How to Get an Idea for a Book (For Young Writers)

Turning your ideas into writing

Write a book with just about anything. You can observe while swimming in a river or pool, at a friend’s house, or when something really fishy is going on - just don’t get into anyone’s personal business. For example, you can write about your Aunt Edna: Aunt Edna was always acting private. She wouldn’t let her daughter into her workroom, her dog in the house- she won’t even let her own husband in her room! That’s when Harry McCoy found out: his sweet, mysterious, secretive Aunt Edna was a CIA agent.

Maybe you don’t want to investigate. You could maybe just relax, do everyday stuff, and just let the idea pop up in your mind one day. Do the first step if you need to write right away. Listen to music, read, look at different colors and textures, or go outside and experience new scenery. If you are truly creative at heart, something will click. Try to find an environment that encourages creative flow.

Brainstorm. How do you think your favorite author gets her/his ideas? Become a detective looking for clues, a shopper searching for ham, or an old lady trying to find her glasses. Use your imagination and let your creativity flow. If you are writing a fantasy book, you can think of a character like a dragon named Mongo, or a creature’s species is a Grumaton- a creature with five tails, six fangs, eleven arms, and twenty-one legs! Be creative, that’s the whole point!

Write about something that you love. If you love to swim, you could go for a swim, and while you are swimming, you could think about how to incorporate your love of swimming into a story. Maybe the main character of the book loves to swim, or the story could take place at a swimming pool. Try it out, and be creative! You never know what you can come up with!

If you start to have an idea of what you would like to write, ask yourself questions! What if...? How would this happen? Does that make sense? Where would that happen? Write down lots of answers and choose your favorite!

Free writing

Gather your ideas together in your head. Write them down on paper in dot point form if that helps you to visualize them and play around with them.

Start writing without having a plan. Simply write whatever comes to your mind, being inspired by the ideas.

Keep writing until you don't feel much like it. Then stop. Take a break from the work.

Come back later. Read through the work. Now get to editing it and shaping it into a real piece of writing. From the first tidy-up, things should start getting a lot easier and you'll soon be in the flow.