Writing Advice Monday: Is it an Idea...or a Book?

I often get asked where I get my ideas for my books, and by the same token, how I know that an idea is good enough, big enough, to be a book.

For instance, my current release, "Snowbound Bride," a novella in Christmas Weddings, centers around the hero and heroine being stuck together at Chicago's O'Hare airport. Living in the Midwest, I have traveled through O'Hare several times and been stuck more than once. I have often wondered what it would be like to run into someone I had a past history with--an old friend, perhaps, and that led my mind down the path of old lovers reuniting and what would happen in that forced proximity. Then, when the planes take off again, do they choose to take the same plane or fly in opposite directions? [you can read an excerpt from that book here].

Anyway, for me, coming up with ideas is never the problem. I must have at least two ideas a day—ones that I deem good enough to toss around in my mind, trying them out. It’s knowing whether there is enough for a book that is a little more difficult.

For instance, I read the paper daily, and most editions of Newsweek, along with several other magazines. There are tons of idea germinating stories in the daily paper and the quirky news section of that magazine. I tear out pages and stuff them into my idea folder, for later inspiration.
It’s knowing which ones to keep and which to toss that is a little more difficult. Here are some tips for knowing whether you have simply an idea or enough meat for a book:

1. ARE THE STAKES HIGH ENOUGH? When you sit down to write a book, you will invariably have a character who wants something, i.e., a goal. Maybe you have a seventh grader who wants to make the varsity basketball team. Or a man who wants to track down his son. Or a business owner who wants to save his company. All of those are great beginnings, but they aren’t a story unless they become an important journey. The stakes—i.e., the reasons why your character needs to achieve this goal—have to be important enough that they can carry a few hundred pages AND the reader’s attention. The kid who wants to get on the varsity team wants more than just a position as starter, he also wants to prove himself to his father as a kid who can do more than take up space on the sofa. He wants to prove to himself that he is a strong, worthy player. Getting on that team, he thinks, will change his life. The goal becomes bigger, with ramifications that run throughout the character’s life and foster a change within him. Stories are about change, so be sure your stakes force that change in your character.

2. IS IT GLOBAL ENOUGH? If you write a book, it needs to appeal to more than just your grandmother. You have to tackle a subject that will resonate with many people, thereby giving you a broad enough readership that the publisher can see the viability of the story. Your idea about the arduous journey of a walking catfish trying to cross the road might not have enough global appeal. Either broaden the story’s scope, so that it becomes a story that many people can relate to (think of “Finding Nemo,” which was about more than a little boy who was lost; it was about a father’s relationship with his son, his own growth journey, and the rescue of more than just Nemo) or toss it and try another. They are just ideas, after all, not oxygen. You can live without them.

3. IS IT SOMETHING YOU WANT TO WRITE? Too often, writers tackle a subject because it’s “hot.” They think, “Everyone is writing about vampires, maybe I should too.” But the writer doesn’t enjoy vampire stories, hasn’t read one before, and is really a cozy mystery writer at heart. Whatever type of book you sell, you need to be prepared to write a hundred more just like it. Publishers like to build careers, and the best way to do that is to build a readership on one particular type of book. If you don’t like writing or reading about vampires, you won’t be happy writing those other 99 books.

4. CAN YOUR CHARACTERS WORK WITHIN THIS IDEA? Sometimes you come up with an idea, and then thrust these characters from your mind into the idea. But then things start falling apart and the characters refuse to cooperate. Their personalities don’t work with what you are writing about. Their storylines are running off on different tangents. You may simply have put the wrong characters into your story, or you might be trying to fit a square peg idea into a triangular story.

5. IS IT AN IDEA YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT—REALLY EXCITED ABOUT? Going from just an idea to a book means writing a few hundred pages. If this idea excites you today, but then tomorrow it seems to pale, then you probably need to throw it out. You have to be excited enough about this idea to want to roll out of bed and attack another ten pages on this story, day after day, until the book is done. Make sure that whatever you are planning on writing about gives you that charge that will carry you through the more difficult parts—the middle of the book, the revisions, the submission process.

Only you can tell if you have an idea or enough meat for a book. Either way, I suggest you hold onto those ideas in a folder. There have been many times when I have flipped through my idea file and seen three or four that held common threads. I ended up bringing them together in one story, creating something with multiple layers. It wasn’t just one idea, it was several, that eventually made their way into the book.

If you’re looking for a story for your book, then try out a variety of ideas. Taste them in your mind, play with the possibilities and hopefully, you’ll soon have something that will carry you forward!

All those who comment on this post are entered into a drawing for a copy of Miracle on Christmas Eve, my last year's Christmas novel -- to get you in the mood for Christmas! And don't forget to pick up your copy of Christmas Weddings, in stores now!

Shirley