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Just how idea rich can one mind be? How many books idea plots could you have in a lifetime?
Agatha Christie, the leading mistress of murder crimes. Even after passing, no one has truly matched her brilliance. So, how did she do it? How did she write 66 detective novels and 14 short stories? Stories of great magnificence.
Well… She thought and thought (with a mix of observing).
Getting into the nitty-gritty, she took strolls and then an idea popped into her head. She was out and about looking at hats and- there is it. A plot has been born.
Is that it? I’ll let you hear from the horse’s mouth:
“Plots come to me at such odd moments, when I am walking along the street, or examining a hat shop…suddenly a splendid idea comes into my head.
Agatha Christie
How does that just happen? In everyday moments, Agatha became inspired by the occurrences around her. She opened her mind to consistently find a “neat way of covering up the crime so that nobody would it too soon”.
Then, she wrote and wrote.
Agatha Christie had created a collection of notebooks full of ideas. 73 in fact. They are each labelled and start from her first debut ( The Mysterious Affair at Styles 1920) till her last (Sleeping Murder 1976). There are even unused ideas in them. Her talent was more than what she had released.
The Challenge: Start To Idea Plot
I am going out into the wild world and let my mind wander with every sight my eyes see. That’s all. No distractions from me and what’s going on.
Goodbye podcasts, music- I kind of won’t miss you. Would a dog walk count? Maybe I’ll slip it in.
Trail 1 In this case, I thought of going for an hours walk.
Trying to let myself be open at this moment, to entice any inkling of creativity.
Setting off outside for a walk after it had rain meant I was surrounded by many pools of water. Not only water, but reflections.
A spark. Adding a scene where a character ponders into the water, their face reminding them of a long-forgotten memory. I also thought of alternatives where the character reflects with another about what they had found out. about this place, without a care who could hear them.
Turning a corner, and watching the trees sway in the breeze was a sight to see. It’s not often that I raise my head and look at what’s above. Rather than looking at my phone or where I’m walking. That didn’t bring ideas to the surface. I wondered on.
Passing a park I decided to walk inside. Kids had not long arrived from the end of the school day. In the distance, I saw a man turns his hands in a circular motion leading to his palms facing upwards. A sign to guide a child to come to his side. She was about 3 and waddled along towards him.
From that, my imagination takes me through a step by step motion of my character twisting her hands, though this time, behind her back. As she instigates a conversation about the past, before all of this, before they are here. Waiting or preparing to move on.
Trail 2 I watched a movie.
This time to idea plot I opted for Knive’s out. Peacefully watching, fully engaged. I had loved the way it had told a story in chunks. Only giving you what you needed to understand the flow or backtracking to do so.
Not only was I observing, but I was also actively trying to piece together the clues.
From the snip bits that may only make sense once played in order to follow the actor in current events. Coming to a few different conclusions about the identity of the killer and how they did it along the way.
A curveball was thrown near the end that threw all suspects out the window. The clues were conveyed in an intriguing way. I could only sit back with “of course” and that’s how they did it? To what I call an amazing ride for the audience.
Guess what my brain did with the entertainment it had ingested? It sorted out multiple ways my own story could replicate the ride. My story being very different from a murder mystery, I took the structure of the film. Then implemented where twists and turns could work in this book.
How the twist would appear and events that occurred collectively showed what was really happening. With the additional memories to make stronger ties to the evidence. My story plot now had fewer holes and using don’t lose the plot.
Thank you idea plotting!
Results
I tried to choose tasks that anyone could accomplish and describe how and what inspired my book.
My mind naturally wonders similar to Agatha’s. I am not saying it is easy or I can plan to have ideas. Only that by observing ideas can and do pop up. Having my trusty OneNote at all times made it easy to collect these ideas. As a forgetful person, I really needed that tool. Many people have great ideas in all sorts of places. We all know that the shower is known to be a great place for that.
A common factor seems to be in these moments. When you’re concentrating on a singular thing and relaxed and are just being in the moment.
I’ve noticed when trying to force an idea to come, the further it can getaway. Just as Agatha Christie suggests, being open and making connections between things seems to be the way to go.
How do you get inspiration for plotting your stories? Let me know in the comments. Until then.
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