Every single thing, issue, experience, good day, bad day, event, age and (especially) person is grist for our milling stone of fiction or non-fiction.
In this article, I'm focusing on fiction, however, and character.
And then, of course, their is pure imagination.
Oftentimes, we are reluctant to listen to oldies, or we listen with barely half an ear.
They waffle; they forget; they repeat; they talk about people we've never heard of as though we know them; and they struggle for names, dates and places.
It just all seems too arduous, time wasting and boring.
Right? Wrong! Our oldies are an invaluable resource.
Never underestimate all the life experience our oldies have had.
It can lead to a goldmine of information about the family, society and the general state of the world as it once was.
Whether you use their information or not, it gives a nice-rounded aspect to your knowledge as a writer and will show in your finished product.
Personally, I find listening to older folk very interesting.
Yes, it can be a case of good story badly told and usually with many repetitions and meanderings.
but not always.
As well as learning interesting things about both societal issues and changes on how life was once lived compared to now, we can learn very much about ourselves.
If they really do waffle on too much, interview them.
They'll love it and you will find it a far more interesting experience which will lead to the type of information you need or want - even if you don't know what that is to start with.
Then, there are all the people we interact with everyday, from our intimate family to complete strangers.
Riding on public transport can lead to an interesting array of people, each with a multitude of stories.
This is one of my favorite resources.
Without staring to the point of rudeness, you can observe people and ask questions (silently, of course - or maybe not) about who they are, where they are going, why they are dressed the way they are, do they even like dressing that way or is it a constraint from work or religion or social more.
What would they rather be doing? Who are they at work compared to who they are on the weekend? Are they different with different friends? Aren't, we all? Our friends feed all the different aspects of our personalities, after all.
What are their dreams, goals, interests? Ideas can come from any source.
Be open to 'triggers'.
Something someone says, the way they say it, why they say it.
Always ask questions, not only of people but also of yourself and about everything.
A writer should be interested in as much as possible.
It is important to your craft and to anyone aspiring for success as a writer.
If you aren't naturally curious, when you put on your 'writer's hat', become as curious as a cat, about everything.
Read widely.
Fiction is important to the writer, but also read non-fiction, newspapers, specialist magazines, genres outside your normal interest.
Read novels, short stories, poetry, history, biographies.
Anything and everything.
Listen to the radio, the news; watch fiction, documentaries and incidentals.
Visit galleries, museums, parks, playgrounds, especially if these are things you don't normally do.
If you truly can't find an interest in some of these things, let your 'character' take the interest.
It can, in fact, be really edifying to have your character be the one who undertakes some of these tasks.
You don't need to include any of these in your fiction, but you will get to know your character intimately and will write them as rounder and more real 'people'.
Eavesdrop.
Don't be obvious; don't be rude.
But you will learn much about dialog and character, as well as garner ideas from eavesdropping.
It's a wonderful way to round out characters.
A good writer is an 'informed' writer.
When it comes to the preparation for writing, as well as a wide-based interest in things, sit down with your character and interview them.
Find out everything you can about them, even though you won't use all this.
As your character becomes a well-rounded 'person' with a history and life experiences, you will find the ideas flow and the writing will go far more smoothly.
It will allow you access to the depths of your character, which is where the universal core resides.
That is what the reader wants, and is the real 'secret' to success.
Ideas are everywhere.
Perhaps the real question should be, 'How do you make an idea interesting?' The questions writers really need to ask are these: How do I use the ideas from everyday life? Which ideas do I put together? And, what will make it interesting for my readers? If you have a basic theme, this will make it far easier to decide on what you use and where you take ideas from.
Knowing your character as intimately as possible will prove the proper vehicle to carry your theme forward without becoming didactic, moralistic or boring.
The two together, 'theme and character' are where the key to ideas is to be found.