Writing Fiction

One stumbling block I've always had when it comes to writing fiction is a lack of ideas. What in the world should I write about? What's the conflict? And characters? Agh, so hard.

Or, so I thought.

In reality, I have random daydreams running through my head all the time. Have I just seen a new movie? Picked up a new book? Well, yeah, this is me we're talking about. So I'm inventing little plots based on the characters, an alternate way things could happen, making up characters who have to find their way around in that story's universe, or even throwing characters from another movie/book into the mix and enjoying in my head how everyone bounces off each other. Heck, I'll even think about how some of my most beloved characters would respond to regular day to day stuff in our world...not necessarily leading to a small story in my head, but it could.

Bouncing around ideas like this is just something I do without thinking, and never mention to anyone. Usually if someone asks me what I'm thinking and I say "Nothing," it's because I've got some plot going through my head involving whatever I'm doing and some of my beloved characters (probably from a Tamora Pierce novel). Saying that nothing is on my mind is easier and less time consuming than trying to explain what's really running around in my weird head.

Why didn't I think to use any of these ideas in writing fiction before? I guess it comes down to a few reasons. One is that I'm used to keeping these little stories close to me, so much so that writing them down never occurred to me. Also, they can be extremely personal, to the point that I feel like I'm showing a little bit of what's inside of me when I write them, and I'm afraid of someone wanting an explanation when I show that part of me. But maybe it's time to stop worrying about that, and just write.

I think the last reason that I don't write these stories down is because often enough they involve worlds and characters belonging to other writers. But that doesn't mean that I can't use the ideas I come up with for my own stories, with my own characters in my own world.

This is me finally acknowledging that I have more ideas than I know what to do with, and saying that it's finally time for me to start writing.

Writing