How To Generate Fresh Ideas for Your Novel

By Kathleen Jones, The Quirky Novelist

You know how you want your novel to begin and end. You’ve also made firm decisions about the major characters, setting, and climax. But somehow, all of these elements don’t add up, word count-wise, to a 70,000 to 100,000-word novel.

How do you fill in the gaps? By generating fresh ideas that work with your novel. But how, exactly, do you create those new ideas? I found myself in this situation when the word count of the first two drafts of my novel came up short. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a few simple techniques that made a real difference to my third draft:

• Carry a small notebook and pens in your handbag, briefcase, or the glove compartment of your car. Great ideas seem to strike when you least expect them to. I bought a fat little notebook from a dollar store and jotted down ideas in it whenever I was stuck in a long line at the bank or riding the bus on my way home from work.

• Set aside fifteen or twenty minutes at a time and think about your plot and characters. In point form, scribble down any ideas that come to mind. For example, since one of the leading characters in my novel was Jewish, I wrote down the word “Hanukkah”. I ended up writing a poignant new chapter in which the Jewish character was forced to acknowledge his loneliness during a Hanukkah celebration with his family.

• If you’re writing at home, take the pressure off yourself, sit down on the couch, and just let your mind wander. Try to imagine an entire scene, filled with characters, setting, and dialogue, and let it play in your mind like a movie. Then get up and write down the scene before it fades from your memory.

• Try to think about your main characters every day. I got into the habit of thinking about the leading characters in my novel at the same time every day (early morning and late at night). The more often I thought about my characters, the easier it was to write about them in depth.

Next time you need to expand your novel, try one (or more) of these strategies to get your idea-making machine rolling again.

Want to Read More?

Check out blogger J.R. Hall’s tips in “How to Come Up With Story Ideas” at http://www.writerstoauthors.com/how-to-come-up-with-story-ideas/

What techniques do you use to generate new ideas for a novel? Please share them.

Visit Kathleen Jones, The Quirky Novelist, online at https://kathleenjones.org/

or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/joneslepidas

photo credit: Graeme Pow, Valentine’s Day Witchcraft via Photopin (license)

Author: kath1960

A lover of words who writes from the heart. Welcome to my site! I’m a refugee from the corporate world, a lover of books, dogs, and 1940’s/1950’s vintage clothing (not necessarily in that order!), a wife and a mom . . . and, oh yeah, a novelist! My first novel, a lighthearted romance set in the world of stand-up comedy, will be published by Moonshine Cove in April 2018. View all posts by kath1960