Writing Random Thoughts

Have you ever wondered about some of your favorite comfort food recipes, how they were created? Many were the result of necessity and available resources, along with a random thought. Random thoughts are wonderful tools to aid your writing. A number of books began as a random thought.

The difference is a writer doesn’t usually discard a random thought, they make a note of it. They know that, at some point, they may need it. When they need it, the form may differ from the original, and most likely it will, but the kernel of the idea will be there.

If you never use it, then the only thing it cost you was the time it took to jot down the idea. If you do use it, you’ll find random thoughts are worth their weight in gold. They are called random for a reason, there’s no guarantee they’ll come to you when you’re ready to write. However if you’ve written them down, they are always available to you.

I treat them the same way I do ingredients for some of our staple recipes at home. At any given time, certain ingredients are on hand in our pantry for one of the dishes our family enjoys regularly. We like to experiment occasionally, but even then the ingredients usually are the same core ingredients.

If you’re struggling in writing today, I would suggest looking at some totally random item, and build on it. One writer I grew up admiring would pick out an object, and build a whole story around the item. You just might find that a little bit of random inspiration is the basis for your whole novel.