Thread by @DelilahSDawson, I've been thinking a lot lately on ideas-- where they come from, [...]

I've been thinking a lot lately on ideas-- where they come from, how you identify one that can go the distance, how you begin to feel it out and turn it into something real, since ideas on their own are worth pretty much nothing. Which brings me to... THE BUCKET. 1/

For me, the idea comes as a little OOH. (More on that here: https://www.whimsydark.com/blog/2020/5/7/follow-the-ooh) I know an idea is good when I feel a little lift in body and soul and my mind starts churning. If the idea bugs me long enough, I open up a new document... 2/

Follow the OOH — whimsydark

(Starting a new series on the blog where I’m going to do daily bites on the relationship between writing, creativity, and self-help. Let me know in the comments if you dig it!) You know what the OOH...

https://www.whimsydark.com/blog/2020/5/7/follow-the-ooh

I think of it as THE BUCKET. This is where I dump every thought related to the idea. Colors, songs, objects, character ideas, scraps of scenes or conversations. Stories have a *feeling* for me, a temperature and scent and texture and sound. So I start capturing that in bits. 3/

If I have the time and bandwidth to actually start writing, I'll build a playlist on Spotify; more on that here: https://www.whimsydark.com/blog/2016/5/17/how-and-why-to-make-a-book-playlist. The playlist is a bucket, too. It's where I put songs that evoke the book. It's my mise en place, my pile of magic ingredients. 4/

How (and Why) to Make a Book Playlist — whimsydark

I learned very early on that music is a great way to build books and preserve sanity. That means that for each book, I have a specific playlist. When I'm building up the idea, writing the first...

https://www.whimsydark.com/blog/2016/5/17/how-and-why-to-make-a-book-playlist

If I don't already have the main character in mind, this is where I sift through what I have and start to create a person who will both merge well and contrast with these particular flavors. It's like selecting the meat for a dish you're cooking. What works well but delights? 5/

For example, let's say you can tell this is a medieval-type world, stone castles full of wind and the scent of blood left to dry on swords. What character would be challenged there? What new trope could you flip to delight us? How can this world challenge exactly that person? 6/

Name any book you adore. Look at how the main character is both uniquely of that world and uniquely challenged by that world. We are looking to be surprised with something new and yet to feel as if every choice is utterly inevitable. We want the familiar to feel new.7/

As you feel around for your main character, keep adding to the bucket with what you know, building who they are. What unique misbelief, misunderstanding, fear or flaw rules their life? What they want in the story? How far will they go to get it? Craft their defining backstory. 8/

While I'm sifting around in the Bucket, my writing time is more like Stare Into the Distance Smiling time. My brain is feeling around, seeing what feels good, what fits together. Things I see or hear in real life will float in as if they were meant to find me. It's real magic. 9/

A thing I see new writers do at this time is jump in and start writing, expecting the story to catch up, which can leave you staring at a blank page like a kid waiting for Santa, going... now. Okay, NOW. What if-- NOW!! That won't work. So I spend more time with the Bucket. 10/

I also see new writers start creating family trees and crests and websites at this time, and NGL, that's wallpapering the dollhouse instead of using the dolls to tell a story. It feels good to name people, but it's harder to give them complex personalities and motivations. 11/

I use The Bucket to ask questions. Typing them out and staring at them actually helps-- it's like saying to your subconscious, HEY, FIGURE THIS OUT. Having a Bucket is like having a puzzle on the table and walking by every now and then to place a piece. Your brain is gnawing. 12/

When we give writing advice, we often forget to mention the feelings in your body that can help guide you, if you pay attention. The lift of a new idea, the thrill of discovery, the delight of solving a puzzle. There's a childlike wonder to the process that never gets old. 13/

Sometimes 'Writer's Block' is a signal that you've stepped off the path. For me, it can mean I've ramrodded the characters instead of letting them make the decision or mistake they would actually make. Step back to the last big decision. Look for a path that *feels* better. 14/

The first time I realized my Writer's Block was caused by the last big decision, I went back and considered what the character would really do and recognized that I'd let her make the safe choice *I* would make. Let her do something stupid, and the block lifted. SUCH RELIEF. 15/

So let's say you're tossing ingredients into your Bucket. How do you know when it's actually time to write? Thing is, if you start writing too early, you're missing important ingredients. But you could also toss things in the Bucket forever and never start writing at all.16/

