How To Generate an Abundant Stream of Creative Writing Ideas

Ideas are the starting point for any creative venture. Without an initial idea to develop, your creativity has nothing to get its teeth into, no raw material to shape into beautiful creations.

Here's how to generate all the writing ideas you'll need, an abundant stream that freely flows!

1. Open your senses. How much do you use your senses? The five senses of sight, sound, scent, taste and touch are how we connect with the world around us. If your senses are muted, then your whole experience of life will be dulled, and as a consequence, the art you create will be lifeless, too. Visit somewhere familiar and spend a few minutes focusing on each of your senses in turn. Jot down what you experience. I guarantee that when you isolate each sense and take the time, you'll notice things that have always been there, but you've never paused to absorb before. The more aware you are of your senses, the more ideas will come to you. This works not only because of what you take in through your senses, but also because it helps you realise what a powerful element evoking the senses is in your writing, in describing scenes, places and people.
2. Welcome the flow. Be open to the fact that a new idea is always just a moment away. More than that, a whole river of ideas is just a moment away! Don't believe it? Think about a magic red ball, and a young girl called Rosie. What else comes to mind? What can you tell us about Rosie and the red ball? Without any effort, you'll notice images and ideas forming in your mind. You can't switch them off! Being open to this, and realising that you're a non stop idea-generating machine will help you no end in allowing those ideas to come to the fore. By giving yourself permission to have ideas - knowing that some will be fantastic and others won't really lead anywhere - you unlock the door that's been keeping all those ideas imprisoned.
3. Capture your ideas. Having ideas doesn't mean all that much to a creative writer if you don't then use them to write with. How many times have you been out shopping or in the shower and a great idea has come to you from nowhere? Then you confidently predict that you'll remember the idea in detail and use it later. Later comes and goes and you can barely remember even having the idea, let alone what it was. Carry a notebook with you wherever you go and write down the ideas as they come. You'll find that the more you do this, the more it gives your creative mind the encouragement to come up with more and more ideas. Before long, your ideas book will be bulging at the seams with dozens of ideas waiting to be explored.

These are the 3 key steps to encouraging a steady flow of new writing ideas.