Jim Westergren
About me, my projects, SEO, Web Development and Personal Development since 2005
"If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves." - Thomas A. Edison

How to get ideas to write

While writing fiction I found out that for me 80% of the work is done in the mind. As I also have a pretty hard time to find any time to write at all the writing time becomes something golden. As for me it can take 2-3 weeks before I have any possible to write anything.

When I make up new ides for my novel or I establish the plot for a new shortstory I don't do this while writing. Some people beleive it is just to sit down and write. Perhaps for some pro authors it is like that but not for me and the general man. No for me 80% is done in the mind. It is pretty funny but the best ideas came to me while in the toilet. Also before sleeping I try to find more materials.

Sometimes I go to bookshops to find inspiration materials but it is not proven to be successful.

It happened several times that I during the weeks establish a short story and work on it daily while walking in the night, in the toilet, before sleeping, in the break etc.

Then 2 weeks later the golden writing time comes and I have let's say 2 hours to write. It happened 2 times so far that when this golden writing time came I knew EXACTLY what to write. You see, the first factor was already established. So then I could write the whole shortstory, 4-5 pages, from beginning to end in 2 hours.

There is another thing which I found out is good to do. When I have a story I am telling it to people while walking in the night or in the morning to my work. While doing this I have noticed that 2 things occures. First of all new ideas comes accross in the mind and ways are find on how to revise the story. The second thing is that you can get the viewpoint of another. You ask the person to ask questions while telling the story and then logical breaks comes up to light and then youm discuss together on how to solve it. Also while telling the story you often find out what to emphasize as you can easily see what is being liked.

It is quite funny to tell stories to people like I have been doing the last weeks. But don't do the mistake that I was doing that you start to tell a very long story which takes maybe 15-20 hours to tell. Then as in this case the 2 people liked the story very much and then during the day or in the night they push you to hear more. The mistake in this is that you tell same story to different poeple and continue on different times and in the end you don't know what you told to who. Then one night it can happen that you continue to tell a story to a person and you think the person heard the details about A but in fact heard the ones about B.

For me in writing I don't consider the second factor so important as I am anyway not english and I know that my writings are probably full of grammar mistakes, mispellings etc. but I don't give a damm. For me the message is important and what the person got out of it to read my works. Did his viewpoint change on something, did I create an impact, did he perhaps realize something, is he nailed to it and cannot stop reading? If not I don't see the use writing it in the first place.

As I study philosophy my task is different. I want always to try to draw philosofical parallels in my fiction. Like this the reader can gain something out of it for value, not only joy.

In for example my novel the philosophical datum which is also the messsage is the following:

"Considerations are senior to mechanics". - L. Ron Hubbard, Writer and Philosopher

Now this can be shown in many ways and many books can be written about it.

Another thing which I want to mention in this esssay is that many times I try to find new ideas while in the bed before sleeping. I have some interesting personal experience in this. Most of the times IT JUST DOES NOT GO. You know, you want the dream and so on. You lay there tired and the next thing you hear is the alarm clock ringing, already morning. And then you perhaps think: so idle, a whole night and no progress.

But sometimes it does go and then boy next thing you backlog yourself on things to write - That happen often to me as I don't have much time to write and in the moment of writing I have a whole list of shortstories, ideas, essays and other things backlogged to be written.

One of those times it went very good in the bed before sleeping. As soon I closed the eyes I could see the whole scenery. All details. And as it was a VERY exciting moment in the novel and I got the same feelings. I was in condition of half sleeping and half awake. And I tell you, it was better than movie as I was present and feeling everything. But I also could not sleep. As soon I closed the eyes the scenery came to me. I ended up having to go up and eat and speak to the receptionist to fully wake up. Then I could sleep again.

Anotother thing I want to mention is that I write better with music. And the kind of music I like to write to is dreamy music.

If I don't know what to write I don't sit down to write. Also when I write essays such like this one I just put down what comes to my mind and I like it.

Another thing I have also learned. Don't send your work to relatives if they don't ask for it. They can not hurt you by saying that they don't like it so either they have to lie or not saying anything at all if they don't the kind of fiction you are writing.

I found out something interesting. A person who geniunly likes my stories will himself originate communications to read it or hear it.

21 Jun 2003

About the Author Jim Westergren Jim Westergren is a Swedish web entrepreneur currently living in Spain. He is happily married and has three lovely children. Some of his interests are web development, SEO and writing.
He is the Founder of DomainStats and N.nu. Read his .