How Do I Generate Ideas for my Novels?

One of the most common questions I’m asked is: where do you get the ideas for your novels? It’s hard to formulate a satisfactory answer to this – after all, ideas by their nature are fairly abstract. Most of the posts I’ve read on this subject have been fairly unhelpful (to me at least!). They give what I consider to be wishy-washy advice, like to sit in a coffee shop and look around you for inspiration, or to use a series of bizarre writing prompts (so you end up having to come up with a story involving a chimp, a watering can and One Direction stranded in the Mojave desert). Personally I prefer a more scientific approach, so here’s my top five tips for coming up with an idea for your novel:

1)   Decide what genre you want to write in. This, to me at least, is crucial. I think it’s really important to give your mind something to focus on. If you’re trying to come up with ideas without knowing if you want to write a thriller or a romance, I think it would be pretty impossible to get anywhere.

2)   Now you’ve decided on a genre, make a list of your favourite books and authors in that genre. Then think about what they have in common. Is it a strong heroine who keeps the world at arm’s length? A brooding hero who is deeply caring? What sort of ages are the main characters, and what settings do you enjoy? What twists and turns occur?

3)   Once you have a good idea of what elements you like, make a list of them, and then try to put them together in your own unique story. Obviously you don’t want to copy ideas, but there’s no shame in using your favourite stories for inspiration. I think everyone who loves New Adult is a fan of Jamie McGuire’s BEAUTIFUL DISASTER – if you like the set up of a good girl trying to resist her attraction to a bad boy, then think about how you can put your own unique spin on it. Change the setting; give your main characters different backstories; find another reason or the characters to spend time together… Use your favourite books for inspiration, and then have fun making up your own plot.

4)   If you’re still struggling to come up with your own story, try to think of a book in your genre that has frustrated you a little. Maybe you read the back of the book, and it didn’t pan out the way you thought it would. Or the plot twisted one way, and you were desperately hoping it would go another. Think about how you would rewrite it in your own – more satisfactory – way.

5)   Another way to come up with ideas is to focus on your favourite subsidiary characters, and develop a story for them. A lot of New Adult authors are using this trick to create a whole series of books – look at Abbi Glines with her Rosemary Beach series, which has developed characters from FALLEN TOO FAR. Jamie McGuire and Penelope Douglas (and many others!) have done this too. Try picking a character you’d have liked to know more about, and then develop a story for them. You can keep tweaking details until you have your own unique story (no copying of course – just use someone else’s characters for inspiration).  

I hope some of this is helpful. Do you have any good tips for generating ideas for your novels? If so, share them below!