Someone asked me the other day, How do you come up with ideas for your stories? I resisted the urge to laugh, because weirdly that’s the question writers seem to get asked the most. I say ‘weirdly’ because my instinctive response was along the line of, How do you breathe? I really have a hard time wrapping my mind around it. I mean, having the right idea can be tricky. Especially if it’s the right idea for a situation — like, How do I get my characters out of this mess? or, What can I write that will fit the theme of this anthology? But ideas at large? They just happen.
I dream, I talk to people, I listen to music, mis-read signs, overhear conversations, fall in love with a beautiful turn of phrase and violate its context until it’s something else. I lie on the floor playing cards and hear voices. I do nothing at all and they just fall into my head.
I understand this doesn’t happen to everyone. Or if it does they are not paying attention. But for me it’s like… like people are talking in the next room and you’re not listening but you hear your name and suddenly all your attention refocuses. Life just happens and sometimes something triggers in my brain. It’s a completely involuntary reflex.
I think if it didn’t happen I would get freaked out. Not all at once, but slowly, over time. Like a creeping eeriness of knowing something isn’t quite right but being unable to say why. Because it would be a horror story. It’d be like losing the ability to hear. And see. And walk.
People ask, How do you write? I say, How do you not?
Kandace Mavrick
Paul McLaughlan
platform thing 
Wendy
21/02/2012
See, the only thing I would ask is “How do you find the time to write each day?” but I already know the answer to that one – “Make it your job!” You are a living demonstration of this already.
It’s the question I’m having to work out my own personal answer to, of course, but so far I’m still sticking with the solution of “By saving two years’ living expenses and hoping that at the end of two years of writing I’ll able to keep doing it without moving into a cardboard box.” A lot of things can happen in two years!
Kandace Mavrick
21/02/2012
Is totally worth it. Or, at least, I think it is.
The answer to ‘when’ is always ‘prioritise it over everything else. sleep, eating… etc’. This is, however, not a tenable long term response.
Wendy
21/02/2012
Frustratingly, I become particularly prolific when sleepy. However I do everything else dangerously poorly in that state… decisions made when sleepy tend to make Future!Wendy flail madly at Past!Wendy… but Past!Wendy is giddily oblivious.
Kandace Mavrick
22/02/2012
Heh. Rick’s like that. He rampantly steals time from Future!Rick with no regard for Future!Rick’s welfare. It’s very sad.
I write pretty well in my sleep… except when I’m being incoherent. The best part about it is that sometimes, if I’m tired enough, I forget what I wrote. Then the next morning I get to read my own stuff like it’s new and laugh at my own jokes. It’s cool.
Chrissy
21/02/2012
I completely agree with you! It’s in your head and it just has to come out one way or another! I just write and the ideas come as I write. I can’t plan, I can’t outline (I was never good at outlines) the ideas flow with the music playing at the time…great post!
Kandace Mavrick
22/02/2012
Oh no, planning is terrible, it boxes you in so your brain can’t scamper about making stuff up. And music is awesome. Although I find that I have to turn it off when I’m up to the editing stage so I can see what I’m working on clearly.