Here are the ingredients I MUST know in order to start writing:
* genre/age level
* world
* the main character, including their greatest strength, greatest flaw, root misbelief, what they want
* the beginning
* the instigating factor
* the main conflict
* the climax
* the end 17/

I also need to know:
* who the antagonist is and why they are the way they are; the answer can never be BECAUSE EVIL
* whether the book is a standalone or part of a series
* who the secondary characters are and what drives them
* the romantic interest(s) if they exist 18/

You should also be reading in your genre so you know what's been done, what hasn't been done, which tropes and cliches are necessary vs. acceptable vs. unacceptable vs. so done, what's selling, and what the reader expects in regards to tone, voice, pacing, tension, HEA. 19/

What you DON'T need to start writing:
* 10 page prologue of The Song of the Elf Wars in iambic pentameter
* full plan for a 20 book series
* the knowledge of every plot beat along the way
* timeline, family tree, detailed map
Focus on THIS book, THIS story, with room to grow. 20/

What you MUST HAVE to start writing: The ability to get your butt in a chair and make words happen even when they feel wrong or not good enough. The stubbornness to keep churning out words when it gets hard instead of chasing the New Shiny Idea. Receptiveness to the universe. 21/

Let's say you have a Bucket and all the ingredients listed above, but your Bucket is just a big ol' jumble of junk. How do you turn that into a book? How much of the jumble goes in? First of all, know that you won't use everything, and that plenty of things might change. 22/

I start writing when I know the opening scene, which shows character through stakes, action, dialogue. That leads to the instigating factor that kicks off the plot. Then, at each juncture, I consider what is motivating the character. What are they doing to get what they want? 23/

Here's where the Bucket comes in. You're not sure about the next scene, but your character needs to get out of town. Hey, there's a snippet in your Bucket about a conversation in a train station! So let's get them to the train station. You dig around your Bucket for parts. 24/

Every time I lift something from The Bucket, I delete it-- or cross it out or highlight it, if you're twitchy. If you think of a scene but aren't sure when you'll need it, add that to the Bucket. Any time you stop short, unsure of what happens next, scroll through the Bucket. 25/

I aim for 2000 words or a chapter per day; YMMV, but it's helpful to think of the book in chunks that won't choke you. Each day, I end in a place where I know what happens next, and I chew on the next scene until the next day's session so I know what to write when I sit down. 26/

I tend to keep my Bucket at the end of my document. Whenever I use something, I delete it. My goal is to finish the book with an empty Bucket-- or pretty tidbits for another time. Don't save the good stuff for 'later'-- give *this* book everything you have from the start. 27/

Remember: The Bucket is a living document. It's okay to go in and spruce up old ideas, delete things that no longer serve you, add new things you thought about in the shower or the lyrics of that one song that struck you. Don't be precious. Steal from your life and the world. 28/

With my first few books, I always thought, "Oh, that's a really good bit, I should save that for later/another book/when I'm a better writer." That's ridiculous. Always give your very best to whatever you're doing now. You are an infinite font of ideas. There is only the now. 29/

Now: Something you might not like: I caution against focusing your Bucket on Pinterest boards or otherwise visual things. That ocean is bottomless. You're writing a book with words; instead of spending 30 minutes finding a pic of *just* the right sea, you could just say: SEA. 30/

A book is, ultimately, a trail of cause and effect. This happened, *therefore* this happened. It's a trail of gumdrops to follow through the forest. The Bucket exists so that, when you're not sure what happens next, you have pre-made gumdrops to mine instead of feeling lost. 31/

A Bucket might look like:
swords
Metallica's Master of Puppets
'he smelled of pennies in the sun'
a land full of snakes, snake skeletons as windchimes in a ghost forest
a girl hidden in a witch's stone hut
cold wind rattling through a castle
layers of soft wool plaid
32/

I could go on all day or teach a course on it, but 34 tweets is pretty long for a Twitter thread, so let's draw this to a close. The Bucket is a tool that works for me, and it might work for you. YMMV, there is no one way to be a writer, your journey and process might differ. 33/

The Bucket is a resource for collecting the sensory, prose, and dialogue bits that grow from your idea as you plan your book. Don't let it rule you. Do use it whenever you need a pinch of inspiration or fairy dust. It may change along the way. Let it. Go with it. Good luck! 34/34

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