My Idea Farm

I like to plant ideas into an idea farm to grow.

Authors are frequently asked about how they get their ideas. As far as how I get mine... I'm not so sure. They usually strike me when I'm reading or watching something else, some kind of "what if" spin on what's in front of me. Occasionally news, especially science news, creates sparks. Regardless, whenever I do come up with something, into the idea farm it goes.

What on earth is the idea farm? Currently, it's a google doc. That way I can access it when I'm out and about (which used to include via my tablet while in vet school lectures heh). I toss whatever comes to mind in there with a bold header for quick reference, eg "character," "story element," "culture," etc. If it came from a specific inspiration, I'll try to mention it so I don't forget, such as "Like that SG-1 episode" or "from that TED talk on xxxxx." Basically, I've got a lot of story ingredients in there, which I'll then use for my throw-things-into-a-pot-and-stir style of plotting, or if I need to add spice to an existing WIP.

Pieces in the idea farm come in all shapes and sizes. Some are only one line or phrase:

Character: Dragon vet. Or the doctor for an ailing god, some other exciting medical professional

Some are reminders from things I've learned about history, science, or the world:

Nile is very reliable and cyclical, so their religion is a cycle of life and death. Mesopotamian rivers eg Tigress and Euphrates are very unpredictable, so religion is about capricious gods, being angry and needing appeasement.

Others are long-winded explanations, or my own train of brainstorming and possibilities for future reference:

Character: Man (or woman) who was stuck in "the void" (or whatever), either because he was imprisoned, abandoned, fell in, accidental spell, or sent there for some other reason. At first it was terrifying and exhausting, because it's basically fight or die—very brutal, dangerous. Lots of running for his life, hiding, trying to set traps, getting injured. Think purgatory from Supernatural. As time went on he got better and better at it, until he became such a virtuoso that it was easy. I'm imagining really deadly hand-to-hand or knife fighter, but may want to choose something more fun to write. Someone quick, smooth, elegant.

The cool part is that he mastered the fabric of the void itself, using it like magic or something to kill people. He could bend it and stuff. Once he escaped from the void, it was such a part of him (or he had become so skilled at it), he could continue to call on it and use it in the normal world. I'm sort of imaging cool black-blue stuff of varying viscosity depending on the spell, maybe looking like a starry sky/blanket.

He could be a villain, or at least an anti-hero. And his life became so brutal and all about fighting and desperation, he's lost some of his humanity. Doesn't connect with people well, likes to be alone. Maybe tries to make a life for himself, but is too out of the loop. Easy for him to accidentally kill people, in anger or otherwise, so he ends up having to keep moving because he screws it up every time he settles down.

I may paste direct quotes from news or Cracked articles. I especially like the personal experience ones, from professions and places I've never thought about. When it comes to darker, more upsetting topics, it's almost therapeutic to think of how I might be able to talk about it via fictional characters and settings. For instance...

The Syrian Air Force will take a 55-gallon drum, stuff in about 2,000 pounds of explosives, then fill the rest with random industrial junk -- ball bearings, rebar, whatever will make lethal shrapnel when it detonates. Then they take the barrel into the sky with a helicopter and drop it on an area where they suspect the rebels are. It will then obliterate an entire city block: I was a lieutenant in the Syrian army for more than three years, and I just gave up from killing people.

There's lots in there, both good and bad. My idea farm covers the light and fun ideas down to the dark and dismal. I suppose on the whole, my writing is pretty dark and serious, so I'm drawn to the dark and serious concepts. I have snippets from articles on refugees, natural disasters, doctors in the third world, drug dealers and addicts, and similar such topics.

Whenever I get a writing-related thought, I'll plant it. It hangs out in the document, percolating. Sometimes two or three will naturally fit together, and with enough of them they'll precipitate into a story seed. Sometimes I'll need an twist extra for a character or culture, and I'll review everything I've put in there for potential candidates. It's very handy, and keeps me from forgetting all those passing thoughts throughout the day.