|
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Where Does A Story Start? Bronwyn Jameson
The first part of the whole, slow (for me) pre-writing procedure is the idea. A question in just about every author's FAQ list is: Where do you get your ideas? I love the fabulous JoAnn Ross's answer: "I find ideas everywhere, but my favorite place is Nordstroms, because of their liberal return policies for those ideas that don't work out." *LOL*
My real answer: from here, there and everywhere. Although my books have mostly started with either a character or a situation/hook I want to write about. Some have started with a character introduced in a previous book, usually a sibling or a friend of the hero or heroine. All my Plenty books started this way. When I wrote Zane: The Wild One I didn't plan a series, at least not consciously. But Julia had a sister and a best friend and a brother whose introductions begged them a story of their own. Hence, Quade: The Irresistible One (the sister), A Tempting Engagement (the brother) and Beyond Control (the friend).
My second book for 2007 is another example. Before I finished writing The Ruthless Groom I knew I would have to write Susannah's story. Why did she jilt Alex? Did she get cold feet or was it because of the mystery man? At that stage I didn't know all the answers but that was the start of the story. A woman runs away from Mr. Perfect on the eve of their wedding. Why?
So, I now have a character and a situation and the brainstorming commences. Often I'll go through a number of possible scenarios and ask myself lots of questions--is there a man in her past? did he reappear the morning of her wedding? where had he been?--before I decide on the one that provides the most exciting conflict. By exciting I mean the one that excites me the most. The one I want to write and which suits the Desire market.
The two stories I have in the works for 2008 didn't start with characters I already knew but with a situation I wanted to write about. Ever since reading Susan Napier's Sister Swap years and years ago I've wanted to write a sister-swap book. (This might hark right back to Hayley Mills and The Parent Trap, from even more years and years earlier.) The first book involves the sister-swap idea, but then I didn't want to repeat that theme for the second sister's book. I wanted something similar...yet different. I brainstormed and came up with "the wrong brother". Sort of mistaken identity, but not quite.
It's been interesting writing this piece, reflecting on where these various stories started. Because when I've been asked Where do you get your ideas? I usually mention ideas coming from an interesting situation I've read about in a magazine or newspaper article. I have loads of those ideas, clipped and filed away. Yet I've never used them as an inspiration for a new story. However, I do use my clippings (amongst other things) to inspire scenes...and that sounds like a perfect topic for tomorrow.
So, if you write (books, short stories, articles, poems) where do your ideas come from?
posted by Bronwyn Jameson at 3:44 PM
|
Previous Posts
|
6 Comments:
Playground Monitor said...
I like the Nordstroms idea, only could we make it Dillards since we don't have a Nordstroms in my town? *g*
I got one idea from an email loop combined with something that happened to my daughter-in-law when she was supposed to be Matron of Honor at a friend's wedding. Another came from an article about an Army bomb squad member in Iraq combined with another article about a soldier who'd been blinded in a car bombing.
I have a file of news clippings that have what would probably be great stories if I could just figure out what they are. I think I went to the ladies room when they handed out imagination and story-plotting skills. *g*
Marilyn
7:57 AM
Angel said...
Cool post, Bronwyn!
I usually find that my ideas will start with an idea originating from something I saw, heard, or read. Then comes the "brainstorming" session you mentioned: I'll imagine what kinds of characters would be involved in this situation and how they would react, what kinds of trouble they'd get into. Mostly I think about how it will affect them and their relationship with each other.
So, though my ideas might start somewhere else, they get firmly fleshed out in my imagination (possibly with the help of a critique partner or two). :)
I'd never thought about using those things I run across for scene starters. Great idea!
Danniele
8:00 AM
Yvonne Lindsay said...
Ideas. I love 'em. They come from everywhere. Magazine articles, newspaper articles, snippets of songs, real life. Not every one works out and I often find it's not until I work out an outline of a story that maybe it won't work quite the way I wanted it to originally. Even the best ideas sometimes need time to gel before they can morph into a well fleshed out story.
After I get an idea, I will usually get a really clear opening scene in my head and then the rest just comes (well, not quite as easily as that, darnit, but eventually anyway.)
Yvonne
4:32 PM
Bronwyn Jameson said...
Okay, Marilyn. We can go with Dillards. And I don't know about missing out on the story-plotting skills -- those ideas sound intriguing to me!
5:36 AM
Bronwyn Jameson said...
Danniele, your process is how I always imagined mine would work, too. Except all the really clever situations I come up with never seem to fit the kind of story I need to write...if that makes sense. But one day...
5:38 AM
Bronwyn Jameson said...
Yvonne, do you think the reason the story doesn't/can't work out the way you want is because you need to write a certain type of story (for category guidelines)?
5:45 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home