Writing starts with an idea. Simple enough. Until you’re on deadline, cursor blinking faster than you can form a sentence, heart thumping in your chest, doubts erasing all thoughts of your writing ability.

What is the story about? Who are the characters? What is climax? How will it end?

To begin a story, you just need a place to start. You don’t need to have all the minutiae mapped out. You certainly don’t need to know how it’s going to end.

I sometimes do, but more often, I have no idea. A story starts to unfold in my head from a snippet of conversation or an interesting thing I have seen or experienced. It is a beautiful song. It is a funny thing my friend said. It is the crush of heartbreak.

I love people watching. It’s fascinating to see people interact and listen to what they say.

You should avoid getting caught eavesdropping, but believe me, everybody listens to other people’s conversations. Whether they want to or not. (I’m looking at you, lady cursing her boyfriend out on her cellphone.)

Most writers eavesdrop. I have a friend who takes notes when he overhears anything interesting. He adds it to a list of potential dialogue on his phone.

“I get my ideas from everywhere. But what all of my ideas boil down to is seeing maybe one thing, but in a lot of cases it’s seeing two things and having them come together in some new and interesting way, and then adding the question ‘What if?’ ‘What if’ is always the key question.”
–Stephen King from http://stephenking.com/faq.html#t1

A good piece of dialogue gets you only so far. You must take your inspiration and build a story around it.

Ask “What if?” Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Write about the thing you’ve always wanted to write about, but been too scared to. Shock people. Shock yourself.

Then remember to build your story arc. A beginning, middle, and some sort of end.

It doesn’t matter how short or long your story is; you just need to make your reader feel something. You need a climax to your story, a point of conflict that makes your reader want to turn the page.

The end doesn’t have to be tidy. No need for happily ever after. Or even an after.

One of Ernest Hemingway’s most famous stories is six words long.
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

This story is neither tidy nor happily ever after. But it manages to stir the reader’s emotions in just six words.

So, where do you get your ideas?

This week’s video is an acoustic version of “What Have I Done?” by Cursive. It’s a darker take on the writing process, but a beautiful song. The lead singer of Cursive, Tim Kasher, is a great writer.