How I Write - The Idea

Hiya!!!

Well as promised, I'm going to start posting about writing and some tips that have helped me...so why not get started... =) I'm a bit of a novice at the whole posting to help others out...so please bear with me for this one...I promise to get better! =D

First off, it sounds very obvious...but all stories/novels/pieces need a basic IDEA.

Generally, for me it has to be something that has been swirling around in my head for a really looong time...and I feel it needs to get out. Several authors have said that the idea of their novel came up in a dream, I think a lot of my ideas come up while dreaming/day dreaming...when I should be studying. Sometimes I find that a song or a piece of music will create a visual and that will inspire an idea. It can also be a picture or a scene from a show/movie. I think any idea can work as long as the writer has the patience to keep going.

Although from the three stories I have written, my method has had slight changes (let's face it...by IOT I was much more organized...lol!) all in all they started in kind of the same way.

With ATWCB, it was an idea to explore the whole pop star being in love with a footballer dynamic. Why? Well I love soccer...and I love music...and I was a little interested because in the media (alright...English media) there was always this obsessive interest in the relationships of pop stars and soccer players (Posh & Becks...Cheryl & Ashley Cole). I thought that a smart pop star who was rejected by the soccer player she liked was kinda interesting. The idea of having this singer who studied and loved to race cars (since I do love cars) finding out how to deal with relationships and friends, was something that had been passing through my mind quite a bit...along with the song Crush by David Archuleta...which explains the title...lol!

SWFF was my second attempt at a high school romance. The idea was to once again return to a high school setting and explore the relationships one has during that time. For me, I think I just wanted to prove to myself I could actually write something about high school since NGOTG didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. The main idea was quite cliché with the whole not-so-popular girl falling in love with her brother's best friend who happened to be super popular at the school she now attended; but I really liked the idea of writing about a guy who had been written off and his attempt to redeem himself while trying to get the affections of a girl who was really smart but also immature when it came to having a relationship.

Of course IOT was in my head way before the concept of SWFF was written down. I knew I  wanted to write something realistic with humour and drama about an (kind of naive) average girl who worked for a soccer team and was tormented by one of the players, who secretly liked her, all the while making friends with the guys she worked with. Although at first the idea included having more than two PoVs (I had wanted Oliver and Nate's PoV...)...the more I thought about it, I knew it would get confusing...so I stuck with the two main PoVs of Mia and Matthew. 

Phew...I hope these three examples help. Sorry if they sound confusing...I'll try to make the next post more...clear?=S

Anyway, moving on. When it comes to the initial idea...sometimes it can feel as though you are grasping at straws. That's why I think the more an idea is driving you crazy, the clearer the picture is, the better chance you have at writing it out. Well...at least that's how it is for me. 

It always helps to write out whatever you have in mind. It can be a few short points, or a mini summary of what happens - the details can always be fleshed out later!

Well, that's all I can think of right now without going all circle-y and going over the same points...next time I'll post about outlines...since those are my saving grace! 

Let me know what you think...and I really hope this helps!

Much Love,

Andene xx