Writing Tips: How to Get Ideas on Paper – Part I

Self-published author Louie Centanni shares his writing tips, including the easiest ways to get your ideas on paper.

Writing Tips: How to Get Ideas on Paper – Part I

One of the more common questions people have asked me since the release of my self-published novel, A Couple of Unorthodox Love Affairs, has been, “How did you get the idea for that story?” Murder and gore as a precursor to romance? Death, blood, and love? My answer is usually short and sweet: it’s funny. This (almost) always gets a courtesy laugh because the questioner thinks I’m simply being affable. I never quite know what to say next, though, because—though the answer seems contrived—it is the unadulterated truth. Please don’t get the impression that I, in any way, condone murder or trivialize death. This could not be farther from the truth. However, the idea that something as morally and ideologically unacceptable as serial murder can be a turn-on is hilarious in a completely morbid sense because of how absurd and ridiculous the notion is. We don’t have to actually think of the realistic consequences that would go with such an act. It’s the same reason people laugh when someone gets kicked in the stones during a movie—we’re not thinking about their reproductive future.

A lot of people to whom I’ve spoken about writing have expressed similar sentiments of bewilderment for the spawning of creative thoughts. I try to give advice, but I run into an insurmountable problem. It’s not that I don’t know where my ideas come from. It’s also not that I want to avoid the question. It’s more than I can’t grasp the concept that a person who lives on Earth CAN’T get ideas on a daily basis. It makes no sense to me.

Seriously, who goes through an entire day without having something remotely strange, quirky, or amusing happen to them? Some of you might respond to that question by saying, “Well, me.” Fair enough. Though I cannot assert with certainty that you are wrong, I can reply with a differing viewpoint. I submit that your life is not as uneventful as you claim and that perhaps the best possible answer to, “How do you get the idea for that story?” is nothing more than a mere word:

OBSERVATION

My ideas come less from any profound philosophical source and more from observing the absurdities around me. I watch a two-year-old child slur a few words while tipping over onto his face, imagine him as a full-grown adult, and I have a joke. A man enters a public restroom, I faintly hear the sound of the toilet flushing eight times while the man is inside—paint the rest of the picture, I have a character. I attend a Christmas party where gifts are exchanged, a friendship is destroyed over an inexplicably coveted oversized jar of pistachio nuts—I have a scene. It really is that simple.

Some ideas come to me in more general ways. Maybe I am interested in a girl who says something seemingly innocuous to me that just stays in my mind for no apparent reason. There’s a poem. I hear about one of Tiger Woods’ mistresses earning $500,000 to do a reality TV show. A social issue I’d like to tackle has appeared. There’s a story there somewhere. Or an omen that the world is officially coming to an end. Either way.

I guess what I’m saying is that the ideas are organic. I can almost guarantee the millions of petty thoughts that each person allows to disintegrate into the abyss of his or her consciousness on a daily basis could evolve into stories, if only the person were more acutely aware of his fleeting notions.

On a practical level, there is a way to handle this. For years I carried a small pad of paper and pen everywhere I went. Whenever something slightly out-of-the-ordinary occurred to me, I would write it down. Example: “homeless person happier than wealthy man,” “friend loves a girl but won’t confess it,” or “old people farting.” More than half of the time, when I finally reviewed my list, the scribbled note makes absolutely no sense to me in the present moment; however, a few ideas stick with you. Those are the ones that turn into literature.

This is a good technique for many reasons. It’s quick. It’s inoffensive (i.e., you can usually take your pad and paper out anywhere in public without making noise or calling attention to yourself). Lastly, it makes you seem extremely wise, compared to the inferior oafs around you who don’t self-reflect Note:. (If you’re into delusions of grandeur, substitute the pad/pen for a digital voice recorder.)

In conclusion, ideas can come from anywhere and everywhere. Some people say that all stories have already been written. I suppose that, to a certain extent, this is true. Having said that, language is so amazingly vast and adaptable that if two people were given identical outlines of a story to write, the odds are pretty high that the results would differ in many fundamental ways. In fact, most readers or viewers would find enough differences to justify classifying the two as entirely unique.

Then again, anyone who has seen both Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Observe and Report might argue otherwise.

If you want to read more of our writing tips, including more writing tips from Louie Centanni, check out the “Writing Tips” section of Studio 602, and don’t forget to share your writing tips in the comments below!