Blog Post 3: What’s the Big Idea?

In my last entry, I talked about some common issues that inexperienced writers can get stuck on when attempting to create their first novel. But I didn’t talk about why you would want to do that in the first place. So why do you want to write a book? What is it that has inspired you, or compelled you to put pen to paper in the first place? For many of us, it was because we grew up as voracious readers. I often won book reading competitions that were put on by my elementary school as part of a program to encourage children to read, and while the pizza parties they gave as rewards were nice, the truth is I didn’t do it for the cheese at the end of the maze.

There is an old adage that is highly applicable to my life, one you no doubt have heard too many times before or read on some kitschy woodblock print at your local hobby store; It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. Thank you for that bit of wisdom, Ralph Waldo Emerson, it has seen as much mileage and wear as my first pair of pink Converse. I still have them by the by, I keep them in the original shoebox I bought them in, tucked away should I ever need them, though for what I cannot imagine. But I digress, the point here is that I read simply because I loved to read. But is the love of reading the same as a love for writing?

I think it is easy to assume that the love of consuming media, and the deep appreciation for the art itself, would naturally follow into the love for the work of creating. I don’t think it’s that simple. Some very talented writers these days don’t read that many books, and in an age of multi-media it is entirely likely that the story that has inspired you might not be a book at all. So how do you choose which media your idea should be translated into? Why a novel, instead of a short film, or a song? I have so many ideas all the time and I always have to consider what avenue is best suited, not just to the idea that I have, but also my skillset and the resources that I have available.

I first set out to write a novel in my teens, inspired by library shelves full of adventures that my young mind soaked up, but also because of my natural aptitude for creative writing. You see I’ve been writing since I first learned how to, as soon as they finished teaching me my ABC’s I started making my own little short stories. I began playing with words, I loved tongue twisters, brain teases, puns, and other play on words. For me, while I was growing up, writing was just another one of my favorite ways to play, like building stuff with Lego bricks. I grew up admiring authors like rock stars or pop idols, and there was nothing I wanted more than to create something of my own.

All good ideas are borrowed. Every author, every artist, every musician starts by emulating the art that inspired them most. So it should be no surprise then that inspiration can come from anywhere, at any time, and from anyone. Use your own life experiences, if you don’t have many, go out into the world and live a little! Go have an adventure of your own! Model characters after friends or family members, just do keep in mind they may read your book at some point so be careful with how you choose to write them. Visit art galleries, take a creative writing course from your local community college, play story-based video games, and watch movies that make you want to create something of your own.

We live in a world that is now flooded with artistic media of all kinds, a veritable all-you-can-eat buffet of inspiration. Who knows, maybe one day someone will get to read the book you made and it will be the thing that inspires them to create something of their own too. Being an author, traditionally published, or self-published means you become part of a long and storied tradition of cultivating the imagination of generations. No idea is too big or too small, as long as you give it your all.