Ideas, Ideas, Ideas by Janice Carter

Perhaps some of you are acquainted with this scenario:  urge to write;  blank Word document.  No matter how long you sit and stare at that white page, nothing appears.  And even if you have a microscopic 'germ' of an idea, cultivating it may be challenging or even impossible.
     One of the most frequently asked questions of writers is "where do you get your ideas?"  While this question stems from curiosity or a genuine desire to understand the writing process, it sometimes presumes that there is a repository somewhere full of original ideas for novels.  Or worse, that ideas are spoon-fed to us by our publishers. (I wish!)  Some bolder types go so far as to offer their own ideas for our books.  Unfortunately, these ideas may be based on typical misconceptions about romance novels.  Others may believe novels spring from formulas and outlines provided to us by our diligent editors.  I wonder if authors of international award winning books are ever asked these questions.  Somehow I doubt it.
     My stock reply to the question is usually "anywhere and everywhere", which suffices most except those seeking more detail.  I tell them that the Heartwarming novel I've recently completed stems from a National Geographic magazine article I read years ago.  Or that the one I'm currently working on came from a visit to the museum on Ellis Island.
    But what readers and interested family members or friends really want to know is how the book came to be written, which is much more difficult to explain.  The process is long and convoluted, impossible to sum up neatly.  How to explain the hours of day-dreaming or tossing and turning through sleepless nights while attempting to work through a story?  Each novel has a start, but that's all ideas are, right?  Simply beginnings.  An idea is not a plot but merely a hook or spin-off that, if we're lucky, will lead to a good story.
     And this is where ideas and stories meet and marry.  In the beginning, it's difficult to determine which ideas will develop into a captivating story.  Many of us have had book proposals or completed novels rejected for any number of reasons but the basic one is often that the idea isn't enough to carry the story.  Yet coupled with a lot of thinking, game playing (the 'what if?' kind) and more day-dreaming, some ideas actually do turn into stories and novels.
     The tricky part of this new relationship comes when we have to objectively assess it.  What works and doesn't work?  Which part or character makes the cut?  The editing process is painful for everyone - even the editors I'm sure, who have to make cuts or request changes as diplomatically and sensitively as possible.  When I got back the line edit for my first Harlequin years ago, my immediate reaction was "why did they buy it if it was so bad?"  Then there was the wonderful foster mother of the heroine in an early Superromance whose role was tragically abbreviated by an editor.  Over the years my skin has grown a few more layers as I accepted editing as one part of the business of writing.  Nothing personal intended and nothing personal taken.  Interestingly, in every case the editing did make for a much better read.  Still, my fingers are crossed that all my characters in my Heartwarming survive the cut!
    Ideas are everywhere.  They're the buds on trees in the spring or seeds in the ground.  Some will grow and others - lots!- may not.  All of this brings me back to my own question.  What to write for my November blog post?
    I haven't the faintest idea.

Happy Thanksgiving all!