M.L. Shanahan's Blog
October 31, 2017
Yo! Ho! Yo! Ho! It’s A Writer’s Life For Me
I thought I’d start my first blog entry on Goodreads by writing about how I get my ideas as an author.
Out of all the questions readers, friends and strangers ask me, the most frequent question is how do you get your ideas?
Some people have said to me that they cannot even come up with a character let alone an entire story.
I think writing is a therapeutic way of letting out your emotions, feelings and struggles; it is really an escape from reality, an escape from the mundane and everyday pains. I encourage anyone that feels the need to write to… write.
I think my interest in writing and stories started in primary school. Our teacher, throughout the year, would read books by renowned children’s author Roald Dahl. My favourite books of his were Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The Witches, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. These books drew me in to their world, and I was always reading books in school. While other children would take home three books for the week, I was taking home three books a night, trying to read them all.
When I was in grade six, we had to write a book with illustrations. I came up with a story that my teacher loved so much she told my mother that I should be encouraged to become a writer when I am older.
I didn’t realise, however, that I wanted to write fiction until after I graduated from university. Initially, I thought I wanted to be a journalist.
Going back a few years, when I was eighteen, I was studying for a Diploma in Interactive Digital Media. I thought at that time in my life that I wanted to design video games.
One day, I was sitting at my desk when an idea came to me. This idea grew so big that it became my first novel, Suitors, which I self-published in 2016. It was seven years of thinking about the idea, growing the idea, followed by two years writing the story and another year to edit it.
Now, enough about me; let’s talk about writing.
I think great ideas for books, movies, any form of art, tend to come from two things: imagination and experiences. And I think that if an idea is a good idea, it will keep growing, and grow so big that it can no longer be ignored, therefore forcing you to act upon it.
Looking at some of the great writers, and what they have said about the writing process, some of my favourite quotes include:
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
Ernest Hemingway
“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
Stephen King, from On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Now, I am not claiming to have the magical keys to imagination land. I am just going from experience. I think if you’re meant to be a writer you will be. If you are drawn to write, it is for a reason. Imagination is best explored by not overthinking. I think people tend to sit down and force their imagination to work. For me, I find relaxing and going with the flow to be the best idea.
Writing has changed my life and I am humbled to say it has begun to change other people’s lives. There’s no greater feeling for me than having people say my writing has helped them, or made their day.
Writing has gotten me through some tough times. And now I cannot imagine doing anything else but to have a fulltime job as an author. Stories saved my life and I want to repay that favour by telling stories for the rest of my life.
With regards to the writing process, I never really agreed with the quote, “Write what you know”. I understand that it can mean that you should focus on your strengths rather than weaknesses. If, however, writers only wrote what they knew, there would be no fantasy or science fiction. J.K. Rowling isn’t a real witch; she didn’t go to Hogwarts to do research. Harry Potter was created through imagination, not what she knew.
Stephen King was inspired to write his novel Misery from a dream he had. I also have had dreams that I plan to turn into novels. There’s so many ways that an idea can come to you. I find as a writer, observing people is very important. Through observation you can create characters. I also find news reports, true crime stories and real-life experiences of others—along with my own experiences—to be inspirational too.
I once came up with an idea for a book from almost being run off the road. How’s that for inspiration? (But I don’t recommend trying this yourself. It was an accident that I narrowly avoided and I am grateful for missing the chaos that could’ve been.)
Sometimes great ideas just hit you like a freight train. All you have to do is quickly run to the nearest notepad, phone, napkin, whatever you have on hand and write it down! I recommend writing down all ideas that come to you as soon as you get them, even if it is 3:00 am in the morning, because you could end up forgetting them.
I also recommend that you keep your ideas secret. Copyrighted laws don’t protect ideas. I know it’s hard not to talk about them, but it is necessary to keep your ideas to yourself.
Lastly, I’ve learnt that at the end of the day, while you believe in your story, you also have to muster enough courage to go with writing it. I think that half the battle is to believe in yourself, believe that you are a writer and believe in your ideas. When you believe in your ideas, so to will others.
As Stephen King says, “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well.”
At the end of the day, as humans, we all have a story. Some of us decide to tell that story, whether it’s through fiction, a painting or a song. I think good art of any kind bleeds from the heart and touches the souls of others. Good art, whether writing or painting or something else, has the potential to help others and along the way help its architect through the creation process.
I think every classroom in the world should encourage young people to sit down and write. I find writing to be one of the most therapeutic experiences.
So happy writing everyone! And remember, you need to believe in your ideas before anyone else can believe in them. Fight for your right to write and keep on writing, friends. If that blank page is calling you, it is a sign that you must write.
