# My Well of Ideas has run dry!



## Inkheart (Dec 1, 2013)

Okay, even just a few years ago I would get _so_ many new  ideas for different stories, but as time went on I found I hardly got  any, and now I'm down to less than half a dozen new ideas.
My creative well has run dry!
Does anyone else suffer from this? And if so, got any good advice?


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## InkwellMachine (Dec 1, 2013)

Oh my. A Kinsmen. How do you do, fellow inkling?

Do research. There's nothing better to fuel the imagination then running through a long list of wikipedia articles. I'll start you off: run a search on _svadilfari _and check out the first wikipedia article you find. Then just hop from article to article, looking at things you're unfamiliar with.

I'm not saying to copy this stuff, but all new ideas are imitations of things we've learned or experienced at some point. No shame in drawing on those things, long as you twist them and shape 'em a bit.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh my. A Kinsmen. How do you do, fellow inkling?

Do research. There's nothing better to fuel the imagination then running through a long list of wikipedia articles. I'll start you off: run a search on _svadilfari _and check out the first wikipedia article you find. Then just hop from article to article, looking at things you're unfamiliar with.

I'm not saying to copy this stuff, but all new ideas are imitations of things we've learned or experienced at some point. No shame in drawing on those things, long as you twist them and shape 'em a bit.


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## Nickleby (Dec 1, 2013)

You need ideas? I've got 'em! Just yesterday I started a notebook for my first urban fantasy series, even though I won't have time to write it until late in the century.

Seriously, if you're running low on ideas, it may be time to concentrate on real life for a while. Even if you stop writing, you won't stop being a writer. Sooner or later you'll come back to it. We all do.

*Edit:* out, foul update!


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## Inkheart (Dec 1, 2013)

Nickleby said:


> You need ideas? I've got 'em! Just yesterday I started a notebook for my first urban fantasy series, even though I won't have time to write it until late in the century.
> 
> Seriously, if you're running low on ideas, it may be time to concentrate on real life for a while. Even if you stop writing, you won't stop being a writer. Sooner or later you'll come back to it. We all do.
> 
> ...



Perhaps you're right. Something like this happened not too long ago, and after taking a break from 'being a writer' for a little bit, I came back fresh.

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Nickleby said:


> You need ideas? I've got 'em! Just yesterday I started a notebook for my first urban fantasy series, even though I won't have time to write it until late in the century.
> 
> Seriously, if you're running low on ideas, it may be time to concentrate on real life for a while. Even if you stop writing, you won't stop being a writer. Sooner or later you'll come back to it. We all do.
> 
> ...



Perhaps you're right. Something like this happened not too long ago, and after taking a break from 'being a writer' for a little bit, I came back fresh.


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## FleshEater (Dec 1, 2013)

All you need is one idea at a time.

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All you need is one idea at a time.


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## Jeko (Dec 2, 2013)

> Okay, even just a few years ago I would get _so many new ideas for different stories, but as time went on I found I hardly got any, and now I'm down to less than half a dozen new ideas.
> My creative well has run dry!_



This never happens; you always have ideas to draw from. What you need to do is notice the ideas you have at your disposal.

It may also be because you're becoming more critically aware of the choices you make in your work, and that's a _really _good thing. It may make the work feel harder, but it means your storytelling is improving.

While I never suggest stopping a regular system of writing, I would agree with Nickelby that focusing on the world around you will help you notice how useful it is to your work a lot more. But remember, art is a support system for life, not the other way round!


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## The Tourist (Dec 2, 2013)

Inkheart said:


> Does anyone else suffer from this? And if so, got any good advice?



I would ask you to think about two seemingly diverse ideas.  One, is that you're in a low spot creatively.  Two, people write what they know.

Connect the dots.  The muse isn't working, and you are the muse.

Have you had any fun lately?  You can tell if you are because seven people will come up to you, tell you that you've changed, they can't rely on you and (the infamous) "Calm down and act like an adult!"

I get that last one at least once per week and I'm 63 years old.

Writers seem to adept on commenting on life, but not living it.  Talk to a pretty girl.  Get your face slapped.  Better, get your nose broken.  Call your ex-wife from a hot tub stocked with lovelies in Aruba and tell her the divorce was the best investment you ever made.  Drag a foot-peg.

That, or start your next story with the opening line, _"As Inky the celibate novelist choked down his habitual repast of Lucky Charms and TUMS, he leaned forward amid his crunchy, unwashed pajamas.  The computer screen was blank and cold, he'd even bored the ASUS into slumber..."_


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## Gumby (Dec 2, 2013)

I see you've already gotten a lot of good advice, so I can only echo them. A dry spell happens to most of us from time to time, often signifying that you need to change it up a bit. Sometimes it happens if you've really exhausted your creative self in a project. It will come back.


