Coming Up With Book Ideas (And What To Do With Them) 

My best brainstorming happens when I’m supposed to be studying something else

I came up with the idea for the book i'm writing now by listening to a song in the car and creating a scene for it in my mind. Then I kinda thought 'oh dang how did those characters end up in that situation??' and suddenly this huge series idea just snowballed into my brain so i figured what the hell, guess i'm writing a book hahahaha

The shower is also my go-to place for brainstorming. Which can kind of backfire when you've already showered for the day and the ol' brain starts ticking. There have been days when I've showered twice just because I needed the thinking time. Who knew being a writer was so good for your hygiene.

“Never compete with living writers. You don’t know whether they’re good or not. Compete with the dead ones you know are good. Then when you can pass them up you know you’re going good. You should have read all the good stuff so that you know what has been done, because if you have a story like one somebody else has written, yours isn’t any good unless you can write a better one. In any art you’re allowed to steal anything if you can make it better, but the tendency should always be upward instead of down. And don’t ever imitate anybody.” - Ernest Hemingway Just thought this quote relates well to this topic.

I really love Alexa because she’s not scared to be tough and rough on her viewers. You can’t just be all lovey dovey. You need to get things done and make the audience understand.

A lot of my ideas come from random train of thought. Most of the time at night, when I'm trying to sleep. And quite frequently. So if I were to start "fishing" for ideas, my Random Ideas notebook would fill up even faster. Actually, that doesn't sound so bad...

Alexa you are my savior, how come that I never thought of using Google docs to write my ideas! My ideas are all over the place and I need to fix that! Also writing random conversations that you hear from people (even if you don't understand the context or don't know who they are) works, because you try to continue it or find the context. 😊

My WIP came from my very imaginative son asking a bunch of questions that began with “if you had a fantasy castle...” so listen to kids!

Agree with you on one thing in particular: everything is better in space :D Angels in space worked really well for me. I also am a big supporter of reading everything you can. Bad books can be as useful as great ones, and watching movies, TV series, animations etc can help with storytelling. Narrative-based games are also great for that.

I literally dream most of my ideas... like my dreams will have placeholder characters from fandoms I'm in and will have a really interesting look to the world or storyline or what have you, and if I'm still interested as I'm waking up and I realize I'm waking up (cause everything starts getting weird) I'm like "Ok, time to shut down the new things, everyone line up and recap tonight's events, ok so that's the people, that's where we started, that's the basics..." and I'll commit to short term memory as much as possible, and as soon as I wake up I'll write down everything I remember and promptly forget about it until I find the file later.... I have a fanfic based off of this, I have 3 stories based off of this and two that are still in their dusty graves (because one really isn't in the style I write in and I have no clue how to even begin covering that, and the other isn't very high on my list.

Well, I get ideas from RU-vid, though I only get ideas about what the hell I'm doing as a writer by watching yours - I write soft sci-fi, and not YA, so I spend a lot of time giggling at fake alien and UFO videos, but they're wonderful for inspiration. Also, ancient aliens, the pyramids and other ancient monuments, cataclysms, lost cities (the focus of my current novel), space weather, NASA stuff, the space race... It's all good grist for the mill. It works... Some of those ideas have placed me highly in competitions. One day I might even win one :) Oh yeah, I love plane crashes too. I'm coming up to a scene in the re-write where a cylindrical UFO shoots down a Hercules aircraft over the Simpson Desert. Fun indeed. Also I shamelessly steal characters. I have appropriated Lady Penelope and Parker for this one. Even more fun...

Music is a great place to get ideas. I've gotten a ton of ideas from the music I listen to.

So true - I just read an article today which reminded me more of the historical, religious, and political issues around that topic and then the idea barfed into my head and I was like, I’d read that book! So I don’t get distracted from current projects, I reflected on it as I walked and then came home to put it in my brainstorm doc with character/plot ideas for safe keeping later. If I ever have a brain dump I don’t hesitate to jot those ideas down to remember them and also not jump ship on my current books onto a juicy new idea. But still be excited for it in the future, if it’s good enough to write on.

