Ideas are Everywhere

Keeping your eyes and ears open are all that is required to garner amazing ideas.  Orson Scott Card said “Everyone walks past a thousand stories every day.  The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them.  Most people don’t see any.”

Here’s an example from my recent past to help illustrate how ideas can come.  I read a brief article in USA Today (page 4D, 10.14.09) about the increasing populations of imported reptiles in Florida. What made the story interesting (and repugnant) is that these reptiles, large constrictors and pythons) are being pulled from the wild in increasing numbers.

Invasive snakes could migrate north.  Five giant, non-native snake species could pose high risk to the USA’s ecosystems, especially in Florida, a report said Tuesday.  According to the U.S. Geological Survey report, snakes, including the Burmese python, could slither their way north from the warm, humid conditions of South Florida and threaten native species and ecosystems because they mature and repoduce quickly, travel long distances, and can eat almost anything in fur, feathers, or scales.  the report could be a step toward a ban on importing constrictor-like snakes, said Ken Warren of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s South Florida office.  Besides the Burmese python, the other snakes cited in the report are the northern and southern African pythons, boa constrictors and yellow anacondas.

In the wake of my personal freak out on the thought of one of those African Rock Pythons near my cat or dog, I was able to reach out and pluck a handful of story ideas from my reaction:

1. A giant snake menaces an isolated hill town
2. Activists break into a facility that farms venom and skins and lets all the reptiles loose on an unsuspecting community
3. A child goes missing.  The parents are accused and nearly destroyed before they discover the snake.
4. A snake is used as a murder weapon.

Of course, some are better than others, but I jot down each one without prejudice.  NowI have a handful of ideas in my story starts file that I didn’t have yesterday.  The seeds have been planted in the quiet parts of my mind.  We’ll see if any grow.

You can train  yourself to be open to these sparks of inspiration, no matter how you generate thoughts and ideas.  Any time a sight or sound or bit of news captures your attention, you have the opportunity to reach out and pluck ideas as easily as you would pick fruit from a ripened tree.  All it requires is that you be aware and write them down without judging them.  The more practice you get the easier it becomes.

You won’t catch multiple ideas every day (maybe), but you could catch quite a few each week.  You’ll also get used to them and begin to understand that ideas are everywhere.   You will generate more ideas than you can possibly use.  No longer will you fear the dry times or the blank page days.  That’s a great place for any writer to be.

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