Intro:

Part 1 of NanoPrep /// Prompt Me

What is an idea?

What is it about certain ideas that make a book? 

What triggers the wheels in your brain to turn, the creative juices to roar in the river of your mind, your hands to fly across the keyboard, mind and heart racing together as the thrill of the idea comes pouring from you?

Everyone is different. That's why our world is such an interesting place. Everyone is inspired by different things, and everyone's inspiration comes in a different way.

But not every idea you get is going to become a full-out story. It just doesn't work like that.

How do these ideas come? The ones that make a story? Where are they from?

And how do you get them?

Maybe you don't have a story idea for nano yet, and you're freaking out. Let me beg you not to. Ideas are all around you. Some will jump out at you as if God put them right into your lap. Some you have to fight for.

How?

It's easy to see a tree ... and see a tree. It's easy to listen to your grandfather talk about his childhood, and just hear your grandfather talk about his childhood. It's so easy just to see and hear things as they appear, or as everyone else sees them.

But there's more there. There's so much more there. More than what can be seen. You walk outside and you see a tree. But maybe the tree is dying. (I know it's fall, but work with me here.) Study the leaves. Are they just turning new colors, the colors of autumn, or are they speckled with yellow and brown? Don't just hear your grandfather's story. Hear the past. He's opening a gateway to a different time, a different way of life. And you have the chance to hear it.

And that leads to the most important idea generator of all.


Let's go back to when you stepped outside. You might have smelled smoke. Was there a fire? Where? Is it a building, or maybe a tree? Did someone start it, or was it a mistake? An accident? If someone started it, why?

Your grandfather is telling you about his past. Why? Why's he telling you all this? Does he fear for you, thinking you might be about to face something and wanting to prepare you? Does he KNOW you're about to face something, and want to prepare you? How can he know this, and what exactly is he trying to prepare you for?

The trees are dying. (I, personally, like this idea.) All the trees are dying. But say it's the start of summer. The leaves are supposed to be blossoming from the buds that pleased your eyes all spring. But instead the buds are falling to the earth, unopened, and the branches are turning gray. Did someone poison the forest? Why? Did a person poison it, or did the earth itself? How could the earth poison it? Is there magic in the earth? How did it get there? Who put it there? Where did it come from?

I could go on and on. So many questions can be asked by just looking around the world that we live in. It's a marvelous place. Not all of them will generate a full-out book idea, but you can always get more smaller ideas to spice up the book you currently have (if you have one).

I know this is already getting pretty long (I could ramble on for a lot longer too) but I'm going to leave you with one more thing. At the MYWW back in June, I was in a small 11(ish) people workshop group with Jennifer Nielsen. (*screams*) She was walking us through this exercise while going over worldbuilding with us, but I loved the idea so much I thought I'd do it for other things too.

Like building a story idea.

Source

Look at this picture. Study it a bit. What's the first thing you notice? The light, probably. The light and the girl. You notice the light because it's dark outside, and you notice the girl because she's the only one there.

So why is she in the street, alone, at night, in her nightgown? What's she doing? Did someone call her to come look at the mysterious light in the ground, or did she notice it from her window? And what's that light about, anyway? Is it a portal to another place, another world? Or is there a room hidden under the asphalt? Maybe a lab of scientists? What if they were running a test, and she was actually the only one who could see the light ...?

Look. Notice. Ask questions. 

Source

Oooooh I like this one. It's dark. It's creepy. They look to be in a dead forest, at some kind of ruins. Who are the people bringing that bowl? Is it a sacrifice to this monster? Is the monster on their side, or against them? Why are they giving it food? Who all knows about it?

Look. Notice. Ask questions.

Picture Three: the coffin

Did you like this post? (please BE HONEST because I'm planning more like this for the rest of the month.) Did you come up with any ideas? Share in the comments! 

<3