Great suggestions. I actually had an idea for my next novel as I was watching this. Just in time for the SCBWI writing retreat this weekend. Thank you!!!!

Hi Alexa, I learned from Michelle Schusterman to come up with a tag line, the sort of thing we see on Netflix. That helps me tremendously. The idea usually morphs but summing up the entire story in a tag line enables me to get a handle on an idea and work with it. Great video, thanks! :)

I think this is the most useful video I've watched about finding ideas, so thank you so much for uploading this (I know this is kind of an "old" video, but I'm super grateful). I honestly just got a couple of ideas just by watching this, so I'm going to follow your advice and go write them down!

oh God I'm so glad u said "sample chapters" this my go to when I get an idea, if I can write a really great start I can normally work my way through it however if I'm struggling then I simply trash it

This was actually so helpful in the funniest way -- I found myself getting distracted while watching the video because I came up with and kept developing an idea! 😂

I just wanted to thank you, Alexa! I’ve been binge watching your videos and your advice always helps out immensely. I paid for a creative writing workshop and haven’t learned even half of what I’m learning here with you. Thank you for what you’re doing. You are amazing!

You changed your book pile in the background! Hahaha I love it!

This was a great one in the archives! If you need filler content - reminding others that this gem is here would be easy!

Me af: writing down everything down in my journal and taking better notes than in school 😂

A thousand times "yes" on the idea files!!! I will have little plot bunnies or even a character born randomly; I use notes in my phone to jot jot these down, or I'll text myself. Too often something will pop in my head that's pretty darn good and I lie to myself, saying "I will remember this..." and then it just goes away.

The query and sample chapters is brilliant! I'm querying myself, and also learning to write queries. :)

Amazing video! Thank you so much, Alexa, this really helped me. What I did, that I can recommend for everyone, is that I made the "idea file" in Excel. That makes it soo easy to sort all the ideas by theme/character/place/genre just by having columns for them. But I got this idea from this video you made right here. And I got lots of wonderful tips from the rest of the video as well. Keep up the good work and stay safe

I usually come up with a character and basic idea for a character arch and build from there. This my character and he/she will learn/change in this way. And then I build a situation to bring about that change. And slowly build from there. I also brainstorm with music and poetry.

I loved this video so much! You resumed it really well!

One of the things i struggle with the most is developing an idea. I feel like i possibly just get overwhelmed about how to do it and end up getting blocked!

I came up with 2 story ideas after watching both a show & reading a book that made me flaming mad. Anger can be very motivational.

I personally get excited about people. I like using people and characters and putting them in different situations, not fan fiction but exploring their life rather than a huge concept.

Being inspired by stuff is a thing I do. It’s an alternate universe where (nearly) everyone has a power, and there’s a hierarchy based on how good your ability is... anyone who reads it will probably be like “hmmmmmmmmmmmm seems familiar.” But then again, the first book I make is gonna suck.

Loving the idea of reading journalism for ideas!! Thank you!

Okay, as I was watching this I came up with a new book idea, this happened right after you, Alexa, said you write yours down on a google doc. I normally forget my ideas because I forget to write them down, I don't have a designated place or I simply can't write them down because I'm in school, also because book ideas rarely ever come to mind. Hopefully now that I have a place and already have a book idea in it I'll be adding to that doc. If I ever need an idea I'm definitely coming back to re-watch this video, maybe this video is exactly what sparks my inspiration!

I have really been enjoying your channel and the well of knowledge given, you are very helpful! I am a little disjointed to see that your creative side is an equation where you use others' creative ideas as your expressions. I understand finding unique ideas is hard and sometimes one doesn't know if their idea is unique or a repressed memory but to take someone else's idea and through "in space" next to it, is very lazy.

