Four Realistic Ways to Generate Ideas For Your Novel
Coming up with ideas can be pretty hard! With November right around the corner, YWP Participant Sahasra Nistala has some practical advice for writers looking for more material!
A long time ago, I decided I wanted to write a book. So I searched up “how to come up with a novel idea” and was immediately buried under piles of plot generators, mile-long lists of prompts, and creative flow frameworks I didn’t understand. When I went to my fellow writers for help, their advice usually went something like this: sit down and write anything. You’ll start writing something good eventually. But as we Wrimos know, there’s nothing more daunting than staring at a blank page, especially with the clock ticking down to the end of the month. Plus, we’re really busy—we don’t have time to write just anything.
Years later, after three false starts and long periods of “writer’s block,” I finally came up with an idea I couldn’t imagine letting go of. Here are some tried-and-true, realistic ways to come up with ideas for your next novel.
1. Think tropes.
Write down a list of your favorite tropes and think of ways you can make them fresh and interesting. What if the Chosen One had overprotective parents and a bunch of jealous siblings? What if the person organizing the gala was actually in on the big heist? When you’re finished with your list, take whichever ones seem interesting and find a way to connect them.
2. Brainstorm elements.
In a notebook, doc, or something else you won’t lose, write down a list of random elements and scenes you want in your novel. Want your MC to have an epic battle at sunset with their hair billowing in the wind? Write it down. Want your MC’s hoodie to be green? Write it down! Don’t worry about connecting these things to your decided trope—you can do that later. For now, just write down things you’d love to see in a novel and make sure to include them in yours.
3. Record things your way.
When I first started to write for fun, lots of people told me to get a diary and write everything from my feelings to my “observations.” That way, I would have an endless supply of ideas whenever I wanted. Needless to say, I didn’t keep it up for very long. Things got better when I stopped trying to write daily entries and switched to something that was satisfying to create — comics! With two years of my life laid out in a simple narrative, it became easier for me to notice the differences in people’s habits and personalities. This inspired some characters. For the rest of Preptober, try recording your life in different ways, from voice memos to full-on essays analyzing your family members’ choice of breakfast. Trust me, you’ll find something that works for you.
4. Expand as much as possible.
Once you begin to get a general idea of where you want to go, expand on that as much as possible. If you’re a pantster, that might mean creating a Pinterest board or playlist to match your novel-to-be’s atmosphere. If you’re a plotter, you might want to think of major plot points that incorporate the scenes you already have in mind.
Doing these four things really helped me come up with a great idea I’m definitely going to write come November (okay, maybe I’ve already written a little!). There is no cure for writer’s block, but having an idea before you start writing definitely helps. Good luck and have a great rest of Preptober!
Sahasra Nistala is a sophomore in high school. Her interests include writing (isn’t that crazy?), speech and debate, incessantly sampling new books in hopes of finding the perfect one, and making comics. During NaNoWriMo, you can find her fiddling around with title generators, filling entire pages with just dialogue, or doodling in her notebook.
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash
Support worldwide creativity in the classroom with a tax-deductible donation to National Novel Writing Month's Young Writers Program! To rec
Today is #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving to help raise awareness of charitable causes. Please consider supporting NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program, which nourishes a new generation of creators—nearly 100,000 kids and teens—each year.
A donation of just $10 sends one noveling kit to a deserving classroom.
I am running the NaNoWriMo Young Writers’ Program with my students for the first time, and I am excited to see how it goes. I thought I’d share some of the advice I give my students, in case anyone else finds it useful:
“I don’t know how to start.” Start with “Once upon a time.” “But it’s not a fairy tale!” Doesn’t matter. Any story can start with “Once upon a time.”
“I don’t know who to write about.” Write about a really amazing awesome person who happens to have the same name as you.
“I’ve already written everything I can think of about my topic.” Go back to what you wrote, and pick one name or word. Make that your topic for your next paragraph, and add detail about it. Rinse and repeat.
I’ll try to add more to this over the course of the month, as I say more things to children!
Read the YWP Novel Excerpt Contest Grand Prize Winner (13 and Under Age Group)!
In February, we challenged you to submit a 400-word excerpt from your NaNoWriMo novels. From over 650 fantastic entries, we chose two Grand Prize Winners and four Runners-Ups. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did! (For more excerpts, check out this forum thread.)
A Kingdom of Embers and Ash by Hannah G.
I slip there unnoticed, and sure enough, Willow slumps against the fence. Her arm is through the hole, beads of blood glinting on the metal where it bit into her skin. She clutches at the twisted metal as though it is a portal to a better place.