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## dale (Dec 2, 2013)

i've never had a decent writing theme idea by overthinking it. overthinking it will kill the creativity. i just observe everything around
me and sooner or later i'll question something i see and the idea will be born.


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## Jeko (Dec 2, 2013)

> Writers seem to adept on commenting on life, but not living it. Talk to a pretty girl. Get your face slapped. Better, get your nose broken. Call your ex-wife from a hot tub stocked with lovelies in Aruba and tell her the divorce was the best investment you ever made. Drag a foot-peg.



This is usually true. It's why we often turn to adjectives and adverbs too, instead of concentrating on what matters - nouns and verbs.


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## Kyle R (Dec 2, 2013)

Inkheart said:


> Okay, even just a few years ago I would get _so_ many new  ideas for different stories, but as time went on I found I hardly got  any, and now I'm down to less than half a dozen new ideas.
> My creative well has run dry!
> Does anyone else suffer from this? And if so, got any good advice?



Here are three quick and easy ways to jumpstart that creative brain of yours:



*Free-writing.* Take ten to fifteen minutes to just write, without any preconceived thoughts or plans. Go wherever your muse takes you. When your fifteen minutes are up, you might find yourself with a new idea, and motivation to write!
*Prompts*. Like free-writing, you take ten to fifteen minutes to write, only this time you begin with a creative prompt. It could be a word, like "Juice", or a phrase, like "Where the wind blows". Anything you can think of! One way to come up with prompts is to grab a book and flip it open to a random page, and press your finger against any word. Be creative with how you come up with your prompts, then write away with it. See what you come up with!
*"What if…?" *What if dinosaurs were actually aliens that invaded earth? What if a mailman had the ability to stop time? What if trees could talk? Ask yourself a fun "what if?" question and then sit down and write about it for fifteen minutes. See where your imagination takes you!

:encouragement:


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## David Gordon Burke (Dec 2, 2013)

Hasn't happened to me since I (recently) jumped back into the world of writing (fiction.)  I have too many ideas.  Full blown novels that will keep me busy well into 2015.  Two whole series of short stories.  

I actually have to push a big mental 'pause' on new ideas or I get distracted from what I am working on now.  This is why I plot things out.  Once I have the germ of an idea I start to get it down on paper ASAP.  This is usually happening while I am deep into something else like editting / rewriting.  And while I am doing those two chores, some other story starts to emerge.  

This is why I write.  I used to play the guitar but when I picked up the instrument, it was silent.  Not with writing.

I wonder - do people have More or Less ideas when they write in a clearly defined genre?  

David Gordon Burke


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## Morkonan (Dec 2, 2013)

Inkheart said:


> Okay, even just a few years ago I would get _so_ many new  ideas for different stories, but as time went on I found I hardly got  any, and now I'm down to less than half a dozen new ideas.
> My creative well has run dry!
> Does anyone else suffer from this? And if so, got any good advice?



That is _impossible_. There is no such thing as a Writer without any ideas about what to write about. It doesn't happen. In fact, it's antithetical to being a Writer. If you're a Writer, you can't possibly run out of ideas. _It just does not happen. _The color Blue doesn't stop being blue. Rain is still rain, even if it's not falling. 
However, you may have been blessed with a cornucopia of ideas to write about and, having spent a long time writing about them, you may have forgotten what "ideas" are all about. There's nothing magical about them, really. I can't understand why everyone makes such a fuss over them, to begin with. The stupidest question that any Writer is ever asked is "Where do you get your ideas?" (Yes, despite what Mrs. McGillicutty told you in the Second Grade, there _are_ stupid questions..) You may "think" that you've run out of ideas, but you haven't. You've just run aground on the sholes of "Writer's Block." (Besides, you have half-a-dozen ideas waiting in the wings. So, how can you be out of them?)

I've written lots of responses to Writer's Block questions on the forum. Some of them are quite detailed and some include ways to construct Writer's Exercises in order to overcome them. Do a google of them, if you want, and you'll find some of them showing up here and on other sites. (Same nic.) I should bookmark them, really, since the forum's search feature leaves a bit to be desired. But, you can always just pick up any old writing exercise and give yourself some time to relax and have fun, instead of grinding away at Idea #48 that you feel you just have to slog through...

One thing you might need to do is to stop worrying about thinning out your stable of writing ideas. Ideas can be collected, collated, notated and catagorizated.. whatever... But, they don't _have_ to be. Imagine the carefree life you would lead if you were confident that once you finished writing about an idea, another one would just pop out from nowhere and slam into your muddled brain? Wouldn't that be great! If this isn't happening to you, all the time, then something is wrong. I don't mean that you've got some sort of mental or emotional issue, I mean that you must have gotten your Writing Wires crossed, somewhere along the line. (By the way, there's a difference between "Good Ideas" and "Bad Ideas." I am making no such distinctions, here, since that's not what we're discussing. Right?)

