Last week I published a blog about ideas entitled “Thinking Inside the Box”. Here’s a guest post from Alphya Cing as a follow-up.
People often ask writers and other folks who come up with ideas just where those ideas came from. I’m here to let you in on a little secret. It’s where all ideas come from. It’s a little place anyone can get to, but not everyone knows the way.
This place is frequented by artists and scientists alike. It is the great pool of all thought called Idea Lake.
Many people come to fish the waters of Idea Lake. Some don’t use the right bait. Others can only pull out old boots and logs. Few are capable of braving the deeper waters to come up with the truly inspired ideas.
Those who have been here many times know you have to use special equipment to find the rare ideas.
What you need to keep in mind is these idea fish swim in schools. If you happen to scoop up a few there will always be others from that school that get away. Those other idea fish often get caught by other people. That’s why more than one person comes up with the same idea. Don’t be surprised if something you thought up suddenly appears in something someone else wrote.
When Torchwood appeared I was amazed to find my idea for a ‘universal key’ (which I had written about in my novel The Master of Dimensional Intrigue in 1998) displayed on my TV. screen.
I’ve recently fallen in love with the television show Eureka. The parallels between the characters of Henry and Kim on that show and Deathbrain and Minihara in Vexyna’s Awakening are astounding (even though Vexyna’s Awakening was written over 20 years ago). [As a side note I know now that if Vexyna's Awakening ever makes it to the screen I want Joe Morton to play Deathbrain.]
If someone else comes up the same idea that you’ve had, be sure to compliment yourself on your brilliance. Then move on to your next deep thought. Dwelling on a lost opportunity is not going to help you aspire to the greatness you deserve.
Go angling in Idea Lake. Just be sure to use the right bait and bring along idea finders if you can. The other piece of equipment you should invest in is an idea regenerator. That way you can genetically modify any of the ideas you come up with so they will be just a bit more unique. It worked for Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs.
Alphya
Alphya Cing is a long time writer and is now part of the Document Magic team.
