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Fiction Writing: How to Capture Your BIG IDEA
I do most of my thinking at night. My mind is like a highway, with one thought leading to another like endless exits to new locations. The bright lights of oncoming traffic are flickers of ideas. Most of them pass by, barely warranting a casual glance. They flash white, and then fade to dull red in the review mirror.
And then it hits.
The BIG IDEA bears down on me like a huge, rumbling tractor trailer. I feel the adrenaline surging and I’m wide awake. This thought just can’t wait until morning. If I go to sleep now, I might lose it forever.
Many people have great ideas that could soar, but they never get those ideas off the ground. The idea is so big that it’s frightening or overwhelming. Sometimes the main idea gets lost in the flurry of smaller ideas whirling around as the tractor trailer swooshes by.
Have you ever felt like this? Maybe you were watching a movie or reading a book when your BIG IDEA came along. Now that you have it, what should you do with it?
I don’t wait. I get up and rush down the dark hall to the office. The yellow legal pad and pen are waiting for just such occasions. Bleary-eyed, I scrawl out the BIG IDEA in chicken scratch.
Will I be able to read the writing come daybreak? Hopefully. Sometimes I look at my notes the next morning and wonder what alien left that foreign lettering. But the important thing is that I wrote my idea down. I’ve captured it.
What’s the Point?
The best part of beginning a new creative project comes with laying down the framework of the BIG IDEA. It’s exciting to think of settings and scenes or explore brand-new characters.
But a bunch of scenes and a jumbled list of character concepts don’t make a novel. Your novel needs direction. How are you going to add focus to this BIG IDEA of yours?
Writing for the sake of writing is fun. Sometimes you can ramble and the novel evolves on its own. At some point, though, you have to decide exactly what your story is about.
Think about what you want to accomplish? Are you making a political statement? Do you want people to think? Are you trying to evoke strong emotional response in your readers? Are you writing to entertain? Even the most humorous novels have a goal.
When is it Happening?
What period does your novel take place in? Is it the era of the wild frontier? Does it take place in a medieval time long ago? Maybe you’re the contemporary type – does your story happen in the here and now?
The time of your story place helps shape many aspects of a novel. The era affects character views and beliefs or the methods they achieve their goals. Whether your novel is a mystery or a romance, the “when” molds events, reactions and conflicts that occur in your characters’ lives.
If you have a specific period in mind, be prepared to do some research in order to make your story believable. Even fantasy and science fiction novels have enough reality in them to make them ring true in the reader’s imagination.
Where are You?
Now that you can imagine when your novel takes place, think of your setting, your stage and its props. Does the whole story occur in a single room in a tenement slum? Do events happen in the sprawling high country of the Colorado Rockies?
If you look around your own environment, you can come up with a million details that help describe your life and personality by the objects you have around you. Your office, your bedroom, your house, and your car all contribute to the perception of how the world sees you and how you see the world.
Even the city or town you live in says something about you.
Become your character. Imagine that person’s life, the objects that surround them. Picture them in your mind. Where do your characters live? What do their homes look like? What places do they frequent?
This is just a start. Your tractor trailer BIG IDEA now has a little more life, doesn’t it? It’s not just aimlessly barreling down the road on some unknown highway in the middle of nowhere.
No, this tractor trailer is going somewhere. It’s hauling something. It has a driver, too…
…and that driver is you.
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@ James – I shall wear it with pride.
(mmm, Moosehead, wish I hadn’t drank all my beer the other night…)
@ Harry – you spark up the grill. I’ll bring the shark.
Brett Legree’s last blog post..reflective perception
@ Harry – OK I will say a quick comment about the topic, I personally am not a writer but my Father is a published writer and the things that you said are very true of the way he works. He gets up in the middle of the night and will write several chapters. I tend to get my best ideas when talking with others throughout my day…I have only written for my high school yearbook though. I think this was a great post and it will make me pay more attention to ideas that come to me in the middle of the night!
Thanks for the comfy chair!!!
I can’t wait to see my one of a kind “Men with Pens” baby blanket from James
@ James- I hope April is far enough away to keep the “performance anxiety” under control!
@ Brett – Of course you are figured out…women are smart we just play dumb sometimes!
@Brett – the funny thing is, I was emptying the dishwasher for the second time today when my wife read me your post!
You know, take a look at the title of my last post below. Why is it that I can apply these strategies everywhere but home? My mental powers have no effect on my wife!
@James – never had Moosehead. Is that beer? I’ll look for it next time I buy beer, but for now, I think I’ll grab my Fosters. By the way, remember that time I mentioned when talking with people to listen for the type of words they use (sight words, hearing words, etc). I have the link to the guy who taught me about that. He’s a very intelligent guy and has a lot of useful thoughts on his blog. He’s taught me a lot about real estate investing. His blog is definitely just for him speaking his mind.
John Hoff’s last blog post..The Art of Persuasion (Part 1 of 3)
@John: I guess that comment was a bit disjointed. I meant he’ll make a nice blanket. I’m not the pushy type. That’s James’ department *points to “Feed me” remark*
@James: Yassir, massah James, I’ll get right on that there steak for you…
By the way, if you guys ever have time, I have a small favor to ask. Doesn’t have to be tonight or anything. I’m trying to show some activity in my community forum. Thus far I only have one other guy on there who’s helping me fine tune it.
I’d really appreciate any help you could give by posting one or two times in there. Maybe marketing ideas, seo stuff, writing stuff – whatever.
Also, after I’m finished working on my web development page I’m considering installing a wiki on my site. Got a pretty good idea flowing in my head on how to use one for entrepreneurs. –> and yes, I wrote it down like Harry suggested
Also (again), here’s some stats if you’re interested.
I mentioned in the last post on MwP that one of my blog articles hit the front page of del.icio.us Saturday night. I’m not sure how long I was on there but it was longer than 4 hours (time I monitored it).
My blog subscribers went up from 2 (one being me
) to 24.
I had 71 visitors on that day
I’ve had 25 visits in the last 4 hours
306 people have bookmarked my article on del.icio.us
And the comment section for that article skyrocketed – well, for my blog anyway.
Just thought you might find that info insightful.
John Hoff’s last blog post..The Art of Persuasion (Part 1 of 3)
Harry – great points – especially re: concentrating on the character. When I first tried to write novels, I set out with some great plot ideas, but the characterisation came last. And as a result, the characters just didn’t come across as real.
Concentrating on the character and their surroundings is important isn’t it? An exercise that I’ve found useful is to think of ten random objects – then write down what those objects mean to the character.
CatherineL’s last blog post..11 Star Quality Customer Service Tips
@ Lindsey – umm, I can’t really say anything here! This is one of those things like the “do I look good in this dress” questions. The wrong answer is whatever the man says…
(I know, I answer it incorrectly, every time, even after 10 years of marriage. The safe thing to do is take a bite of a sandwich or something, and then mumble your answer…)
@ John – you sound like my long lost brother!
As far as why your strategies don’t work. Hmm. The force is strong in our wives, our Jedi mind tricks do not work…
Brett Legree’s last blog post..reflective perception
That’s a great idea Catherine! Get to know your character and their background, even if not put in the story.
John Hoff’s last blog post..The Art of Persuasion (Part 1 of 3)
@ John – Yup. And that discussion is coming up in our series.
Geeze, I leave for a weekend and look at all that I miss!
@Brett – the correct answer is “I am not worthy”, followed by bowing. You men-folk get it wrong every time…
RLD: Taekwondo Happiness’s last blog post..Invincibility
@ RLD – I’ll remember that one…
Brett Legree’s last blog post..reflective perception