Where do you get your ideas from?
I personally can’t say. I know when they have the most odds of showing up, but I don’t exactly know where they come from.
But as fate would have it, my friend would ask me this question on a particularly eventless morning, and that would be the tinder for this post. So Wan, if you’re reading this, that’s how I get my ideas.
Maybe this post will answer that question proper. Or maybe I’m just writing this because I need something for this week. Either way, let’s take a quick tour through my Idea Central and see if we can source for its… uh… source.
“The irritating question they ask us—us being writers—is: “Where do you get your ideas?”
And the answer is: Confluence. Things come together. The right ingredients and suddenly: Abracadabra!”
Neil Gaiman
1. My brain nags me into submission
Sometimes my ideas come in the form of a never-ending reminder. Like how your phone alarm yanks you from sleep when you’re deep in dreamland.
One minute you’re living in a castle and fighting dragons, and the next, there’s an incessant beep tearing the walls down and pulling you back to the cold, godless mornings. No matter how you try to fight it, you can’t stay in Dreamland.
That’s how my brain works. Scrambling an egg? “Hey Stuart, you should totally write about your failures.”
In the middle of a workout? “Just dropping in to remind you of your failures!”
Busy sacrificing a goat to the altar of Wordsmithia? “You should start drafting that post on failures!”
I won’t need a notebook either. The idea haunts me for weeks, even months, until I relent and finally get on with writing the damned thing.
This is what Stephen King calls a ‘good idea’, because according to him, the good ones stick around.
Unfortunately for me, these ‘good’ ideas seldom turn out that way. It could be my execution that’s lacking. Or my marketing. But it is one way to get ideas.
2. I tap into past experience
The best ideas are the ones that combine external stimuli with who you are as a person, resulting in a Frankenstory only you could stitch together. Just as Neil Gaiman so eloquently put it: ideas come from confluence.
The catch is that you have to actually live your life in order to facilitate said confluence.
This is why my life for the past decade has been sketchy at best. If there’s ever a choice between stability and chaos, I’d always chosen the latter. Because screwing up always makes for the best writing fodder.
Sure, jumping on a plane to Myanmar without signing a contract sounds like a silly thing to do, but it did give me tons of stories to write about.
3. I take the time to think and nothing else
I actually allocate time to sit down and generate ideas. Sometimes I stare out the window without actually doing anything, but it’s these idle periods where the Lego blocks in my mind join to form a larger block of nothing.
You were probably expecting a Tie Fighter or a Batmobile, weren’t you? Nope. All the Lego blocks do is form bigger blocks. But hey, I could throw said blocks at random characters in my mind and have them bleed out. That makes for good stories too.
This brainstorming practice comes from James Altucher, who recommends that you write down 10 ideas every day. It could be plots for your novel or ways to earn money. His reasoning for the number ’10’ is that your brain starts sweating after idea number five, and every line you crank out after that is the CrossFit equivalent for your mind.
I don’t know if I’ve gotten any better at generating ideas, but I’m always surprised at the things I come up with when I force myself to reach the dreaded 10.
4. I see the same thing from different perspectives
There’s a reason why so many writers enjoy writing under the influence. Because Logic is unwelcome when you’re amongst other acquaintances like Creativity or Fun. Also, Logic is close friends with your internal editor, and nobody needs that negativity in their life.
That’s the reason why creatives are partial to altering their consciousness. I myself have noticed a tremendous difference in the way I think when experimenting with *cough* certain substances *cough*.
But you know what’s even more surprising? My mind falls into similar wavelengths when I’m meditating, especially when I pass the 20-minute mark.
Of course, as is always the case when your perspective is altered, you don’t necessarily get to bring back your ideas to this world. You’ll need Logic for that. What a crappy tradeoff, huh?
But these ideas do leave an imprint on you, so all’s not lost. All it takes is something like the smell of your fabric softener or a childhood song to trigger the thoughts you’d accessed in these alternate realities.
5. I use the trusty ol’ notebook
I don’t just have one notebook. I have several. But the one that I use most has to be my Obsidian app because it’s the most accessible way for me to record ideas in a jiffy.
I may have a few great ideas scrawled on a piece of paper somewhere, but I can’t recall where. That’s the downside of analogue mediums. I’ve tried keeping a dedicated idea book, but that goes largely unused, mostly in favour of whatever’s closest at hand when I’m inspired.
Annoyingly enough, my best ideas always arrive during the most inconvenient of times, like when I’m sacrificing a goat. Who keeps a notebook around then? And how are you supposed to write or tap your phone screen when your hands are smeared with blood?
Siri works miracles in these situations though, provided my phone is within audible range.
6. I keep my eyes peeled
I follow your blog. I’m subscribed to your newsletter. I’m on alert for interesting YouTube videos. Big names, small-timers, daily posters, weekend warriors—I keep track of people from varying fields and platforms because I’ll never know which of these external stimuli will serve as the launchpad to my next Frankenstory.
And I don’t stop there. I read these channels’ comments to see what the general talk is among fans. One random question on YouTube could very well be the spark for your next cornerstone article. So consume without prejudice.
7. I leave a void for my mind to fill
Sometimes, there’s just no saying where ideas come from. And that’s the fun bit. Besides constantly honing your craft, you also have to not try every once in a while.
I do this by sketching with words. I write scenes I’ll never use, just because. I journal in third-person. I try my hands at rap. I write one page of a screenplay.
Sometimes, my best work comes from not working at all. For instance, look at the Top Posts section on the right (or bottom if you’re on mobile). When does Just Some Writerly Things The Writer In You Will Understand ever sound like a good idea? Yet it’s my best-performing post ever. And I flew through that post without even caring about ‘providing value’.
The universe works in mysterious ways, and so does your mind. And if you allow them both to form the almighty confluence, who knows what could happen?
And that, my dear reader, is the idea I’m going to leave you with. May you pay it forward and come up with something that keeps the wave going.
Till then, perhaps you could answer this question. Where do you get your ideas from?
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Stuart Danker 
I’d love to hear your thoughts!