JENN McKINLAY: I am in the thick of writing proposals. This is the best part and the worst part of the writing process to me. Taking that kernel of an idea and crafting it into something that readers will love, always feels like landing at the base camp on Mount Everest.
I love it when an idea comes out of the ether and fills my brain, taking over my every thought until I get the story down on the page. Unfortunately, this very rarely happens and it's much more likely to be an idea that goes nowhere, a notion that goes sideways, or a concept that tanks before it can become a fully realized PROPOSAL.
One of the biggest challenges right now is that the industry is very saturated in romcoms and mysteries and what I hear repeatedly from the publishers and booksellers is that they want "the same but different". When I ask what they mean specifically, I am told that they don't know but they'll know it when they see it. As you can tell I have spent many an hour banging my forehead on my desk.
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When things seem impossible, I do look behind me and remember that PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA came fully formed while I sat in my car waiting for a Hooligan while the SPRINKLE WITH MURDER arrived almost by happenstance when everywhere I looked there were cupcakes and everyone I spoke seemed to be talking about cupcakes and I just happened to be looking for a fresh angle on cozy mysteries.
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Since I am fresh out of inspiration, a very disconcerting place for me since finishing the cozy fantasy, I must ask both the Reds and the Readers, what do you do when your creative well is dry? Do you have a technique for kick-starting your brain or your creativity? In other words...HELP!
People watching- it's always fun to speculate what the person who just walked by you is thinking. This lets your mind wander and in all that time, your mind is being creative because that piece of thought can become an idea.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's excellent advice. I may go to the airport and people watch - always good stuff there.
DeleteI'm not normally the first to post, Joan, are you here? Hope all is good.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing - Joan? We miss you. Please chime in when you can.
DeleteThanks for asking, Dru . . . we are all a bit under the weather here today [and the grandbabies needed LOTS of cuddling], so I haven't had an opportunity to get to the computer before now . . . .
DeleteJenn, people-watching always seems to be perfect for creative ideas . . . my favorite is going to the library and watching the Little Ones during story time . . . .
Joan, sending healing vibes for your family.
DeleteI love this community! It’s like having a neighbor check on you if your curtains aren’t open by a certain time. Hope you and your family feel better soon, Joan. And give those grandbabies an extra cuddle from all of us! — Pat S
DeleteJoan, sending healthy vibes to your family
DeleteHope everyone feels much better very soon.
DeleteThank you so much for all your good wishes . . . I think we're going to end up with yukky summer colds, but we are hanging in . . . .
DeleteFrom Diana: thank you for letting us know how you are. We were worried when we did not see your comment. Usually you are the first to comment in the morning. Hang in there, Joan.
DeleteYes, people watching and eavesdropping in public places (coffee shop, subway). If they are talking loud enough to everyone to hear, it's hard to block them out. BTW, wasn't that the premise in the Finlay Donovan mystery?
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I also read things as I walk in a city. Billboards, ads on buses & subway, event posters, want ads, items for sale on pole posts, public corkboards in my community centre, grocery store, .
DeleteI also see plenty of missing pets and missing person poster in downtown Ottawa. Never found any of them but I still read the posters.
DeleteFrom Diana: Yes, I have seen plenty of missing persons stories. One story that has stayed with me since college is a story that was on the television news, This story stayed with me because this story involved a Deaf child whose stepfather was a police officer. The child was playing outside in front of the house when the adult caring for the child was distracted for a moment and the child disappeared.
DeleteAs far as I knew the family and the Deaf child communicated in Sign Language. I was surprised that the Hearing Mother did not Sign because if the missing Deaf child was watching the news with whoever kidnapped her, she would Not know what her Mother said! I had this weird idea - what if a Deaf couple decided that the Deaf child belongs with a Deaf family instead of with her hearing family? I have seen some Deaf families who insist that Deaf children are better off raised by Deaf parents. I do not agree. It does not matter if the family is hearing or deaf as long as everyone COMMUNICATES.
