Where Is That Next Big Idea?

Where Is That Next Big Idea?

A question every author gets asked at some point is, “Where did you get the idea for your book?” The answer can be surprising, disturbing, or as simple as, “I’m not sure, it just came to me.” I admit a bit of envy of authors who say they have a million story ideas floating around in their heads, just waiting to be told.

That’s so not me. Right now, I’m almost 37,000 words into the first draft of my 3rd novel and I’m already stressing over where my next story idea will come from. I don’t have a grab bag of story ideas that I can dip into at any time. In fact, the story well is currently dry. It’s never full. Stories come to me one at a time, drip by drip. 

To give you an idea of how my writer brain works, here’s my story-idea history thus far: The seed of an idea for my first novel, When Robins Appear, came from my daughter. In high school she told me about a boy she had run into several times at different concerts. They talked, but there was no romance. It just seemed to me like a great meet cute. Then she had a classmate, who was in a serious skateboarding accident. I decided to write a story about a skateboarder and the main characters meet at a series of concerts. As happens with us writers, it veered off course from my original concept and I ended up focusing on a mother/daughter relationship, rather than the skateboarder. There is skateboarding in the story, but it’s secondary to the plot. 

The idea for my second book, Breathing in Reverse, which will be published later this year, came from watching an interview with a young celebrity several years ago, who was at the peak of his fame. When asked where he thought things would go from there, he casually said something to the effect that someone could jump out of the crowd and stab him and that would be the end of it. It was a eureka moment as I ruminated over just how vulnerable celebrities really are. That was the seed from which Breathing in Reverse grew. The story is all about the effects a stalker has on a celebrity and the people close to him.

The idea for my current WIP is harder to connect the dots. I was watching a show with an Irish actor and I loved his accent and his name, Cillian. I’m not even sure how I made the leap from Irish actor to an Irish singer in a rock band and a college girl from Austin, TX (where I live) and how their relationship changes over the years. But that’s where it’s headed.

My hero in the realm of digging up story ideas is author Austin Kleon. His book, Steal Like an Artist pretty much sums up my approach to gathering story ideas. On the first page, he says, “Every artist gets asked the question, ‘Where do you get your ideas?’” He says, “The honest artist answers, ‘I steal them.’” His book is filled with examples of the best and brightest in their field and how they borrow and build upon what already exists.

Some of the best places to “steal” your ideas for stories, for language are likely right under your nose. Here are a few of my favorite examples:

Family and Friends. Listen to them. No, really listen There are pearls in there that you might never have manufactured on your own. And they’ll slip by in conversation unless you’re constantly in scan mode. Years ago my son, referring to his little sister hanging with her gaggle of girlfriends, asked me, “Did she go into a gossip coma?” I felt the neurons in my brain light up. A “gossip coma”? Yes! It made its way into Breathing in Reverse.

There’s a church down the street from where I live and there’s billboard of sorts with messages of encouragement and faith. One day the message said something to the effect of having “full throttle faith” and I knew I had to use that phrase in a story, not about religion, but about having faith in something or someone. It’s in Breathing in Reverse.

A few years ago, I was meeting with a group of writers at one of their homes that I had never been to before. She had this amazing collection of old radios on her book shelves. If you read When Robins Appear, you’ll find one of the characters also has an amazing collection of old radios.

I lived in Brooklyn for years and the brownstone described in Breathing in Reverse is from Brooklyn, right down to the windows in the building, the stoop, and the trees on the street. The next door neighbor in the story was inspired by a woman who lived across the street from that brownstone, though I embellished on her character quite a bit. The cats and the scent of kitty litter are based on reality.

I was visiting a friend in another state, it was night and I glanced over and thought a sign said “Urgent Café.” Cool name for a café, I thought. On a second glance, I realized it said, “Urgent Care,” one of the 24-hour walk-in clinics. The misread sign stuck with me. If you read When  Robins Appear there actually is an “Urgent Café.”

Song lyrics for me are the mother lode of unique ways to express emotions—love, hate, grief, regret, hope, despair. When I go for walks, I listen to music and will often stop a song and jot down in my Notes function a word, a phrase that jumped out at me and stopped me in my tracks. Spotify is my muse.

For story ideas, I’m constantly scanning headlines, watching the news, reading essays and columns, watching movies and series, searching for a seed that will grow into a story of my own. For example, The Modern Love and Tiny Love Stories columns in The New York Times are deep wells of inspiration if you want to infuse your story with emotion. Despite the titles, they are not all about romantic love. They often touch on familial love, platonic love, self-love. Despite my constant vigilance, it takes a while for something to light a fire and motivate me to sit down and put words on paper.

So, where do I go from here, searching for my next story idea? Everywhere! Nothing, no place, and no one are off limits. There’s a reason for those T-shirts that say, “Careful, or you’ll end up in my novel.”

P.S. I started writing this essay a while ago and set it aside. Since then, I have dug up the tiniest seed of an idea that, with a little TLC, I’m hoping will bloom into book #4. 

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When she’s not writing articles about health and nutrition to pay the bills, Densie writes women’s fiction. Her women’s fiction debut, “When Robins Appear” was published by Red Adept Publishing in 2020. Her next novel, “Breathing in Reverse,” will be published August 1, 2023, also by Red Adept. Her flash fiction piece, “The Prank” was in the top ten finalists for Women on Writing’s Summer 2019 Flash Fiction contest. She pens a monthly column titled, “Getting Down to Business” for WriterUnboxed (the first Saturday of each month) and she volunteers for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

Website: www.densiewebb.com

Facebook: Densie L. Webb

Instagram: @densiewebbbooks

WHEN ROBINS APPEAR

With a lucrative freelance career and a loving family, Deborah Earle has a life many women would envy. But her daughter, Amanda, is heading to college soon, and Deborah worries about having an empty nest. She thinks another child might be the answer. Her husband, Richard, however, may not be willing to start over so late in life.Amanda is excited about attending NYU next year, but she meets Graham, a handsome older boy, falls hard, and considers postponing her education to stay close to him.

Her mother takes an instant dislike to Graham, but Amanda refuses to let her keep them apart.As Deborah watches her daughter rush headlong toward heartache on an all-too-familiar path, the secrets lurking in Deborah’s past continue to echo in her present. When tragedy strikes, Deborah faces a future she could never have imagined.

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