How to Write a Book: Coming up with the Idea

​One Good Idea
 
You only need one good idea. It has to be  a strong one though, something that hooks you and won’t let go.

I’m always coming up with things that interest me, but if you’re going to write a whole book and survive the editing process, you have to have a story that you can’t let go of. Or that won't let go of you.
 
When I have an idea, I jot it down in a notebook, then carry on with life. If I keep coming back to it, or I start planning the story in my head, I know I’m on to something.
 

Coming Up with the Idea
 
Ideas are everywhere, all the time, you just have to start looking. A story on the news, an overheard conversation, a dream. It just takes a single spark to ignite a story, whether that’s a piece of flash fiction, a short story, a novel, that’s really up to you.
 
The idea can seem small at first, but the more you work with it, the larger it can get.


Feel It

I always get a bubbling sense of excitement when I know it’s the right story to focus on. It’s hard to describe, but it’s this feeling that this idea has something special about it. For me, the story has to matter, it has to connect to something bigger than me: a concept, a situation, an event. 

I get bored easily, so if it has enough depth to explore, then that’s the idea I go with.

​What if...?
 
My favourite question to ask is “What if...?” My idea for The Choice came from visiting a cake decorating shop and then driving past a fast-food restaurant. I’d heard on the news about sugar and fat being addictive and so I asked myself a few “What if...?” questions.

​“What if sugar and fat are addictive?”
 
“What if sugar became illegal, like drugs?”
 
“What would the world be like?”
 
“What would I do?”
 
“How would I feel if I couldn’t bake?”
 
From those simple questions The Choice was born. The story changed a lot as I wrote it, but the core idea of a world where sugar was illegal and baking was a crime never changed.
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Pre-order The Choice

The Choice is available to pre-order from Amazon, Waterstones, Book Depository
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DETAILS
Published: 26th December 2019
Publisher: Orion
ISBN: 1409187748