How to catch an idea...

"How/where do you get your ideas?" is one of the most common questions I get asked. Ideas are everywhere and yet are more elusive than strange quarks/fairies/dark matter/Nessie/insert mythical creature here. How do you catch an idea? (This post applies more to picture books and poetry - I'll explore short story and novel ideas in the future)

I am always thinking about possible story ideas. I liken this, especially for potential picture book ideas, to trying to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. Usually this requires a lot of time and effort and if you are lucky you might generate one or two little sparks and if you are very, very lucky a spark might fall on the driest part of your kindling or a patch of scrunched up newspaper with sufficient oxygen around it to start a fire. Fire = story. I try an awful lot of story ideas out in my head that never spark in to anything. They are too familiar, cliched, obvious, try-hard, preachy, superficial, empty or just downright dumb and are summarily discarded. Or the idea is intriguing and solid but I just don't know what to do with it. That kind I fill out as much as possible and keep for when I am ready to write them (this is how my next book The Song of Kauri was written and from first idea to final version was maybe around ten years with not much going on inbetween - I had to grow, as a writer, in to the idea ). But the best ideas are matches with a handy strike plate. Not a spark but an instant generous flame (watch out though - cup your hands around that flame, as unexpected and/or strong gusts of wind will blow it out). So where are the matches kept and how do we get them?

In a recent post I mentioned being inspired by the speech of a stuttering schoolboy and the result was my poem Eagle. The driving fragment of thought was 'I own the air' associated with the idea of 'birds' which came into my head after hearing the words (in separate sentences) own, birds and air. And while the resulting poem might not shake up the poetry world or win any prizes, the way it came about does say something about ideas. As I listened to the boy's speech the first time, while I appreciated the magic of what was happening to him I didn't hear what he actually said, I heard 'I own the air'. And this phrase was like a key that unlocked a larger idea about the relationship between birds and the medium they fly in.

I am watching, reading, thinking, observing (different to watching) and listening all the time. I read and watch widely from rubbish to academic material. This seems to make matches turn up more often. And by constantly trying on new ideas, and trying to get idea fires started I recognize when it's a match and not a twig or a knife or a pencil or a carrot. I know Neil Gaiman goes to the Idea Shop in Bognor Regis for his ideas. I'm not sure exactly how my brain goes from A (air, bird, own) to B (I own the air) - it's not a big leap but it came with useful baggage - but I think its important to feed your mind regularly and practice turning ideas into stories until you find one that works. Like a muscle, the more you exercise this process, the fitter it gets. This doesn't mean I get more ideas than the next person, it just means I know what they are when they show up. And then the hard work of turning the ideas into stories begins. How/where do you get your ideas?

Off to do a little sprunting...

well, that was fun! As far as I am concerned, words are an endless source of goodness and entertainment. Thank you to everyone who entered for providing me with some delicious, odd and infrequently used words that I will treasure forever. But there can be only one, and (drum roll please) the winner of a copy of my new book While You Are Sleeping is Stephanie Thatcher who wooed me with nomophobia ( the fear of being out of mobile phone contact) and then clinched the deal with this link to ten outstanding-in-the-field words of dusty and obscure origin, limited meaning and fantastic roll around in your mouth fun-to-sayness. 'Uhtceare' especially seems to have been made for me. And I am now desperate to find a way to use sprunt and groke in a story although I should have no trouble with ultracrepidarianism, as this happens so often I'm surprised it isn't in current use. Congratulations Stephanie - email me with your address and whether you want a softback or hardback.

And special congratulations to New Zealander Eleanor Catton; fabulous, smart and youthful winner of this year's Man Booker Prize for her novel The Luminaries. That has to look pretty bloody amazing on the old writing CV. And it makes a nice change to have a writer getting this much press in the NZ media. It almost makes up for the lack of a book page yet again in the Sunday Herald. I am always surprised at how little is known (and how little interest is shown by the wider community) about books and authors outside my writery circles. At times I think, well it's a fringe topic that most people don't give attention to, and then I realise how much I know about a wide range of fringe topics or even just the interests of other people that aren't my own interests, and then I think dammit, books aren't a fringe topic, they are the gateway to a healthy, educated, empathetic and caring society. And then I get grumpy. I think Neil Gaiman was feeling a little grumpy too when he spoke so elegantly and eloquently on the topic of why our futures depend on libraries and reading. We shouldn't have to work so hard to encourage folk to pick up a book or two or discuss them in an everyday fashion. Books matter people.

