The Care and Feeding of Story Ideas

So you've (hopefully) decided to do NaNoWriMo this year. Now all you need is an idea.

Maybe you already have an idea that you've always wanted to write, but have never quite gotten around to. If so, now is the perfect time to break it out and use it. If you don't have any ideas yet, that's not a problem. Ideas are the easy part; actually writing them out is the challenge. Think about what you have to say and what you have to share. Think about what you read, saw or heard recently that you liked. Think about what you didn't enjoy, and thought you could do better. And if all else fails, go for the random route, and mix and match assorted stuff until you find a combination that feels interesting.

Once you have your story idea, stop. Go do something else for a while. Take a walk. Fold laundry. Take a shower. Ride around the city on the bus, or drive out and do some grocery shopping. Anything easy and almost automatic. While your conscious mind is distracted, your subconscious mind will be humming along, working on all the things you should be thinking about, but are normally too busy for. As you go about your day, little sparks of ideas should be popping up from the back of your mind every now and then.

When they do, write them down! They will drift away just as easily as they come to you, so you have to capture them while you can. Then, it's just a matter of putting the little sparks together until you have something larger, more complex, and more beautiful. Things should start to come together, and it will all just feel right. It should be less of a "making things up", and more of a "finding things out". You should be pleased and a little bit surprised as you discover how your story idea comes together.

So daydream. Imagine. Have conversations with your characters, and ask them what they think and feel. But above all else, don't try to force it. You have the whole rest of the month to chip away at the mystery of your story idea.