Where Ideas Come From

The second most frequently asked question my students pose(after, of course, how do I get my work published) is, where do ideas come from?
I am not a big fan of "The Muse." That almost miraculous blast of divine prompting from the universe is pretty rare, if you ask me. If I waited for my muse to show up before I sat down to write, I'd probably never have written much besides a few brilliant sentences. Maybe one or two amazing paragraphs. And anyway, my muse scares me. She is no sweet Pre-Raphaelite beauty floating around above me spouting perfectly constructed, shining prose. She is more akin to Medusa of the writhing snake hair, screaming at me, bonking me over the head with creepy images. I'm kind of glad she doesn't show up more. It's probably the same for 99% of writers. Stephen King likens his muse to a fat, balding old guy sitting in the basement smoking big smelly cigars. Thankfully, a muse is not usually in order for producing fine ideas for your writing. Great characters, plot lines, dialogue and descriptive narration mostly come from paying attention to your own unique and gorgeous and frightening and silly life. Or the similarly-attributed lives of those around you. The bases of my writing classes are 1) paying attention to the world around you, 2)writing down your observations, and 3)structuring your scribblings into some kind of readable, and hopefully enjoyable, form. If you practice running these three bases consistently, eventually you will start hitting home runs (pardon the baseball analogy, the Red Sox just won the series after all). So, keep observing. Take notes. Carry index cards to jot down those weird converations you overhear in the checkout line at Stop & Shop, so you can note just exactly what colors the flaming autumn trees take on in rainy light, or the softness of your husband's snores like a distant truck on the highway. Because that's where ideas come from. They are all around you, every day.

Growing Hoofs

Sometimes, the best way to get ready to begin a writing project is to just start. Plunge right in. Other times, it will probably behoove you to plan. I love that word, behoove. Of course it means fitting, advantageous, of benefit. But I imagine something different. I imagine when I write it, that I am magically growing hoofs, outfitting myself to run like a mustang to my goal. That's what I've been doing for a while now, growing hoofs for NaNoWriMo, when I (and many others)will write 50,000 words in 30 days.
Part of the getting ready, the hoof-growing, is practical and solid work, like outlining and doing research and some free writes to find a voice. But a lot of it is impractical, magical. A lot I do while I'm walking my dogs or driving. It is surprising how much writing gets planned this way. I have had many musician friends over the years, and they occassionally do something called 'woodshedding.' It means thinking about music, not writing or even playing it much, but just kind of noodling around for a few days or weeks. It primes the pump. Writers do this, too. Sometimes when people say they have writer's block, they're really just woodshedding, getting their brains and body prepared for the next big effort. You can give yourself permission to do this, when you have a good feeling that it will result in solid work. And you will know, when you are thinking 90% of the time about your characters, what will happen when, how ice crystals are formed, or anything pertaining to your project. Daydreaming is good for writers, it is necessary. I still get a lot of grief for it, from various quarters, but I have learned to pay no attention. I grow my hoofs when I need to. You should, too.

NaNoWriMo

No, the above is not a misprint, or some weird computer language. It is the acronym for National Novel Writing Month. Which begins November 1st. It is not any old esoteric so-who-cares-anyway designation, but is meant to encourage people -- anyone, not only "writers"-- to write the novel of their dreams. The encouragement comes in the form of a website --www.nanowrimo.org --on which one can sign up to write 50,000 words (175 pages, approximately) in a month, i.e., the month of November. Whoever completes this ridiculous, quixotic task is deemed a 'winner' by the nano folks. You can post excerpts, your daily word count, your profile on the site. You can also often find support in your community. Check the website or even your local library for listings of events offered for wrimos (those who sign up for the gargantuan task).
I myself am teaching a workshop at the Wilbraham (MA) Public Library on Nov. 3rd, although I thought I had no intention of actually signing up for wrimo status myself. But a few weeks ago a full blown book developed in my head during a long dog walk, and I decided, hey, why not? If I complete my goal, I'll end up with a draft of a book. If I don't (but I will), I'll still be pretty far along in a draft. What have I got to lose but sleep?
How daunting a task is it, anyway? Actually, it breaks down to about 6-7 pages a day. Closer to seven, if you intend to take some Turkey Time off, which I do. I figure that's 3-4 hours a day of steady writing. That's really not TOO bad. It's what I usually do when I'm hitting my stride in the midst of work on my novels.
How does one even begin? Well, my strategy is to do my research re characters, backstory, place and internet searches (involving missing children, ghost towns, military research, and women pirates, among other things) NOW, before I start writing. Then to construct a detailed outline. Then to decide which perspective I'm telling the story from. Do some free writes to find my main character's voice. Over the past two weeks I've done most of this stuff, and feel pretty grounded in my story. So, on November 1, I'll be ready to roll. I hope some of you will be joining me. Oh, and if you're interested in the (almost free, I think it costs $3) workshop at the Wilbraham Library on November 3rd, give the library a call and sign up to receive more pearls of wisdom from this quarter.