How Ideas Become Books

Sometimes an idea will hang with me for ages, that's how I know I'd better get writing.

Photo by Firmbee.com on Unsplash

I Do Not Need Another Idea

Alright, so I got the itch this weekend. And I hate that. I’ve got enough going on— an idea that I’m developing into a proposal, sloowwwllly, and a novel I’m revising.  

I’m also preparing for my sessions on voice in nonfiction and nonfiction technique at the Writer’s Digest conference—it’s next week friends if you come, introduce yourself, and get a fun sticker—so yeah, the last thing I need is an itch for a new project. But when inspiration strikes and begins cartwheeling through my mind… 

As this new idea has started to take shape over the last couple of days, I began thinking about my process of creation and how new book projects develop for me. Sometimes it takes years. I’ll get an idea for a book and start collecting research and stories and thoughts in a notebook.

I’ll keep coming back to it, often for months, to see if it sticks. If it’s something I want to live with for literally years. When an idea keeps coming up, that’s usually a good sign. Still, this part of the development process feels slow to me. Leaves me feeling restless.

I want clarity. I either want the idea to let me loose or come to mind fully formed. Ha. Don’t think that has ever happened.  During this weird limbo stage, I’ll putter around. Playing with thoughts. Reading about the topic, maybe running a Google search to see what comes up. Or maybe I’ll have an encounter that makes me curious, and jot a few more notes. I’m looking for synchronicities. Anything as a sign I should move forward.

But, there’s nothing solid at this stage. No clear focus or structure. At some point, I want to force the idea into something. But I know now to be patient. Give it time. Work on other things while it’s frolicking in my imagination. 

Staying Power

If an idea sticks with me long enough, I’ll start to interrogate it:

1. What the heck is this thing? Is it a book, or something shorter? An essay? A podcast or Substack? How will it show up?

2. What do I want this idea to do? What’s the goal? Do I want it to inform and help people? Stretch my writing chops? Write a novel or nonfiction? Publish? As you edge closer to your new project, knowing the structure and your goal, or the “why” is key.

3. Do I love it? Is it interesting to me? Is there enough of it already out there in the world? Do I have new things to add? If it’s a book, can I live with it for years? Often, the idea that I’ve been tossing around fails on this account. There’s not enough to it, or there are other things I’m more interested in, things I feel are more necessary. 

Then, the idea shifts into a curiosity, not a writing project. 

But, if it stands up to the early cross-examination, I start writing—though the process at this stage is more like throwing spaghetti against the wall. 

I write notes by hand on my digital tablet or in a notebook. I jot down chapter ideas, experts I might interview, phrases, things I want to know and need to research, structural aspects, tips, questions I have, focus statements, all of it. 

I draft notes about anything that comes to mind around the project. No limits. No criticism. If it pops to mind, I drop it down. 

I’ll sit with all this scribble for a day, a year, depending on what’s emerging and how quickly and which other projects I have going on. I may add to it, develop ideas and themes and after a bit, the project becomes the start of a book

Getting Into Shape

Now, I’ll name the project. This isn’t necessarily the title of the book. I don’t know what it’s going to be yet, but it gives me something to refer to and it usually serves as the anchor or the premise to keep me on track. 

Here’s what this part looks like for me.