I think a good tip is to just start writing. Your first idea most likely isn’t going to be the best. I always struggle with coming up with ideas so I don’t ever write. So write. Write something, anything. Write a story about a stranger you saw one day. Write a story about a old classmate that you haven’t seen in years. Write a tragedy, or a gory, morbid love story, but you got to write something or your never going to start.

I really want to write a book, but I'm really really nervous so start!

Thank you! Great video, I have written down your ideas, I am sure they will be very useful.

I keep a dream diary, and some of the snippets, I kid you not, would fit perfectly into some morbid horror movie or crazy detective or prison break story. I keep them just incase I can twist them around a bit and pop them into a plot, sometimes its a fun challenge to lead some characters up to something I have dreamed of 2 years ago.

Most phones have a memo or notepad app. Anytime I have an idea or thought about my writing, I note it down there. I might not use what I wrote, or it could become central to a chapter months later. But it's a great little tool if you dont physically carry a notebook with you everywhere :)

I have all my ideas in a word doc. Thankfully they are all set in the same universe and I just arrange them in chronological order

I'm interested in the work of morticians. I don't know why, but it deeply fascinates me and I actually have several ideas with that for a novel

This was great advice!

One of the books I read in 2018 was Divided Kingdom by Rupert Thomson. It is a dystopian drama... But written like a longform biography... It hurts. The pacing is so slow and their isn't much plot. It's kinda like here's the life of character X and we will make them fall in love with their adoptive sister. Literally the first 150 pages (of 300 or so) the main character is forced into a new life with a new family and he spends the first half of the novel 'coming of age' from the age of 8 to 20... When he becomes an adult he gets a job which takes him to places in the world, and then the author kinda bleeds in hints that the main character may want to search for his parents. But then the next 50 pages is just him doing his job. I will say the world building in this book was great and I felt immersed in the world and characters. But it was a slow, no stakes plot... But I really liked the concept.

for me, there are a lot of books, movies, shows, etc. I really like...but I'm never represented in them. so I'm just like "imagine this but with someone like me and/or people I know". different identities make substantial changes that are fresh and new while keeping it a tried and true good story.

Alexa: if something you read makes you dissatisfied, write a novel that does the thing more satisfyingly. Me: so what you are saying is, write more fanfiction! :D just kidding! love this video. Some really good tips.

Buzzfeed... That didn't age well. xD Great video Alexa as always. I love binging your vids whenever I get stuck in my writing process, it gives me that little nude I need to get off my butt, stop procrastinating and just write. Thank you so much!

Please help! Every time I get a good idea, I realize or find out that another person already wrote about that idea and I feel like I can’t write about it. The thing is, it seems that every idea ever is already taken. Any tips? Thank you 😊.

On top of writing I draw, and I have two methods of brainstorming, one is while I draw, if I'm not listening to something I am often crafting ideas. The other works for both my art and my writing, which is to deny myself sleep for a day or so and that usually puts my mind in the perfect state, like being drunk it gets rid of your nerves enough that I can just write for hours without being self-conscious of my work.

My place of brainstorming: 1) Bed 2) While I'm on the way (walk\at the bus) I started writing ideas in google docs (there are 5 there, waiting for... something). Three of them are very... vague, one of them has a problem of point of view (there's a reason I don't want it to be "knows it all" writer. I thought of who the narrator, but I do wonder what to put in between). The last one seems nice. though I'm afraid it's a bit unrealistic (especially when it happens in our time) But... I have a hard time to work on a few things at the same time... and right now I decided I put my main project aside (until I finish my studies... though I just fixed today things to go along with the out of the place change I made). By the way, my current project started with combining 2 characters I like from a different place (though in the end of the day, one of them is hardly shown in the new character I created). I started an outline, and it had its advantages... for 5 chapters.