Until next time, your friendly neighbourhood writer,
M.L. Shanahan
Out of all the questions readers, friends and strangers ask me, the most frequent question is how do you get your ideas?
Some people have said to me that they cannot even come up with a character let alone an entire story.
I think writing is a therapeutic way of letting out your emotions, feelings and struggles; it is really an escape from reality, an escape from the mundane and everyday pains. I encourage anyone that feels the need to write to… write.
I think my interest in writing and stories started in primary school. Our teacher, throughout the year, would read books by renowned children’s author Roald Dahl. My favourite books of his were Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The Witches, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. These books drew me in to their world, and I was always reading books in school. While other children would take home three books for the week, I was taking home three books a night, trying to read them all.
When I was in grade six, we had to write a book with illustrations. I came up with a story that my teacher loved so much she told my mother that I should be encouraged to become a writer when I am older.
I didn’t realise, however, that I wanted to write fiction until after I graduated from university. Initially, I thought I wanted to be a journalist.
Going back a few years, when I was eighteen, I was studying for a Diploma in Interactive Digital Media. I thought at that time in my life that I wanted to design video games.
One day, I was sitting at my desk when an idea came to me. This idea grew so big that it became my first novel, Suitors, which I self-published in 2016. It was seven years of thinking about the idea, growing the idea, followed by two years writing the story and another year to edit it.
Now, enough about me; let’s talk about writing.
I think great ideas for books, movies, any form of art, tend to come from two things: imagination and experiences. And I think that if an idea is a good idea, it will keep growing, and grow so big that it can no longer be ignored, therefore forcing you to act upon it.
Looking at some of the great writers, and what they have said about the writing process, some of my favourite quotes include:
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
Ernest Hemingway
“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
Stephen King, from On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Now, I am not claiming to have the magical keys to imagination land. I am just going from experience. I think if you’re meant to be a writer you will be. If you are drawn to write, it is for a reason. Imagination is best explored by not overthinking. I think people tend to sit down and force their imagination to work. For me, I find relaxing and going with the flow to be the best idea.
Writing has changed my life and I am humbled to say it has begun to change other people’s lives. There’s no greater feeling for me than having people say my writing has helped them, or made their day.
Writing has gotten me through some tough times. And now I cannot imagine doing anything else but to have a fulltime job as an author. Stories saved my life and I want to repay that favour by telling stories for the rest of my life.
With regards to the writing process, I never really agreed with the quote, “Write what you know”. I understand that it can mean that you should focus on your strengths rather than weaknesses. If, however, writers only wrote what they knew, there would be no fantasy or science fiction. J.K. Rowling isn’t a real witch; she didn’t go to Hogwarts to do research. Harry Potter was created through imagination, not what she knew.
Stephen King was inspired to write his novel Misery from a dream he had. I also have had dreams that I plan to turn into novels. There’s so many ways that an idea can come to you. I find as a writer, observing people is very important. Through observation you can create characters. I also find news reports, true crime stories and real-life experiences of others—along with my own experiences—to be inspirational too.
I once came up with an idea for a book from almost being run off the road. How’s that for inspiration? (But I don’t recommend trying this yourself. It was an accident that I narrowly avoided and I am grateful for missing the chaos that could’ve been.)
Sometimes great ideas just hit you like a freight train. All you have to do is quickly run to the nearest notepad, phone, napkin, whatever you have on hand and write it down! I recommend writing down all ideas that come to you as soon as you get them, even if it is 3:00 am in the morning, because you could end up forgetting them.
I also recommend that you keep your ideas secret. Copyrighted laws don’t protect ideas. I know it’s hard not to talk about them, but it is necessary to keep your ideas to yourself.
Lastly, I’ve learnt that at the end of the day, while you believe in your story, you also have to muster enough courage to go with writing it. I think that half the battle is to believe in yourself, believe that you are a writer and believe in your ideas. When you believe in your ideas, so to will others.
As Stephen King says, “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well.”
At the end of the day, as humans, we all have a story. Some of us decide to tell that story, whether it’s through fiction, a painting or a song. I think good art of any kind bleeds from the heart and touches the souls of others. Good art, whether writing or painting or something else, has the potential to help others and along the way help its architect through the creation process.
I think every classroom in the world should encourage young people to sit down and write. I find writing to be one of the most therapeutic experiences.
So happy writing everyone! And remember, you need to believe in your ideas before anyone else can believe in them. Fight for your right to write and keep on writing, friends. If that blank page is calling you, it is a sign that you must write.
Until next time, your friendly neighbourhood writer,
M.L. Shanahan
