Easy Ways to Come Up With Book Ideas! - Hackney and Jones Writers and Publishers

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How To Write An Awesome Book Even if You Have No Imagination!

Hi!

The real secret to success to creating compelling books on repeat, is to know where to find the ideas and then what to do with them.

I’m going to teach you an easy way to get a steady stream of exciting book ideas.

You’re looking for ways to come up with book ideas, right?

You will now see opportunities everywhere.

The idea I will share with you today is from the great writer, Peter James. He told me personally that he does this.

He looks at local news for their stories.

See some ideas below.

I tend to always focus more on the crime and psychological genre so here goes…

Ok great, now what do I do?

What you need to do from there, just to take it a step forward.

You need to create a logline.

So I’ll just explain what a logline is. It’s like the premise of the story of what it’s about.

Here is how the Writers Digest people describe it:

A successful logline is one that includes:

The main character
Their goal
The impediment to their goal (or antagonistic force)

(Source: https://examples.yourdictionary.com/irresistible-logline-examples-for-tv-film-and-books.html)

An example of an impediment could be time or a looming event, some kind of a countdown or your antagonist’s desire for power or domination. This adds suspense for you readers and they will love you for it!

You need a countdown as this drives the plot and gives your story a sense of urgency and gets your readers on edge.

Have your readers on the edge of their seats!

Your book will take them through different emotions which is what will make it awesome!

But it’s all about how you start.

If you don’t have a ‘ticking clock’ it is nearly impossible to come up with urgency when you come back and edit. It’s better to start with a log line.

A ‘ticking clock’ could be a countdown to:

A decision

A wedding

A natural disaster

A crime will be committed- murder, burglary, kidnap

An arrest

A natural death

A goodbye

A hello

There are many more…

So you need

A character

A setting

A count down and will they or won’t they…? This helps you to develop a story where your reader will be thinking of the different scenarios, drop breadcrumbs and scenarios where it doesn’t look good for your main character.

An example below of a logline that I’m sure you will know:

A young aristocrat falls for a scrappy artist aboard the main voyage of the Titanic. The looming tragedy will either be the end of their love story, or their struggle to survive will redefine love altogether. (Titanic, 1997)

So, back to our local news examples, I created my own versions of loglines below.

(Remember, you can be as creative as you want and you could create a dozen ideas from one news headline, I did these just for an example)

When the police launch an appeal for a witness to a marshland fire that caused 2 deaths, they uncover secrets that lead to more than the cause of the fire. Will they pursue the case now they know the threats it uncovers?

When a family searches for their sister who they believe was murdered on a mountain, a looming storm initially ends their hopes, but they discover a mysterious group who seem to stand in the way of finding their sister’s remains…will their sister’s cause of death ever be revealed?

A teenager who is about to be charged with terrorism offences is desperate to get his story out, but with his court date fast approaching and the threat of life imprisonment, everybody around him attempts to cover up the truth… will the public ever get to hear his story?

The police appeal for two dangerous men who have absconded from prison and warn the public to not approach, if they aren’t caught in time, several members of parliament are in the firing line to be murdered…will the police stop the underground network before it’s too late?

You NOW start to have the beginnings of an awesome story!

Comment below on some of your ideas! Over to you…

Vicky x