And maybe... maybe it is.
But maybe it isn’t. And that’s what’s kept us from running for all these years.
"Hey, Wil," I whisper, sliding to the ground beside my sister, my anger forgotten, the pain in my cheek and my heart pushed into a place where I can’t feel it. My sister… she's more important than any of that, than anything. "What's going on?"
Willow turns to me suddenly, her face red and blotchy, streaked with tears. Her eyes are like that of a wild animal: cornered and desperate and terrified. It scares me.
"Sage, I can't!” she wails. “I can't stop it! I can't do it! I can't not do it!" Her voice is pitched with distress, a hysterical edge to it that scares me.
I look at her with concern creasing my brow, coating my voice. "Willow?"
But suddenly, it isn't Willow I'm looking at. It’s a fox, white as the first snow of winter, with oddly human, intelligent, pleading eyes.
Willow's eyes.
I freeze in shock, staring at the fox that is Willow.
At Willow, who is a fox.
At my whole life, my whole world, being upended before my eyes.
And then — my sister is back.
I can't stop the stories we've been told about the creatures outside the fence, magical and evil, from flashing through my mind. The stories that have always been applied to us. And even as I look at Willow, my Willow, who I have known and loved all my life, a small part of me can't help but wonder if they’re true, if we are what they say we are.
Witches. Demons. Monsters.
But then, with a twist of revulsion aimed at myself, at the thing that just went through my mind, at Oke Darm and everyone living in it for conditioning me to think that way, I banish the unfaithful thought from my head. Because this is Willow, my Willow–no matter what form she takes.
But I know I'm the only one who will see it that way.
"Wil," I whisper. "Willow... We have to run. Now."
Guest author judge Sarah Suk had this to say about A Kingdom of Embers and Ash:
"In just this short passage, I was able to get a sense of the world, the stakes, and the bond between the characters in a way that made me instantly root for them (protect them at all costs!). Impressively told with a voice that shines."
Hannah Gumpert is in 8th grade, and admittedly spends way too much time absorbed in a book. When she isn’t reading, you can usually find her with her family, at a coffee shop with her friends, or writing and/or imagining her latest story, completely deaf to the world because she's living in another. Hannah wants to be a writer when she grows up — but she's not going to wait around until then.
Read the YWP Novel Excerpt Contest Official Runners-Up!
In February, we challenged you to submit a 400-word excerpt from your NaNoWriMo novels. From over 650 fantastic entries, we chose two Grand Prize Winners and four Runners-Up. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did! (For more excerpts, check out this forum thread.)
“Of All Twisted Words” by Elsie F.
I cross my arms and stare across the street to where he stands — my village's new found savior — the man who had killed the beast that plagued our village for over a decade. I take a swig out of my waterskin, watching as he smiles at the young children skipping around him; one comes up to him and offers up a flower crown. I try and hide my disgust, for even if the beast is gone, I do not trust his smile...Read the Rest!
“Ghosted” by Ameena T.
Ivy gasped for air, rapidly sitting up. Her hands were knotted in the bedsheets and she was dripping with sweat. She’d jolted awake several times in the last few weeks, and it had been becoming more frequent. But there was something different tonight– it was as if her soul had been sucked from her body...Read the Rest!
“Heliocentrism” by Claire H.
The hologram places a hand to his chest in an exaggerated motion, so that the translucent red light of his fingertips brushes against the armillary sphere at the center of his chest. Steam rises from beneath him, where rainwater mixes in with discarded oil and whiskey to create tar-black reflections...Read the Rest!
“The Whisper” by Sierra E.
Astoria’s older brother Eryx squeezed her hand as the line grew shorter. She adjusted her skirt, fiddling with the small wrinkle her iron had not removed. Her rattan sandals squeaked as she edged closer to the thick rope separating the snake of commoners with the highest-ranked officials. She found a folded napkin in her pouch and wiped her sweaty palms. Today had to be perfect, and she had to receive an element that would please her elite family. Though she had been only five at the time, Astoria knew what had happened to her older sister...Read the Rest!
Due to the onset of the internet and online support programs, young writers are emerging into the writing scene and setting goals to finish novels. However, this can be ambitious, so Smrithi Senthilnathan is offering her advice on how to achieve your goals as a young writer.
I’ve only done NaNoWriMo once before, but I absolutely loved the experience! Not only did I manage to write a full 50k novel, but I also gained a lot of friends and knowledge about the craft of writing. Now I want to pass it on to you, by telling you how you can fulfill your Camp NaNoWriMo goals as a young writer.
