The Idea: A Spark – Writing Your Book
I rarely meet someone who, when they find out I’m a writer, doesn’t say, “Oh, I’ve had this idea for a book in my head for years!”
I say, ‘Great, that’s awesome. You should write it.”
Their next comment is usually, “I’m not good at that stuff. You should write it for me!” (Does this happen to anyone else?)
Uh, no.
First off, it’s their idea and not mine. Two authors can take the exact same story prompt and turn it into two totally different stories. Even if they stick to the same genre, say horror, the results will vary. (Go and read pretty much any anthology you can get your hands on to see this for yourself.)
If I tried to write someone else’s idea, they probably wouldn’t be satisfied with it, because as I wrote I would make it my own.
There are ghost writers out there that do this for a living, and I have to give them kudos. It has to be hard to stick so close to someone else’s agenda. I’m not sure I could do it.
But I digress…back to the topic at hand.
You have an idea for a book and your question is, should you write it?
As my high school band teacher loved to say when faced with people who wanted exact answers about how music should be played, “It depends.”
I feel like I need one of those flow chart things for this, but since I’m not terribly adept at making anything like that (I’m a writer, not a designer, dang it!) I’ll let you use your imagination.
The answer to “Should I write the book” is always yes.
What depends is why you’re writing it.
Are you looking to make writing a career? If so, then you might want to choose what books you spend your time on with more care than if you’re just hoping to get the story out of your head and onto paper so it will stop bugging you.
If a career is your goal, you should consider the quesiton, is this an idea that others will want to read?
Or, another way to say this, is there a market for it?
Don’t freak out because I’m practically saying “Write to Market.” I’m not taking about chasing trends. I’m talking about if your idea is a contemporary romance (which is a big market) then there will be people who will want to read it.
If your idea is a seahorse shifter time travel romance set in ancient Rome (congrats if you followed that), the audience for that will likely be much smaller.
Let’s be honest, it probably exists somewhere, but fifty loyal readers will not a career make.
However, if this story is your heart’s desire, go ahead and write it. It might not make money, but it will give you experience and a finished book!
And heck, your book might spawn a whole new genre. You never know.
If you want to write as a hobby, then I always say go for it. Write the book. Why not? In six months or a year or two years you can either have no book written or this book written.
What with the rise of independent publishing over the last fifteen years, you can even get a hardback copy of your story into your hot little hands if you want.
Either way, have fun with it. Let your imagination run wild.
Write crazy scenes. Add ninja monkeys, a serial killer, or a small-town mint farmer heartthrob if you want. (Maybe don’t mix all three…for your first book.)
Let’s talk about the initial idea for a minute.
There’s not one right way to begin a novel, and that includes the first glimmer of the story that comes to you.
Did you picture a man on a horse in the woods, a mermaid who has to live on land, or a monk warrior in the city?
Great, you have a character.
Or did your mind produce a setting and/or genre first? Maybe a historical murder mystery or a high intrigue fantasy?
No problem. Start from there.
Some people begin with an idea like, “What if we could all blend in with our surroundings like chameleons?” or, “What if two people meet again twenty years after falling in love the first time?”
Excellent. Carry on.
Some people will tell you that you have to start with a character.
Characters are extremely important, but if that’s not where your story’s seed takes root, it’s fine.
You’ll end up getting to the characters eventually.
If you’ve got a story to tell, then tell it!
Don’t worry about perfection, just let it out.
