Jeff Bollow Where good ideas come from has always been a mystery for writers! You can’t force them to come to you, and it’s not always the ideas that you were hoping for which appear from the depths of your subconscious.
So, how they work?
The answer to where good ideas come from
Have you ever noticed that some of your best ideas come in the shower when you don’t have anything handy to write them down with? Or, sometimes you’ll wake from a dream in the morning and you’ll have this great flash of inspiration… as you then proceed to search for something to write it down on before it vanishes into the abyss forever.
Ideas seemingly pop out of nowehere. But what is an idea? And where did it come from?
Ideas come from your creative subconscious.
And no wonder. The human brain is still very much a mystery for human beings. Ideas come from what’s going on at the very back levels of the brain; the ones that you are not, cannot possibly, be thinking consciously about.
And yet, ideas are a crucial part of creativity and writing. They are the sparks that start the process and often the sparks that inspire you to keep going. It is no wonder that we yearn for new ideas and new sparks of inspiration during moments when we don’t feel like writing or don’t know how to continue with a story.
Writing isn’t just the physical act of writing
There is often a misconception that when writers sit down to write, the words just flow out of them into perfect sentences – and that everyone for whom this doesn’t happen is not cut out to be a writer.
This could not be further from the truth.
Writing isn’t just the act of sitting down and typing, or writing longhand. Writing is a complex process that also includes thinking, pondering, deliberating and letting your creative subconscious do what it does best.
Your creative subconscious takes your memories, your daily life experiences, your ideas, and jumbles them all together to try and find connections, new ideas, and solutions that will complete your story.
One of the biggest challenges that we have as writers is that we often focus much of our time just on finding solutions. We want to experience those A-HA moments as often as possible because they feel good. They feel like an accomplishment.
We want to be in the right from the get-go. But the reality is that the very best work that we can possibly come up with will often come from your creative subconscious – seemingly out of nowhere.
It’s served up to you rather than you drilling down to find it.
And although it can sometimes feel disheartening to wait for this moment to happen, you need to remember that this is something that is unique to you – and only you.
Your A-HA moment is an original moment created from your personal knowledge and experience of the world.
It brings out your unique vision, perspective, a story that only you can tell. Your originality.
Develop the muscles for your intuition
If you spend some time getting used to the feeling of your own intuition, you will eventually reach a point where you will both recognize it and trust it.
You need to develop the muscles of your intuition so that your creative subconscious will more easily be able to serve you with the best story ideas and solutions.
So, even if you find yourself in moments when there is just no time to write no matter how hard you try, you can still make the most of your creativity by simply… relaxing.
Don’t think about the lack of writing time or the problems in your story too much. Instead, let your brain take over and do what it does best – solving problems.
Switch off.
Don’t force yourself. Let go. Allow your mind to take over without any judgements on your part, and soon, you will see that the intuitive side of your creativity will take over and continue to provide you with endless ideas.
And most importantly, make sure that you have something to write these ideas down on no matter where you may find yourself daydreaming during the day.
Even if they don’t seem like great ideas at the time, write them down. You never know what kind of new ideas they will trigger in the future.