Achieve your goals as to set a goal that suits your writing style and life.
Camp NaNoWriMo is an event where you set your own writing goals. This means that you do not have to set a goal that you think will be too hard for you. If you’re tied up with school work and can only manage to write around 500 words or less per day, you can always set a goal for 10k words. This event is all about making sure you reach your goals. That being said, if you think that April will be a light month for you in terms of other workloads, feel free to set a goal for 100k words or even more. Go crazy, go wild but remember: make sure your goal is doable but don’t make it too easy; it has to be something a little out of your comfort zone, something you’ll need to push yourself to complete. Hence, take some time to evaluate your current situation and what you think will be most apt for you, and then choose your goal accordingly.
Plan ahead of time.
At heart I am a plotter and I do not even start writing a story without having a completed outline, a couple of character sketches and a good idea of my world (I mostly write fantasy). While I know that a lot of people are pantsers and write stories from scratch, personally I would not advise that, especially if you’re still in the beginning stages of your writing. The NaNoWriMo website has a lot of helpful resources under the NaNo prep section, and I highly suggest you at least use some of them to plot out your novel. Trust me, it really helps. Since NaNo is all about writing quickly without worrying about editing, you won’t be able to write quickly unless you know what’s going to happen in the story. Although the fun of writing is creating as you go, having a basic outline will help make sure you don’t get stuck in the middle.
Find some helpful writing buddies.
I cannot stress the importance of writing to friends. They motivate you when you’re down, hype you up when you’re excited, and help you work through all those plot holes you can’t seem to fix. Try to find writing buddies of your own age and frequency, so that you’re able to interact with them better.
Create a good writing routine that is easy to keep up even on the bad days.
Even if you don’t write for the same amount of time, if you write at the same time every day it’ll become a habit. Even on your bad days you’ll still show up to write at that time, thus keeping up the habit.
Focus only on writing.
Don’t stop to think about editing, even for a minute. If you get sucked into the editing hellhole, you’ll never be able to find your way out. NaNo is all about just getting that first draft out there, and so only focus on that.
Recognize and celebrate the small achievements.
Every chapter you finish, every word you write is a step closer to your goal. Keep recognizing your achievements, no matter how small, so that you always have something to look back at and smile at.
And that’s about it! Each writer works differently and I can’t say that these will work for you, but if you’re a young writer like me and you’re new to NaNo, you might want to try some of these out to help achieve your goals. But also remember that it’s completely okay not to achieve your goals. You’re doing this only for you and no matter whether you meet your goals or not, you’ve still added words to your project, and you’re still a valid writer. So keep writing, and don’t stop no matter what.
Smrithi Senthilnathan is a 16 year old writer from India. From a very young age she's nurtured a passion for reading books and writing stories. Recently, she started to channel that passion into working on longer projects, like novels. Some of her stories have been published in online literary magazines. When she's not writing maniacally, you can find her playing the piano or reading with a steaming cup of hot chocolate in her hand.
I'm sure some of you have fallen in love with a supervillain. What happens when the superhero does the same? Day thirteen of 30 Covers, 30 Days brings us Romance novel My Lovely Villain by YWP Participant Lev Silver! This cover was designed by returning designer, Kevin Perry, who also provided a mock-up.
My Lovely Villain
Hero versus villain. It’s a classic showdown—thanks to the city of Newhurst, it’s now a worldwide commercialized sport; a modern gladiator fight. And for those with superpowers, playing is the only option. Supremely morally-conscious hero Theo Sparks (alias: Silver Angel, for his wings) must fight Caspian Hunt (alias: Schrödinger), a chaotic shapeshifting villain with an affinity for cats. But at night, when they’re not on camera battling in the streets of Newhurst for entertainment, something unexpected is happening: Theo and Cas are falling for each other.
About the Author
Lev is an avid writer who hopes to one day actually finish a novel and publish it. They love creating stories with villain protagonists and morally grey characters. When not writing, they can be found thinking about getting a chapter done, or researching realistic injuries for one of their many fight scenes.
About the Designer
Kevin Perry is a designer, educator and organizational leader. He currently oversees talent and operations at Struck, an internationally acclaimed creative agency whose clients include the Utah Office of Tourism, Universal Studios, Snowbird and Nickelodeon. Kevin has long been involved in the local and national design community, serving in AIGA leadership, cofounding Salt Lake Design Week, and teaching at the University of Utah. Kevin’s calm and confidence are contagious. He finds inspiration in the far-flung wilds of the dusty American West—and in the feel of the summer night air of Salt Lake City streets as he cruises on his trusty e-bike.
