The Place For My Writers Notes

Original Posting 22 Oct 2010

I found a slip of paper today with some vague notes on it. Basically...

Charlie Stross
-- grab bits
-- fit them together in new and interesting ways
-- apply standard plots
"Ideas. Hah. ..." Quote

I vaguely remembered that this was an article that I wanted to summarize some time. Where the heck did I read it? Well, let's ask Doctor Google. About the fourth one down looked vaguely familiar, so I went and looked at it. YES! So over at http://www.tor.com/blogs/2009/04/qwhere-do-you-get-your-ideasq

Charles Stross suggests three steps. First, "throw your net far and wide, and see what comes back to you." Grab bits, in other words. With the internet (web, whatever) getting some input into the gray matter is pretty easy, but you need to do it. Second, "try to fit them together in new and interesting patterns." Think about variations, what happens if these two get together, what if? Let your mind play with the bits. Two easy steps that can keep pumping ideas.

I do think there's at least a third implied step. See, Charles Stross doesn't just think about what might happen, he goes on to wrap it up in several possible stories. Most of them are recognizable -- classic whodunit, near future cautionary tale, creepy literary romance. Having a good acquaintance with a set of standard plots can help you quickly fit the cool new ideas into some possible stories. And then, (fourth step?) you get to pick the best and write, write, write.

Or as Charles Stross puts it, "Ideas, hah. The real challenge in this line of work is being able to weed the productive ones from the chaff, to decide which you are going to spend the next 6 to 9 months turning into something that people will pay for. Remember: ideas are the easy bit. The rest, as the man said, is perspiration."

So... your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to grab some bits from the news. Take a look at what's playing on the news, the blogs, whatever. Then mix-n-match, put some bits together and push them with what-if. What could happen, who would hurt, and then? Finally, of course, take your ideas and distill a few possible stories. Quick ideas, based on old plots and your new ideas.

Then pick the best one, and write it out.