There I was, prancing along through my day wearing a snappy yet carefree little outfit and with my hair blowing in the breeze (if you need a picture just watch any fabric softener commercial), when I was asked 'where do you get your ideas from?' And there was me desperate for something to blog about - well, it was like a gift!
Actually, I get my ideas from a little shop in York, fifty pee each or a dozen for a fiver, which I think is quite a bargain. Some of them even come with 'user's tips' like 'don't feed after midnight' or 'worse than anybody's aunt', which are handy. Why I use this shop is anyone's guess, for ideas are like litters of kittens; everywhere, free to good homes and often arrive when you least expect them because your cat is called Rambo and eats Rotweilers.
All you need to catch these ideas is a brain like a net with very small holes, and all writers are already in possession of these. A writer's brain lets very little escape, except possibly the exact time of the last train or what it was that you originally came into the room for.
All sorts of things become enmeshed in the..err... mesh, and quite a lot of these will turn into stories if left unattended. Who knows when that snippet that you overheard on the bus about the best way to make black pudding might come in handy? So anyone interested in becoming a writer is well advised to go about their daily business with their brain set to 'trawl' and to take note of anything which sticks to the back of the net. Some of my best ideas have come from misheard song lyrics, partially heard conversations and the interesting images you see when you are peering through binoculars at those very odd people in Number 39.
So, if you think of writers and the image of a Grimsby fishing boat comes to mind, don't be alarmed, it's perfectly natural. If, on the other hand, when you think of writers you find yourself thinking about well-filled fishnet tights...well, that's not my fault and you probably need to get out more. Try a bracing walk. And stop taking those metaphors.
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3 comments:
People are obsessed with the 'where do you get your ideas from' question, aren't they? I usually respond by asking the asker what she thinks about when she's driving or walking the dog or pegging out washing, which is when I think about my stories. "Shopping lists" is the most common, and most depressing answer. Some people have no imagination.
No, never have any ideas - always have to do it... especially the saucy bits. Yeah, right! Now tell me where the ideas shop is again.
I like to imagine that I actually look like somebody who always has ideas. Being asked disappoints me.
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