Take those half-a-dozen writing ideas you have right now, sitting in your stable, and let them go. Put them out to pasture or take them to a glue factory. But, whatever you do, stop thinking that you must have some sort of collection of ideas to write about. Free yourself from that notion, right now. Do it. Seriously. Stop fidgeting about it... You're a Writer. You are incapable of running out of ideas to write about. It will never happen. If it does, then that's a clue that you've not run out of ideas, but forgotten how to allow them _in_.

Now, dedicate yourself to throwing out those old ideas you've got sitting in a notebook somewhere. You might come back to them, sure. But, for now, just stick them in a drawer somewhere and forget about them. Or, if they're in a file, then copy that file to another drive/disk/USB and then delete it from your working directory. Go ahead, do it. Do it. Get rid of them, destroy them if you wish or just put them somewhere, out of the way.

Once that is done, reboot your computer and, while that's churning away, go get something to drink, check your mail, run to the store for some smokes, get a sandwich or spend some time with your family or friends. Then come back to your desk, open up your favorite web browser and start looking around the 'net. Don't force it, just look. Read some articles, look at some pictures, post on some forums, etc.. You might even want to play a game, just to relax and have a bit of fun. Or, do whatever it is you like to do in order to relax. The point is - Don't do anything that forces you to obsess over not having anything to write about. Preferably, do something that takes your mind off of having to have something to write about... 

Start a new day. Today is a new day. It's a beautiful day, simple because it exists. Today is here because a Gamma Ray Burst did not wipe out all life on Earth. Today is here because you successfully woke up. It is here because Days have a habit of showing up, one after the other, and that's always a good thing, else we'd never get anything done. So, today is here and it is good. Today is the day that you re-discover the concept of coming up with an idea. You sit down, at your workspace, in front of your computer and its time to write something. So, sit there. Take a deep breath and stop thinking. Wait for it... wait for it. Is that something happening? Did a character pop into your head? A Setting? Did some weird sort of situation that seems to involve a Plot come whispering by your brain? A Scene? Was that a Scene that just popped in there? What was it about?

Somewhere, while you're doing all this, something is going to wake up. It's that part of your Writer's brain that you've allowed to go dormant. Maybe it's the pineal gland, who knows? But, whatever it is, some little reptilian part of your Writer's brain has fallen asleep, probably due to the fact that you became so focused on having a collection of ideas to write about that you forgot that you didn't need one to begin with. As you lose your obsession with having ideas pre-loaded, ready for your pen, you'll find that you never lost the ability to generate new ones on demand. You just let the little bugger fall asleep, since he's had nothing to do for all this time. Let him wake up and you'll start being bombarded with ideas, once again.

If that doesn't happen and you find that the ideas still will not come, then come back and post in the thread and I'll _fix_ it. (Well, I'll write enough gibberish for you to have at least one new idea involving Morkonan meeting an unsavory end after having been introduced to a trash compactor...)


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## Theglasshouse (Dec 2, 2013)

Morkonan gave very smart advice. Inspiration is everywhere you go. In my opinion you get it from people, places, things, technologies, medias, or even hobbies. I watched a bunch of nature documentaries, and it gave me some very good ideas, on how to solve the ending of a story. Besides taking a break, and coming back and writing what I thought. However his advice was good enough, I  started to apply it. On youtube there are a lot of informational videos, and don't forget the power of the internet. Make it a regular habit to research maybe by doing something you enjoy is my take on the advice. I watch these programs. So it will be in my routine.


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## Jeko (Dec 3, 2013)

The best way to think about it, IMO, is not that you _have _ideas. Ideas are always all around you - you take them as and when you write. You don't absorb them into your brain and they stay there like some pool of Magicka. The concept of 'What if a train crashed into my school?' is not your intellectual property. It's lying there waiting for you to notice it and use it to your fullest potential.


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## Newman (Dec 4, 2013)

FleshEater said:


> All you need is one idea at a time.



+1

Just finish the one idea you got and others will pop up along the way.


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## escorial (Dec 4, 2013)

think man think...you'll get there.


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## John_O (Dec 4, 2013)

Well this is for photographers when we run out if ideas but maybe something on the list will strike your fancy.

http://www.jwrider.com/photo/ideas.htm


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## Morkonan (Dec 5, 2013)

John_O said:


> Well this is for photographers when we run out if ideas but maybe something on the list will strike your fancy.
> 
> http://www.jwrider.com/photo/ideas.htm



A little secret of mine...