Living the dream...

I am somewhat surprised by folk who dream of meeting and chatting with their author idols. Not because they have them and I don't - oh no - I have author idols (Jane Austen -  although meeting her would probably mean sifting some dust through my fingers which I imagine would be reasonably unsatisfying, Ursula Le Guin, Neil Gaiman - who I did get the chance to meet but didn't, Maggie Steifvater, and a small but very select bunch of others who I truly admire). I have author/illustrator idols as well (Maurice Sendak, Theodore Geisel - to name a couple) and a few illustrators too. I just don't really want to meet them.

My relationship with them happens on the page. They're very good relationships. Happy, magical ones even. I'm okay listening to my idols talk and happy enough to be in the same elevator with them, or best of all have them buy my book without any word about it from me (although I am sceptical about miracles so lets not dwell on that last one). I'm just not so fussed about their process - because I have one of my own and it's taken me awhile to get to that and if I change it inorganically it might stop working. I'm not that fussed about what they eat, or whether we enjoy the same tv programmes or have our coffee in the same way  - "Why yes I do peg my sweaters under the arms when I hang them out to dry," or 'Yes it is pantene and don't be jealous, but it did happen overnight."

I have no idea what I'd want to say to them or what I would want to know about them. They're human beings just like me so our habits probably aren't that dissimilar apart from the fact they're best sellers so their lifestyle probably does include a bit more international travel and public speaking than mine. I just want to read their books because, really, they tell me everything I want to know. They teach me what beautiful sentences and cunning word play look like. They demonstrate effective settings, satisfying plots and credible character developments. I can learn about motifs, metaphor, imagery, and onomatopeia. Why ask the writer what they were trying to do in a particular passage, or plot twist? - the challenge is mine as reader to work it out.

I have met and talked to some starry authors but it was jolly hard work composing sentences which didn't make it sound like I'd had a stroke or swallowed a dictionary of cliches, or a shipload of ums. My main aim was to sound smart enough not to embarrass myself which meant my questions weren't based on things I really desperately wanted to know (especially because there weren't things I desperately wanted to know) but on things I though the writer might want to talk about. If cannibals are correct in their theories I might have been better off eating their brains but it would be cheating to be using their skills when really I would be better off developing my own. I could try and discover whether their values and politics and beliefs are similar to my own but asking runs the risk of finding out that they aren't which might be disappointing.

Ultimately, talking to my author idols would be a false or transient relationship. I would much rather be Neil Gaiman's Diana Wynne Jones or Justine Larbalestier's Holly Black but this is a very different thing. And I already have my own writery/illustratery friends with whom I discuss the kinds of things that Neil and Diana used to talk about and Justine and Holly talk about now. And I already get to do that. It would seem I am already living the dream...

be the writer you want to become...

I know I have posted on branding before but I wanted to talk about it again today from a slightly different angle. Recently I went through the very interesting exercise of determining and defining what the 'Melinda Szymanik' brand meant, with two of the very fine publishers who have published my stories, Pear Jam Books and Duck Creek Press. As I have wittered in the past, I write a variety of lengths of story for a variety of ages. To say I am a picture book writer, whilst true, ignores the fact that I also write short stories and novels for younger and older children and teens. Focus on one thing and you miss the others. I have written funny stories, sad stories and dark stories. Many of my stories are reality based but there is often something a little otherworldly about them, but then they are not what I would call fantasy. They don't make pigeon holes that I easily fit into. So if you like to read you might want to know if you would like my books. When we discussed what I write we came up with this

"Melinda Szymanik is the award-winning NZ author of smart, layered fiction for all ages,
focusing on the family, the challenging and the unexpected – all with a little dash of magic."

