This is where you are able to put all those newspaper clippings, birthday cards, diaries, letters, etc. to good use.
Now, all that space that has taken up your life is finally justified!
As a potential writer who has always been interested in writing a book, you probably know that the best way to get ideas is to keep the stories that fascinate you in a file somewhere special.
Clip out interesting excerpts from the newspapers, record something from the news, save a YouTube clip – but remember to collect these pieces not with fascination or horror or any kind of judgement. Instead, take the story into your heart with the intent of using that story for your story.
- Watch the television, films, soaps, news bulletins.
- Listen to the tales that your friends and family tell you.
- Listen to the way they speak, watch the expressions on their faces as they impart the information.
- Go to the library, or join book clubs/groups.
- Go for a walk and take particular note of all that goes on around and about you.
- Cut out, write down or tape and keep the stories, tales and anecdotes that inspire you to express an emotion of any kind.
You need to find a new angle or focus on a specific aspect of your main character’s life. Find some pivotal situation that changed them.
You can get ideas from anywhere. Even photographs offer you an opportunity to pick a certain part of the picture and write about it.
As the puzzle pieces slot together, you’ll have a better idea of how your story is beginning to take shape.
