{"id":1331,"date":"2012-03-10T09:12:57","date_gmt":"2012-03-10T09:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greeverwilliams.com\/?p=1331"},"modified":"2012-03-10T09:12:57","modified_gmt":"2012-03-10T09:12:57","slug":"are-you-a-gardener-or-a-hacker-how-do-your-story-ideas-develop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greeverwilliams.com\/?p=1331","title":{"rendered":"Are You a Gardener or a Hacker? How Do Your Story Ideas Develop?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I read an interview the other day (I wish I could remember where!) with a writer who was describing how her story ideas evolved. She likened it to a tiny seed that she nurtured with water, fresh soil, etc. until it blossomed into a full story that she could then put down on paper. Wow. Really? Is that how it is supposed to work? Because if so, \u00a0then Houston, I’ve<\/em> got a problem.<\/p>\n

I don’t doubt the writer’s sincerity one bit. In fact, although I can’t remember the source at the moment, I do remember that she was a very successful writer. So if she said that’s how it happens for her, then I believe it. I am very new to the fiction writing game but her description makes me think there might be something wrong with me. My stories don’t blossom. They seem to punch at me from the inside until I barf them out like a cat hacks on a hairball. It’s not pretty, it sounds fairly retched coming out, but in the end it tends to be a productive exercise.<\/p>\n

I get ideas at random, and usually, inopportune times – when I am in a business meeting, when I am at a family dinner or like tonight for instance, when I am trying to sleep. Something sparks an idea, a couple synapses fire and the idea starts to burn my brain. No matter how many times I toss and turn, I can’t drift off until I get up, grab the laptop and write it down.<\/p>\n

The idea I had tonight was a real hacker too. 90 minutes of keyboard tapping later and I have changed the course of my future. Instead of working on the historical thriller novel I have been planning for months, I completely shifted gears and generated the outline of a three-book YA fantasy series. \u00a0YA?<\/em><\/strong> When the heck \u00a0did I ever plant YA seeds in my idea garden? \u00a0Oh that’s right…I didn’t. I don’t have an idea garden and I probably never will unless I clean up all these hairballs.<\/p>\n

So please tell me, how do your story ideas develop? Are you a gardener or a hacker, or something else entirely? How do you get control of your ideas or do you just go with the flow?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I read an interview the other day (I wish I could remember where!) with a writer who was describing how her story ideas evolved. She likened it to a tiny seed that she nurtured with water, fresh soil, etc. until it blossomed into a full story that she could then put down on paper. Wow. […]<\/p>\n

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