So, you get an idea for a novel or short story. What do you do with it? How do you transform your idea from that thought bubble in your head into something shapely and solid that can appear on the page?

I’m not quite sure where my ideas come from. They seem to pop into my head as if out of nowhere. But when they do, they’re usually no more than a morsel. The small kernel of an idea, with much nurturing to be done to make anything substantial of them.

The most effective thing I can do to grow that idea is to just start to write. Nowadays, this tends to be my fingers tapping away on a laptop keyboard, although previously it has been ink on paper, or even banging away at a typewriter. The very act of writing itself seems to engage a part of my brain simply ‘thinking’ does not do. Although I’ll admit that I’ve often wanted access to some kind of sci-fi gadget which I can plug into my brain to enable the thoughts and words contained therein to be transferred directly to Google Docs. (And I mean, it’s only a matter of time until that becomes a reality, right?)

But for now, the synapses fire reasonably effectively between my brain and fingers and I find that as I type, the suggestion of an idea I started with will begin to grow into something more substantial via the process of writing itself.

I’ve also found invaluable something I heard many years ago – so long ago I can’t remember where – to “write for the waste basket”. Just write something. It doesn’t matter how bad, or how unsure of it you are. Don’t be concerned about whether people will like it or even see it. Write for yourself and worry about polishing and editing later. This little piece of advice has gotten me over many a hump and prevented writer’s block.

In my opinion, one of the other most important things to remember when starting any piece of writing, but most particularly something of length such as a novel, is not to worry about the ending. The ending will present itself. A friend of mine who’d always wanted to write a book, confided to me that she’d never made much progress with bringing this ambition to reality because she could never determine how her story would end, so she thought it was pointless to proceed. But you don’t need to know how it will end until it does. My characters will tell me how they’d like their story to go, and advise me when they consider it complete. As long as I listen to them – and don’t try to force on them my original idea for how it should end – I find I can’t go far wrong.

So, what’s your process for writing? Where do you get your inspiration? Do ideas spring easily to mind? Do you find them in nature, or from sources such as your interests or hobbies? And do you decide on your ideas before you write them down, or as part of that process? Comment below to share.