switch to autopilot and do what it does best… Brainstorm.

Why does this work?  Well, I find that it’s one of the only places in your day to day life where there are as few distractions as humanly possible.  Obviously without the ringing phones, the blaring television, and the need for getting “stuff” done, your mind is at ease and free to roam the hillsides of creativity.

For me, this is a great place to uncover the nugget of the idea.  Often I won’t over think a story when my head is against a pillow, but instead, just come up with core elements, and many times that means something as simple as the title.  An example of that is Curse of the Were Woman, a book released late last year through Devil’s Due.  That entire project started out based on the title, which came to me just before dozing off one night.  From those five little words a book was developed, produced, and eventually released.

The biggest downside to doing your work in bed?  Well, needless to say there have been more than a few occasions where I have woken up the next day, unable to remember the BIG IDEA I had dreamed up the night before.  For that reason alone, I now keep a notebook on the nightstand, but keep in mind, it’s never a seamless move to click on the light and start jotting down a title or plotline when your wife is trying to sleep next to you.  In other words, if you’re in bed with someone else, be prepared to give an explanation for your actions to your incoherent mattress mate.

2. History!

This may be more of a personal taste than anything else, but I feel like history offers us so much in the way of storytelling, particularly when you’re able to flip it on its head and add your fictional flare.  Many of my books began with some sort of historical tie-in (The Underworld Railroad and next year’s The Pepper Shakers), and while they don’t necessarily follow the original timelines of the past, they do originate there.

Open a history book or watch the History Channel for a day, and I guarantee you that you’ll find inspiration in something that you paid zero attention to while studying it in high school.

3. The News!

Law & Order has been ripping stories from the headlines for years, and let me tell you, they’re not the only ones.  It’s often said that you can’t make up the stuff that actually happens in real life, and in a lot of ways, it’s completely true.  Because of this, I often look to in-depth news outlets like NPR or Time Magazine for inspiration, particularly when it comes to science-related stories.  I remember five or six years ago, reading about a rare condition that can make a person’s skin blue, and in that tiny morsel of news, Jenna Blue was born, a sci-fi action/adventure piece that would have never found its place on the book shelf had I not known of the condition.

In a lot of ways it’s less about finding inspiration from the news, and more about educating yourself.  The way I see it, the more you know about the world and what’s around you, the more areas you can touch on in your fictional storytelling.

4. The Road!

For those who know me or read my column regularly, you are already aware that I do not fly.  For those who don’t, now you do… I don’t go up in the sky under any circumstances.  This means I spend a lot of time on the ground in cars… Much of which is spent traveling long distances by myself.  Aside from listening to the radio and slowly losing my mind on the highways and byways of America… What else is there left for me to do?  Create.

I would say half of my titles have been created and developed while on cross country trips, where the only thing I have to occupy my time is my own sporadic thought patterns.  Now, I’m not suggesting everyone stop flying and drive everywhere (though if you haven’t done it at least once, I recommend you try it), but there is something to be said about just you and your car, driving into the horizon with only your own inner voice to keep you company.  You get stuff done.  In fact, you really don’t have a choice.  If you don’t keep yourself busy, you’ll go mad, naming passing trucks and swerving into rumble strips just for fun.  (I’ve been there too.)

However, I think if you’re a creator and you want to create, you just have to find what works for you and your brain.  What’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander, and believe me, there have been plenty of times where this goose has felt completely cooked, unable to come up with anything of worth to put down on paper.  If you can’t rely on inspiration to come from your bed or on the road, keep looking until you discover what the equation is that best works for you.

You + Brain + ? = Creative Bliss

Believe me, it’s out there… You just have to find it.