Pick up a coffee-table book of photography, anything good will do, but I like "Time/Life" photography. Then, flip to a random page. Great photographers capture as much as possible in any given moment. They, unlike writers, can only collect slices in time, but what they can collect with one picture is astounding. Often, you're inundated with information, emotion, action, drama.... Some of them are very powerful. If one of those can't get your creative juices flowing, even just a bit, you're in need of a holiday.

Here's a freebie: http://images.google.com/hosted/life


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## Tyler Danann (Dec 7, 2013)

Inkheart said:


> Okay, even just a few years ago I would get _so_ many new  ideas for different stories, but as time went on I found I hardly got  any, and now I'm down to less than half a dozen new ideas.
> My creative well has run dry!
> Does anyone else suffer from this? And if so, got any good advice?



You could always try listening to a good piece of inspirational music! That's what I do sometimes to get things rolling again.


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## Tyrannohotep (Dec 7, 2013)

I'm going to second the suggestion that pictures (not just photos but also artworks or even mental images) can provide inspiration for stories. The trick of course is converting those images into stories with plots and characterization.


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## tabasco5 (Dec 7, 2013)

Take a trip.


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## Macduff Inkwell (Dec 7, 2013)

I usually like to play the 'what-if' game. You'd be surprised at how many new ideas you can come up with by just making up random things on the fly.


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## Terry D (Dec 7, 2013)

A writer can get ideas by reading a phonebook. No special techniques or places or gimmicks are required. If they are, if you find it hard to come up with an answer to the question: What if...? Then you might want to reconsider the craft.


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## Elvenswordsman (Dec 8, 2013)

I find inspiration from beautiful women and the relations with those muses.


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## Tyrannohotep (Dec 8, 2013)

Elvenswordsman said:


> I find inspiration from beautiful women and the relations with those muses.


This I can relate to! Nothing inspires like attractive individuals of the opposite sex!


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## Elvenswordsman (Dec 8, 2013)

Tyrannohotep said:


> This I can relate to! Nothing inspires like attractive individuals of the opposite sex!



I'm sure it's been the true inspiration of all action throughout the years.


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## David Gordon Burke (Dec 9, 2013)

The 'What if' game strikes me as a cheap stunt.  Yes, there could be a novel hiding there.  Just one thing.  If one were to play the 'what if' game and then go on to write a great novel and then were being interviewed about said novel, do yourself and all writers a favor - LIE when they ask you where you got the idea for your book.  Really.  I lose all interest and respect for a writer when he / she admits that it was a simple supposition that got them started. 

In truth,  a writer who has to rely on the 'what if' for all his inspiration is going to be one dimensional in a micro and macro sense.  My inspirations come to me in a flash.  BOOM.  This is my story.  It's about X and I want to bring out these themes and social issues and these kinds of relationships and these are the Set Pieces (impacting scenes) and this is my conflict and conclusion etc. etc.  It's called inspiration because something inspired you.  Then I build upon the inspiration until I have the complete picture in my head and a plan on paper.  Then I write.  

IMHO the 'what if' game serves no purpose.  'What if' I ran out of ideas?  That would mean I were dead.  

David Gordon Burke


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## Pandora (Dec 9, 2013)

I like writing from pictures as well. My dreams though are what inspire me. That other place we go for half of our lifetime.
When you start thinking of it as a place there's much to learn there.


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## Jeko (Dec 9, 2013)

> The 'What if' game strikes me as a cheap stunt. Yes, there could be a novel hiding there.



It works/ed for Stephen King.


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## spartan928 (Dec 9, 2013)

Cadence said:


> It works/ed for Stephen King.




And this guy.

Where do you get your ideas


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## Jeko (Dec 10, 2013)

> In truth, a writer who has to rely on the 'what if' for all his inspiration is going to be one dimensional in a micro and macro sense. My inspirations come to me in a flash. BOOM. This is my story.



The idea of the 'what if' is that it's a kick-starter, and serves as a foundational trigger for thought. The initial question is then develop with answers, which give more questions, which give more answers. 

The power of the 'what if' is that it works for both character-centered development and pure world-building, for long and short fiction, for pantsers and planners


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## Busterfriend (Dec 18, 2013)

Go read.


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## Macduff Inkwell (Dec 21, 2013)

Cadence said:


> The idea of the 'what if' is that it's a kick-starter, and serves as a foundational trigger for thought. The initial question is then develop with answers, which give more questions, which give more answers.
> 
> The power of the 'what if' is that it works for both character-centered development and pure world-building, for long and short fiction, for pantsers and planners



True, though it probably shouldn't be the only source of inspiration as another poster said. If I said my work was inspired by various works, I'd be taken a bit more seriously than "Oh, I was bored and thought 'what if a bunny learned kung-fu from the wise old hippo?'" It can kick off an idea, but it shouldn't be used as a crutch for inspiration.


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