How do you get ideas?

Personally, I look and listen and think. I close my eyes and let my imagination go wild. I take the kernel of something—an image I saw, a song I heard, a news event, a feeling I had—and I begin to play with it. I ask— what if? How did this come to be? What could happen next? And then I go a little deeper. I begin to ask why and how. I give it some shape by asking who and when. And then—voila!— if I’m lucky, I’ve got a story on my hands.

How do you know if your idea is a good one?

It doesn’t matter if the idea is popular, or if it will sell. It doesn’t matter what your best friend’s dog sitter’s uncle thinks of it. It doesn’t matter if it’s been done a hundred times before. It only matters if you love it. If you feel it in your heart, if it takes up residence there and won’t leave, then it’s a good idea.

How do you start writing a story?

The simple answer is that you put your butt in a chair and you start typing. The more truthful answer is that you agonize, you fret, you embark upon 483 false starts, you do some “research”, you eat some ice cream, you have a crippling battle with self-doubt, and then you finally get going.

How developed does your idea need to be before you start writing?

That depends on the writer. Some people can start with just that little kernel of an idea and work it out page by page. Others need a comprehensive outline that tells them exactly where they’re going. The easiest way probably lies somewhere in between. Know where you’re starting. Know where you’re ending up. Know what emotions you want to capture. Then have a lot of fun filling in the blanks.

Plots are hard.

Yes, they are. But all of writing is hard. Building great characters is hard. Pacing and tempo are hard. Finding the right words in the right order at the right time is hard. Revision is hard. Getting published is hard. So don’t worry about any of that. Just write. See where the story takes you. You can always clean it up later.

No, seriously. Plots are hard. Help.

When in doubt, listen to the Greeks. The three-act structure has worked for a few millennia now. Start by showing who your main character is, what they want, and what they believe. Now mess up their entire world by throwing a gigantic monkey wrench into their life. That’s act one. In act two you’re going to make things infinitely worse. Let them face every kind of rottenness that life has to offer. Thwart their dreams. Make them face their worst fears. Let them fail. The struggle is how they learn. Which brings us to act three. Having had their lives ruined by you, they are now smarter, tougher, more experienced, and ready to fight. Give them a truly epic confrontation where they can show off what they’ve learned and who they’ve become.

What the best way to learn to write?

Hands down reading is the best way to learn, followed closely by putting your butt in the chair and writing. Read anything and everything you can get your hands on. Read it once to soak up the story, mood, and emotion; then read again to see how the author did it. Look at how other people put words together; listen to the flows and tempos and patterns they create. Watch for how things are structured. Listen for voice. Read good stuff and terrible stuff. Read things that are flowery and things that are stark. Read newspapers to learn clarity and conciseness. Read IKEA instructions to learn about the bare minimum. Read old books and new books. Read genres that you find ridiculous and ones that you like. Re-read things you loved as a kid. Read things written by people whose worldviews are different than your own. Read letters. Read everything. And then write. Try out the things you’ve learned. See what works for you and for your story.

What about workshops, conferences, and MFAs?

Those are all good ways to learn, too, but experience (reading and putting words on pages) is always key.

You mentioned Voice. What exactly does that mean ?

Ah, the dreaded voice, the thing that everyone wants, but no one can define. Here’s the closest I can get: Voice is the unique feel that you create through your choice of words and how you put them together. A strong voice reflects the person speaking. Sometimes that might be you, sometimes it will be a specific character, sometimes it will be an omniscient narrator. No matter who it is, picture that person clearly in your mind and study them closely until you start ‘hear’ how they speak and the tone they take. Now shape your word choice and your cadences to match that.

Any words of wisdom?

Be kind to yourself and keep going. That idea, the one that is truly stuck in your heart, it going to come out sooner or later. It’s just waiting for you to be ready.