Today as we discussed branding again amongst a group of writers, one writer's work was described as like Jacqueline Wilsons. Therefore, if you like Ms Wilson's books you are likely to enjoy this writers as well. Fair call. I am unlikely to get this kind of comparison. Partly because I write across ages etc.... There are writers I revere. I would love to write like them, but I don't. I would love to be compared to them (in a good way) but I won't. So I have my brand statement and I think that covers it pretty well. It is strange being a brand. I am not just Melinda Szymanik, of a particular age and abode, daughter, sister, wife and mother. I am not just a product of my environment, experiences and education and a fan of certain books movies, programmes and pastimes. There are people who think of me differently when they see the name. Probably a few going, oh God please, no! but maybe some who say 'I like her work' and hopefully, wishfully, wistfully, some who might even say I really want to read her next one. It must be weird to be very famous where your brand seems to take on a life of its own and is off, busily manifesting something new in the corner, while you holiday on Mystique. I find it strange enough that my name might conjure up a particular view or opinion of me because of all the things I have written. But it does. It might be harder to realise your brand if you are still in the early stages of your writing career. It is harder to detect patterns when your 'body' of work is still growing, even if patterns are already there just waiting to emerge. But it might pay you to think about what elements are crucial to how you want people to perceive you in future. Even if you are still producing sufficient writing to demonstrate 'what' you write, keep in mind that people do form views and opinions at every stage so 'be' the writer you want to become. As Neil Gaiman said at that commencement speech 'make good art'. Your art is how people will remember you. And whether the critics love or hate it, and the judges of awards embrace you or ignore you, as long as it is the art you want to make then people will see you as you want to be seen. You have to live with that so make sure you can.

I recently stopped by at this blog post by Talli Rowland (via Maureen Crisp) about how our dreams of success shift with our understanding of the world we want to succeed in. For many of us we begin with the dream of being published. Some dream of awards and riches. Other of movie deals and fame. Our dreams are sometimes realised in ways we didn't anticipate. The authors world in particular is like the view seen in a rearview mirror - not quite the size and shape of the actual object. I dream of finding fans amongst the world's readers, and having my books translated into other languages. I have sometimes dreamt of travelling to other countries because of my writing. Maybe in my wildest dreams I would wish that one day a new writer says their books are kind of like the books of Melinda Szymanik. Of course, then I think my head really would fall off.

Smart advice on the creative life...

I am linking here to Neil Gaiman's commencement address to the 2012 graduating students at The University of  the Arts in Philadelphia, partly because I want to have it to refer back to when I need a pep talk. If anyone can give a pep talk to creative people in these crazy times it is Mr Gaiman. So many things he says, I found myself nodding along to: philosophies that underpin my own approach, ways of doing things that I have learned by the doing, advice that it never hurts to be reminded of. I love that he says he learned to write by writing. This is what I believe too, and sometimes my faith in this has been shaken by other writers, or teachers of writing (who I guess have a vested interest in rattling this belief) who disagree. I suppose it might not be true for everyone, but it has been true for me. The more I write, the more I understand what I need to do. The better my stories have become. I guess if I showed you my early stuff you would see the difference, but then I would have to kill you.

Gaiman also talks about writing the things you want and need to write, not just for the money you have been offered to write them. If the money side of things falls through all you will have to show is something that means nothing to you, that you don't care about. If you write something you care about , whether you get paid or not, you will still have something you are proud of to show for your efforts. I have tried to write things just for a payday and they turn out rotten. I know better than to try now.

And I am most guilty of worrying, when I should be enjoying the moment. Sure, my 'moment' isn't anywhere near what Gaiman's 'moments' have been. I've never had all those award nominations, or wins, the long line of eager fans waiting patiently for a Gaiman signature, the invitations to prestigious events, interviews, TV appearances etc .... but I've had good things happen and I struggle with the idea of stopping to smell the roses. If I stop the world might move on without me. But what is the point of doing this if you can't get pleasure out of the happy results of your own creative efforts.

I like that he says he didn't know that certain things were going to work, their success never inevitable in his eyes; I like that he says make mistakes - Coraline after all, was the result of a misspelling; I like his idea of making your goal a mountain and only choosing to do things that take you closer to that mountain - of course the problem with this analogy is whether you can always tell whether certain steps will take you closer or not - it's better, I suppose to take a wrong step then take no steps at all. I like that he talks of the upheavals in the creative world with excitement not fear. And I like that Melinda Szymanik, children's author does have things in common with the Rock God of Writing Neil Gaiman. His faith is my faith.

There are other pearls of wisdom in Gaiman's address and if you are a creative person I urge you to watch it and take notes. And go make good art!