#1 idea in this is writing the book you want to read. The problem is that there IS a reason that book doesn't exist: publishers. Like, if you want to write a super violent or otherwise 'mature' Tolkien fantasy or sci-fi, that's just not consistent w/ genre. I have been told multiple times, you can do gritty OR elves/ dwarves or space opera but not simultaneous. So I have to write them separately

I weirdly tend to get my ideas from listening to country music, for example a mystery novel that I should actually get back to writing

I Would Love to Start on an Old Fashion Notebook - but scared that its getting to chaotisch 😀

I couldn't imagine writing a book (at least not alone anyway) with how much thinking and preparation that goes into it, when you think about it the actual writing step is only about 1/3 the process

1:23 ssshhh you’ll give Erin Hunter ideas for the next Warrior Cats arc

What should I do if I’ve come up with detailed characters before coming up with a plot?

Another good source of ideas is random content generators (apps, websites, and so forth). There are lots of them out there on the internet.

The shower is my ultimate thinking place too! Also, what do you do when you have multiple writing ideas that I have thoroughly established but don't know what to do with?

Just start with wreckage and then back characters in to corners and give them a way out or keep thinking they have found a way out and your readers almost believe they have. 😊

Yes, I am going through your videos. I love the shower. I love your idea of reading history. For example. There is a youtube video of Game of Thrones characters that are based on real people. Same with American Horror Story

I love anastasia

Anastasia!

Hahaha, "Cats In Space"! I wrote that book for NaNo 2018! Not like "Cats" the musical, though.

In what software do you write your novels?

Anyone struggle with getting random mid-story plot point scenes in your head that have no context, character background or lead-up to them and you have to sit there and "what on earth led to this insanity" backtrack in your mind til you come up with something that could be interesting and still make some sort of sense?

stopped at the word buzzfeed lol

Hard yes on the shower bit!! Only bad part is that you cant write it down in the shower 😂

Im in a really bad writing slump and i don't know if ill ever get out of it

Showering works fine, but I have noticed that raking leaves in the yard has a similar effect. No idea why. Anyone else find this to be the case?

There actualy is a prety good book series about telepathic cats in space.

"Cats in space" -- PLEASE NEVER MAKE THAT MOVIE ANYONE. WE DO NOT NEED MORE CATS: THE MUSICAL IN SPACE! LOL

4:17 Hahaahaaa 🤣

Off topic, prettiest eyes..🤓

I don't believe that work grow from ideas, I believe work become from working out a basic sketch making it fresh and original. I have alot of publication and all my work started from a brief sketch of a scene or are wreckage or taking nouns and verbs and creating a scene using them.

The more content I consume, the more ideas I generate.

Patrick Bateman : “I'm into, uh, well, murders and executions, mostly.” Club Patron : “Do you like it?” Patrick Bateman : “Well, it depends. Why?” Club Patron : “Well, most guys I know who are in Mergers and Acquisitions really don't like it.”

CATS... in space!😹😹😹

I got an idea of a Horror , Comedy, Musical about vegan vampires who drink V8 instead of blood. One of them was a war hero who was having flash backs before turned into a vampire. He needs money for his PTSD medicine, so he holds up a bank in broad daylight, but being that he was a vampire he had to dress like a widow at a funeral. everyone thought he was just a drag queen until he ripped his black veil off, showed his fangs and pulled his Colt 357. He spouts out his catch phrase which is “It’s party time” and them begins to mow down all 27 people in the bank without reloading his six shot revolver, just like in the movies. The cops show up with the hostage negotiator but she’s unaware that she isn’t needed because everyone in the bank is already dead. She insists on him allowing her to enter the bank to negotiate if he releases a hostage, he agrees. She enters the bank and sees a gothic gunman dressed in drag surrounded with dead bodies singing “THE TIME OF MY LIFE” which really turns her on and they begin to make out. Then it kind of turns into a romance novel from there.

I’m on chapter 7 and I’m stuck can u help me

Im writing a plot where an undercover group of people plot to assassinate a person of power, does anyone have any ideas?

Weird interest: Dr. Pimple Popper. What can I cross that with? Espionage? That would be some weird stuff!

Cat mobsters.... in space