If you know me well, you’ve probably guessed that I rarely have trouble generating ideas for writing. I rarely get stuck, and I’ve never had writer’s block, but I do get in a “writing rut” at times. If I’m stuck, I know it’s time to put down the story for a while so my brain can work through the kinks at its own pace.

In this post, I’ve gathered generators of all sorts that I’ve used or plan to use in the future. Why not put them all in one place and share the wealth, right? Too bad the name generator wasn’t around in 1987 when I was planning out the names of the children Patrick Swayze and I would someday have…

This weekend I finally started reading the latest issue of The New Quarterly. (Did I tell you they are publishing one of my poems in the winter or spring issue?—I’m VERY excited!) Evelyn Lau writes about where her poems come from. That’s where I generated the idea for this post. (Although I don’t get writer’s block, I sometimes have trouble coming up with ideas for this blog.)

Not all ideas are generated equally.

Most of my pieces start in one of these ways:

1. An image.

Images come from many places. Sometimes it’s something from the past (the glove I found in the glovebox as a child) or something I see when I’m walking or driving (a piece of paper blowing down a desolate looking 20th Street).

If you’ve got an image that keeps popping into your head, it’s probably wanting to get on paper. Free that image. Do it now.

2. A line.

Have you ever woken up with a line on the tip of your tongue? Or heard someone say something you can’t stop thinking about? Or said something you so perfect it brought a smile to your face?Write down that line and maybe a whole dialogue will ensue. If not, save it for later. You never know when it will come in handy. I like writing such lines on sticky notes. I’ve got some that smile at me from eons ago. They’re waiting to be placed in the perfect story.

3. A character.

Oddly enough, I dream of my characters. Or sometimes a stranger I saw at The Broadway Roastery keeps popping into my head. Characters are everywhere–steal details from the people you meet every day. If something about a person catches your eye, jot it down. CHaracters are often compilations of people you know and people you imagine.

4. A memory.

Obviously, when I write creative nonfiction, it’s coming from a memory–sometimes from decades in the past. A lot of my poetry starts there, too. But so do my stories–it was very freeing when I realized that I can use something that really happened and transform it into something else. This tends to make the writing very powerful because the details are so precise. For example, in “On the Way to the Roxy” the walk down 20th Street on a bitterly cold night really did happen. The coffee shop was closed, but there were people inside, so we had to walk back to the car to wait for the Roxy Theatre to open. The rest of the story is made up, but the details come from memory.

5. Free-writing.

This is my favourite way to write. Just start writing.  I’ve posted some random generators below that would work well with a free write. Basically, with a free-write you just set a time (or not) and keep writing until the timer goes (or you run out of ink). A lot of the writing is going to be gobbledygook, but it doesn’t matter. Go back and highlight the phrases/images/words that catch your eye and use those. The whole process will unleash your creative powers and get you past the point where you’re thinking too hard. It’s sort of like dancing like nobody’s watching, but with your mind.

I like not having a plan–writing from the seat of my pants, but I am a little torn about doing this for novel-length fiction though–I’ve got the most magnificent story (54,000 words) all jumbled in a mess in my computer files. I have no idea how, but one day I’ll put that story out into the world….but that’s a great idea for a different blog.

Lay down the first brick

As with anything, you must begin building somewhere. If you’re stuck, you want to start out by laying down the foundation:

Generating Ideas: Random Generators

1. https://www.behindthename.com/random/ A name generator
2. http://writingexercises.co.uk/create-a-setting.php Create a setting
3. https://thestoryshack.com/tools/character-personality-generator/ Character personality generator
4. http://writingexercises.co.uk/firstlinegenerator.php First line generator
5. http://writingexercises.co.uk/scenario-generator.php Generate a scenario

Need a bigger framework?

1. https://thestoryshack.com/tools/writing-prompt-generator/ Writing Prompt generator (especially for flash fiction)
2. http://writingexercises.co.uk/plotgenerator.php This gives you the whole shebang
3. http://writingexercises.co.uk/charex.php If you want to really develop your character—this would especially be helpful if you’re planning a longer work like a novel

Poetry?

1. Need a poetic form? Choose one of these fifty: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/list-of-50-poetic-forms-for-poets
2. Need some rhymes, this is a good rhyming dictionary: http://writingexercises.co.uk/rhyming-dictionary.php

Creative Non-Fiction Ideas?

Need some prompts on getting to your truths? https://www.eventmagazine.ca/2017/02/30-non-fiction-writing-prompts/

A site that has it all?

https://www.writingforward.com/category/writing-prompts

Got Writer’s block?

There are lots of articles on overcoming writer’s block. Here’s an article with 7 ideas: http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/7-ways-to-overcome-writers-block

Related past posts:

https://www.rachellaverdiere.com/writer/flash-creative-nonfiction-explained/

https://www.rachellaverdiere.com/writer/short-stories-one-snippet-time/#more-155

https://www.rachellaverdiere.com/writer/short-stories-first-draft/#more-151

https://www.rachellaverdiere.com/writer/a-pot-of-poets-blood/#more-190