From Diana: Yes, these are great ideas, Grace.
DeleteOh, I am a big eavesdropper, too. People are fascinating in conversation.
DeleteI'm with Dru and Grace. People watching and eavesdropping are great sources of story inspiration. I once developed a character based entirely on an overheard rant in the Post Office where a frustrated mom was complaining about her teen daughter.
ReplyDeleteI've found story ideas by binge watching true crime shows on TV. One plot outline came from combining three different episodes.
From Diana: I want to read the book that came from combining three different television episodes and please let me know when it is published, Annette! Thank you.
DeleteDiana, it's coming out later this year--the third in my Detective Honeywell series. I'm waiting to see the cover and learn what title they're going with.
Deleteooohhh
DeleteFrom Diana: Wonderful, Annette! I look forward to reading that book!
DeleteOh, excellent advice, Annette!
DeleteThe only problem with watching the true crime shows is that they are real. You have to watch the worst of people’s actions. That would depress me. (Though I am excited there’s a third Detective Honeywell book coming out soon!) — Pat S
DeleteI am also excited about reading the next Detective Honeywell but glad that I don't have to watch any true crime shows ever.
DeleteVery unusual for Joan to miss. I also hope she's okay.
ReplyDeleteWow, Jenn, that's a lot of pressure. Maybe switching creative gears could help. Take one of those sip and paint classes with a couple girlfriends, or go to a quilt store and spend an hour looking at fabric and patterns. If I lived in Phoenix, I'd go to the Heard, or the Art Museum, the Botanical Garden, or even better, the Cosanti factory. Plenty of people watching in all those places, too.
You'll figure it out. You always do.
From Diana: Great ideas, Karen in Ohio. And I agree that Jenn will figure it out.
DeleteKaren in Ohio, these are great ideas. Just thought of this because I recall an author talked about cross training for authors, which is similar to cross training for athletes. Perhaps memoir writing class is like cross training for an author of fiction?
DeleteThat's a great idea. I used to be the librarian at the Botanical Garden and the current librarian was hand picked by me. I need to go visit her.
DeleteLove the garden. It's so different from our lush Midwestern ones.
DeleteMaybe a trip to the MIM. There are always so many unusual instruments there, not to mention people!
DeleteOtherwise, I always find travel inspiring.
You have a vacation coming up in Nova Scotia. Maybe inspiration for a romance will strike there. I love your romances!
ReplyDeleteAre you writing another Hat Shop mystery? Scarlet and Harrison are getting married, right?
Have any of your characters gone to the theater? I have a friend whom I attend Hartford Stage with.
Maybe each of us should tell you one sort of mundane thing we enjoy doing and see if it sparks an idea.
Yes! I probably just need to relax - this is not my gift as I'm sure most of you know. LOL.
DeleteThis is hilarious! This is exactly what I was going to write about! Truly.
ReplyDeleteI am no help.
And truly, I am going to be reading every answer very carefully. :-)
HANK: Just an idea thinking out of the box. You may not like the idea or your publisher may say no to that idea. It seems rare. Perhaps a future mystery could have a victim who is a MAN instead of the usual dime a dozen novels about women being stalked / robbed / murdered. There are too many novels where Women are the victims. How about a Man, preying on women, becomes a Victim himself? The predator is found with his head bashed in or the predator is poisoned? Just a kernel of an idea and if you like the idea, feel free to take it and run with it. From a fan of mysteries yet tired and sick of seeing women as murder victims.
DeleteLOL! The markets are so saturated these days and my brain has flatlined --- ergh!
DeleteThank you! I actually think about that all the time… The victim is such an important element of the story, for so many reasons. Do they deserve to die?( If there is such a thing?) Are they pitiful or powerful? Man or woman? Young or old? Killing the people in my mysteries is my least favorite part, I will admit!
