Rich with his Book Life Without Lisa

Where do writers get ideas?

Know where to look.

Where do writers get their ideas?

Getting ideas is easy, if you know where to look.

The first place to look is from you own thoughts and imagination. The second is from people or events around you.

My first works were poetry or stories based on my own life. Then I started to write about what interested me: i.e. my community and community concerns. Then I expanded those stories to larger issues and larger audiences. The subject matters still interested me. That is the key: writing stories that interest you. My topics ranged from helicopters, new land developments, and the recycling of polystyrene plastics. They were all local issues to me, and I like machines, land and buildings, and recycling.

My first book was about my life after my wife died. My second book is about someone else. That book, “Bullets & Babies” is based on the life of Janice Riddle. That story idea came from a colleague. I enjoy writing non-fiction. I was interested in her life.

FICTION

Fiction books are made up stories based on ideas, personal experience, or questions about life. My fiction stories are still unpublished.

The ideas in those stories are answering questions you have, or had, about life situations. In my environmental story I have the hero and his antagonist. The characters came to me in a flash, a vivid movie in my head. It was only one scene, or a couple of pages. I had to invent the rest and find the tension to drive the story. But, where was the tension to drive the story? The bit of information I needed to connect the ideas, came from a news story. I was reading what I liked and there it was.

Ideas are all around. It is just a matter of picking an idea to write about. Then develop the idea into a story. Then the choice is to publish or leave it in a drawer, or computer file, as a learning lesson.

Rich with his Book Life Without Lisa

Rich with his Book Life Without Lisa

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  1. iiii September 9, 2021 at 6:39 pm - Reply

    i AM GOING THROUGH WHAT Rich went through. i WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND I DON”T WANT TO GET UP. Today will be just another day like yesterday. i DON”T GO ANYWHERE. and i don’t do anything. I MISS HER 24/7 MY TWO KIDS ARE LIVING IN California. They ARE ADULTS. My DAUGHTER IS 54—MY SON IS 59 And THEY DONT GET THE TIME TO VISIT ME HERE IN NEW YORK. i have nothing to look forward for. i wish GOD WOULD TAKE ME. HOPEFULLY GOD WILL TAKE ME .THEN I WILL BE WITH MY FIRST DAUGHTER; MY THIRD DAUGHTER: AND MY WIFE, MY GRANDMother WHO BROUGH ME UP. i was given to her when i was five months old. She WAS THE ONLY Mother I EVER KNEW. i left home when i was 24. thats when i got marry. JOAN WAS TWENTY. Joan WAS 85 WHEN SHE DIED. THE LAST SIX AN A HALF YRS; Joan HAD Alzhelmers. The GOOD LORD TOOK HER IN HER SLEEP. FOR THAT I AM GREATFUL. NO PAIN. puff, all done. but i am feeling the pain, PLEASE GOD, TAKE ME HOME. I DONT KNOW HOW MUCH MORE I CAN TAKE. PLEASE. i hope i will go to heaven. thats where my family is. A NOTE TO MY WIFE, Joan, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. AND MISS YOU 24/7

  2. Meri Lee Testa January 18, 2022 at 11:52 pm - Reply

    Hi – I had read about the loss of your wife a bit ago. I lost my husband of 33 years in September , 2019 It’s been very hard- , we had a son – he had just turned 22 shortly before his dad died – even after 2 years the grief is still with me . I know I hve to move forward- my husband would want me to – I know he would want me to try to b happy & live a good life . I find I must. Find a purpose for my life . I believe helping others may be the key. Am
    So glad that you hve found joy in your life again. Meri Lee – Monroe GA

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