The Enduring Question for Writers -Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

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 It's an enduring question for young writers -where do you get your ideas? they ask. 

 Often believing there is something mystical to this aspect of the writing process. It's a secret they want you to share...

 The truth is, ideas are everywhere. 

 Always an interesting conversation to have with young writers where they are challenged to consider where ideas are to be found. They quickly realize the broad horizons of choice that actually exist. It challenges their somewhat narrow concept of 'ideas.'  The challenge is to grow them as explorers of the world. The aim is to assist them develop a broader view of the extensive possibilities at their disposal. We are working to eradicate that tired  old catch-cry- I can’t think of anything to write about...’ 

 It requires teachers to share the broad influences on their own writing. It is important to dispel the myth that writing only equates to stories. What are the territories you explore to excavate ideas? 

 Ideas bubble up to the surface for one reason or another – full of possibility, and they buzz around you every day. They are out there hiding in broad daylight. 

 The difficulty is not so much in finding ideas as in deciding which ones are most worthy of the writer's time and effort. Sometimes as writers  we need to ruminate or take time to see them for what they are, - rich,writing fodder.  Increasing our capacity to find suitable writing ideas results from consistently looking for them. It's important to practice being a close observer of the world in which we operate.This way we learn to appreciate and harvest possibility.



 In response to this provocation (where ideas are to be found), I wrote the following poem:


 Hey Mr Poet
Hey, Mr. Poet
Why do you find ideas?
Where do they hide?
Hmmm…
Let me tell you curious child
Allow me to share
Ideas are lurking - EVERYWHERE!

You’ll find them in conversations
With friends
-Down on the corner
Around the next bend
You’ll see them for certain 
Nestling in things
On rooftops, in clouds, and tangled up strings

They appear when you’re safe
In memories they bubble
They emerge from the shadows
Or when you’re in trouble
They wash all around us
They are there when we play
They float in the air
They surround every day

Find them in a rock, a stone
A tiny piece of gravel
Find them in the stories
We gather when we travel
They smoulder and flame
Fuelling inspiration
In your mind they burst to life
They spark imagination

Sit still, look around you 
They’re coming your way
You will find them in books
And the words strangers say
They’re splashing in puddles
They’re hiding in boxes
In feathers, flamingos, funerals and foxes

They rest in your past
Like ghosts, they haunt your mind
Sometimes right in front of you
At other times behind
You find them in days ending in Y
Under your feet
High up in the sky
They dwell in our houses
In the branches of a tree
The pockets of trousers
And the buzz of a bee

They’re in incidents and accidents
Ants, -and snails and butterflies
Ideas hide in shadows
They leap out and surprise
Hear them in the rustling leaves
Sense them in a song
The carolling of magpies
In a kurrajong

Observe the world young writer
Remain forever curious
Idea are all around 
And discovery is glorious

Alan j Wright


Some Practical Suggestions For Finding Ideas:

 Get into a strict writing routine
Examine artifacts you own
Examine ephemera you have collected
Start a collection of things
Never overlook the ordinary- everything is interesting
Travel
Keep a list of figurative language in your notebook
Talk to people
Listen to people talking
Make notes about your childhood
Make notes about random things
Consider starting with real-life issues
Get ideas from your day job
Return to something/somewhere you love
Engage in the world
Go somewhere new
Ask hypothetical questions
Do some practical research
Reconsider familiar things and places
Narrate your life
Read what you intend to write
Watch the news
Capture  inspirational quotes and extracts in your notebook
Take a normal situation and make it abnormal
Draw ideas from earlier writing
Exploit little moments in your life
Listen to stories
Really listen to your parents’/grandparents’ stories
Take long car rides
Write about people close to you who have died
Indulge in people-watching and imagine their lives
Start with a title, and then build a character
Walk in graveyards
Sit still in an open space
Sit still in a closed space
Embellish your own life
Go to an art exhibition
Rummage through old photographs
Create an evil character out of the mundane
Take a different look at illness/disease
Sit beside a lake, a river, the ocean
Take photographs

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