DeleteI wondered what that noise was...now I realize it was Jenn's head banging on her desk. I am so sorry you find yourself in this spot. Please know that I have the utmost confidence in you and your creative juices, Jenn. That said, when I'm without inspiration (or even coherent thought), I do a household chore (dish, laundry, toilet cleaning) or go for a walk.
ReplyDeleteIs it the right time to have your dyslexic heroine from Summer Reading get up to something?
In response to Joan's idea for us to tell you something we're up to, I'm involved in fundraising for a local church-turned-theatre. The structure needs to be brought up to code and we're hosting an evening of music along with an art auction. Events are all about the details and I'm in charge of artist blurbs for the auction and of buying compostable napkins and plates for the food. It's mundanity mixed with loads of fun creative energy and a group of people each of whom is new to me. I don't think we'll end up with a dead body, but if you were writing this story, Jenn, I'm sure you could figure out a way...
Maybe someone can be plastering signs around town for something and the dyslexic woman misreads them, leading to unforeseen consequences.
DeleteI like this idea, Pat!! — Pat D
DeleteJenn, other than what have been already mentioned, I’m not sure that I can add something.
ReplyDeleteWhen facing something that seems impossible to achieve, I practice what we call in French le
´´ lâcher-prise ´´ that could be translated in let go. Combining Karen and Judy comments: taking some time off and living something new could help freeing your brain to be open to something else.
I’m presently reading Love at First Book and enjoying it greatly. I am confident that there are still several good stories to come.
Danielle
The only thing I can suggest is to get your hands busy (was in Lawrence Block who always kept a deck of cards so he could play a few hands of solitaire when he got stuck?) For me it would be jigsaw puzzles. While I think I am hunting for just the right piece for a certain spot, my mind is actually working on ideas. The shower is also a place where I often come up with ideas.
ReplyDeleteHave you considred a rom-com for the silver-haired set?
Golden Bachelor meets rom-com
DeleteGreat idea!
DeleteFrom Diana: All of the comments above have wonderful ideas, Jenn! Love Judi’s idea about a Rom-Com for the silver-haired set. Though my hair is now Silver, I often say I have Platinum Blonde hair.
ReplyDeletePlease do not change your writing style for Rom Coms, I love love love all your Rom Coms from PSRIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA, WAIT FOR IT, LOVE IN LITERATURE NOVELLA SERIES, SUMMER READING AND LOVE AT FIRST BOOK. Whatever you are doing WORKS! I loved these books so much that I bought print copies even if I already borrowed these books from the library.
And I LOVE your Hat Shop series. Started reading your Library series and the Cupcake series.
What inspires me as a writer? I have so many ideas. My problem is sitting down and WRITING! I would be watching a movie or a tv show when an idea suddenly strikes me out of the blue. Sometimes I would be reading a novel when an idea occurs to me and this idea has nothing to do with the story in the book. Best way to explain is that there is a word in the novel that reminded me of something else and the train of thought leads to a story idea.
Ideas can come from anywhere, I could be in my Bar Method class when an idea comes to me. I could be watching a conversation in Sign Language when an idea strikes me. I could be thinking about my great grandparents, who spoke Seven languages, and think “what if?” I could be thinking about a Ghost story and thinking “what if the only person who could communicate with the Ghost was fluent in Sign Language?” Dear Authors, if you like any of these ideas, please feel free to use my idea and run with it. I have so many ideas. Oh, there was a time when I was looking at a school photo of myself and I thought I saw my face moving as if I was talking then I read Harry Potter and there were passages where the person inside the picture was moving. I loved that!
IDEA: Perhaps a book about your travels to Ireland with your family? I loved that post a while ago about your travels to Ireland with your Mom.
Wow! Such a long comment again this morning!
