Where do I get my writing ideas?

Where do you get your ideas? People ask writers that question so often it’s become a cliché, yet it usually elicits interesting answers. So I thought I’d share a little about how I get my weird and wacky story ideas.

But first: In case you’re new here, the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre. We’re also given an optional question we can answer in our posts. This month’s question is: Where do your writing ideas predominantly come from?

The origin stories of my stories

In my IWSG post for May of this year, I talked about getting inspired by a What if. And that’s true as far as it goes. But the what if has to come from somewhere. I’ve had ideas slap me upside the head while I’m randomly going about my business, but most of the ideas I’ve turned into published work have gotten their start when I’m sleeping, exercising, or talking with Long-Suffering Husband while we’re walking or driving. And a few were inspired by real life.

Stories that started as dreams

Two of my stories started from dreams: my finished (sort of) novel manuscript Vanishing, Inc. and my short story, “Open House” (more about “Open House” here and here). I woke up one morning from a dream about a dying woman in a cottage, and in that groggy, not-quite-awake state, I thought, what if as we get closer to death, we can see ghosts? That morphed into, What if the cottage was built on a thin place, where the dead are closer to this world? Which morphed into, What if the cottage was built on a time portal? And my time travel romance, Vanishing, Inc., was born.

“Open House” was born when I woke up from a nightmare about trying to escape a weird old house. I ended up running through a grove of creepy trees with my husband, trying to get off the property. Then I encountered a woman I’d seen earlier with her husband, and when I asked her about him, she said, “What husband?” None of that actually made it into the story, but it sent me down my, “What if” path–What if a haunted house had a special affinity for men?

Poems: products of exercise

Most of the poems I’ve noodled around with were born during my morning jog-walks around the neighborhood. Apparently lack of oxygen turns me into a poet. So I get to look like a total weirdo, standing on the sidewalk tapping lines into my phone while gasping like a landed fish.

I bet Robert Frost never had that problem.

Long-Suffering Husband is a pretty good muse

Long-Suffering Husband loves to play with story ideas. His taste runs toward horror and the supernatural (we’re both big Stephen King fans). My first published horror story, “Woe is Me, Poor Child, For Thee,” was born on a boring drive from Phoenix to Tucson (spoiler alert: all drives from Phoenix to Tucson are boring. I-10 across a flat, dusty desert–woo hoo). Somehow we ended up talking through the burning question, “What if a GPS could become sentient?” You can learn more about the resulting story here.

My other published horror story, “The Fine Print,” began with an idea that popped into my head randomly but got fleshed out during evening walks with Long-Suffering Husband (learn more about that story here). “Adam Carmona and the Case of the Saguaro Ripper” (more info here) was born on one of those walks. What if a serial killer suspended the bodies of his victims in saguaro cactuses? So, you know, a perfectly normal conversation between two perfectly normal people.

The couple that slays together, stays together.

Stories inspired by real life

My life is boring. Booooooorrrrriiiiinnnnnngggggg. Seriously, my idea of excitement is a clearance sale at my favorite nursery. Zzzzzzz….

But every once in awhile, something in my boring life will send me down the What if… path.

“Collateral Damage” (learn more here or sign up for my newsletter to get a free copy) was born from a trip to buy an earth auger from some dude on Craigslist.

No, I’m not kidding.

Dude lived about 20 miles outside of Winslow (Yes, that Winslow. No, we didn’t stand on the corner.) in a converted airplane hangar on about 300 acres of desert. And, surprise surprise, he was a doomsday prepper. He was also lonely, so we ended up talking to him for about 3 hours, one of the more bizarre conversations I’ve ever had in my life. He repeated the line, “You know what’s coming,” at least twice.

On the way home, I thought, What if the crazy doomsday prepper turned out to be right?

The other piece inspired by real life was a nonfiction piece I wrote about my mom. I visited her for Christmas at her care home and was pretty sure it would be her last Christmas on earth (it was). In the car on the way home, I drafted most of the piece that would become, “A Christmas Duet” (more info here and an early draft here)

And then there’s “Walk Me Home” (available free online; info here). I had an unsettling experience when I was in grad school, and that experience became the inspiration for “Walk Me Home.” I don’t want to say too much (because, spoilers), but that experience has stuck with me for over 30 years. It felt good to transform it into a story.

Ideas are the easy part of writing

As most writers will tell you, ideas are the easy part of writing. Also the fun part. Which is why it’s kind of hilarious when people talk about someone stealing their ideas. Anyone can have an idea. What separates a writer from a daydreamer is the execution, the hard work of turning an idea into an actual story.

The memery

Let’s wrap up this month’s post with a few laughs.

Me whenever I have an extra day off and “plan to get some writing done”:

Put another way:

Also:

Also also:

I spend so much time rafting the river of excuses, I should get paid to be a guide.

This one is literally painful:

So’s this one:

And finally:

I’ll show myself out.

Fellow writers, where do you get your ideas?