Summer decorating really is exciting most years, but this year I just could not get started. Monday, I took a glass fusion class, Tuesday a paper mache class and yesterday I played mah Jong and won 4 out of 5 games! Somehow this change of schedule and interacting with several different groups of people snapped me out of my funk! Also, the Boston Celtics are leading the Dallas Mavericks 3 to 0 in the NBA finals. Yes, a change of pace really helps and you never know what will fall out of the mouth of those that you interact with! Alicia Kullas
ReplyDeleteGo Mermaids! 😎 Alicia Kullas
DeleteFrom Diana: Hope that Joan is okay.
ReplyDeleteThe same, but different! I hear author teeth gnashing all over the world! I have a few tricks that work for me. First and foremost - stop thinking about it. Second, completely occupy your mind with something else - hike, crochet, baking, tackling that recipe that's too complicated to be made but you always wanted to try. Sounds easy, not so much. Fresh ideas and perspectives float on the ether. Not forcing them has them knocking at the door. Third, skim your idea files and delete the deadwood. You may find something that fuels the fire. You kept most of that stuff for a reason. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHuh. I posted after Dru and it vanished. Jenn, I know you will get inspiration, and I also know the panic of feeling like you got nothing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others about people watching and also reading goofy little police blotter columns.
A mystery/solving married couple? Newlyweds, maybe?
ReplyDeleteOverheard conversations? I have overhead several conversations that left me wondering “what on earth is going on with those people?”
I know you can find something!
DebRo
So many good ideas, Jenn. Have you snapped out of you writing block, funk, barren desert yet? Maybe write, not type but write, a single sentence, saying; over and over again. I flashed on the sentence; "There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile...." Okay, you can take from there.
ReplyDelete"...they don't know but they'll know it when they see it." Words guaranteed to frustrate any writer.
ReplyDeleteA break to play with Koda, a walk, or - as Dru and others said - people watching/eavesdropping are good ways for me to refill my idea bank.
You'll find something!
From Flora: Take a forest bath. Go for a long walk--perhaps in Nova Scotia when you get there. Wander through the woods and just breathe in all that peace--empty yourself, breathe in the serenity. It's like hitting your reset button. For myself, I was thinking that I have no new ideas for anything to write after I'm finished with my current two projects. But my attention kept getting caught by the novella I finished a couple of years ago. I never intended to write that--I was trying to make it be something else. But as I felt my way through the writing, it took on a form of it's own. Now, the cover keeps smiling at me--nudging me, until recently it dawned on me that there are other stories to be told from that setting--and I know just the one to start with. So, the well isn't dry after all--and neither is yours, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteDo the opposite of what seems logical ...and ignore writing. Stop thinking about it. Talk a walk. Do house cleaning. Take a shower. Garden. Anything that occupies your hands but not your mind...and see what creeps in while you are not looking ( I bet you already know this?)
ReplyDeleteThis is the problem for all of us, Jenn. There are too many books being published. Every variation on cozy or romance. So how do you come up with something new that is also appealing to large numbers of readers? But you have something most writers don’t. You are funny. Things happen to you. I think you should create a heroine like you! A middle age romcom full of disasters and fun
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteIt's like when I'm trying to remember a name or a word. The harder I concentrate, the farther away it slips. Try doing something unrelated to writing. Watch the news. Read the local newspaper. Listen to the radio or podcasts. Take your mind off your problem and see if some brilliant idea flashes in your mind later.
ReplyDeleteI actually get inspired by wasting time. Not entirely wasted: I mean, I walk, I read, sometimes I paint, iron, whatever. I do best not trying to force anything. Go see an art gallery, hang out at a library or bookstore. The things I don't have time for when I'm in the throes of writing.
ReplyDeleteWhat used to work for me was logging into Bank of America and looking at my bank accounts. Very motivating. Also I keep a loooooong Word file into which I paste ideas as they come to me. It's about 150 pages long. Usually SOMEthing in there will spar an idea.
ReplyDeleteHallie, I have a book idea file, too. It is empty. Seriously. Empty. :-)
DeleteFrom Diana : Please feel free to borrow some of my ideas above, Hallie and Hank!
DeleteKeep writing - it is so good.
ReplyDelete