One of the most frequent questions writers are asked is "Where do you get your ideas?" Sometimes it's cloaked in an easier form: "Where did you get the idea for that story?" But often it's a general question with tough to find answers. Where do we get our ideas? Does a muse whisper them in our sleep? Do we go to the idea store in Schenectady? Do we wait for some clever person to sell us an idea -- offering to split the profits from the resulting book? Where do we get our ideas?"

What Do the Experts Say?

BRUCE HALE: "From a small man named Guido who lives in my basement and makes them for me. No, actually. I think ideas come from the collision of two things that weren’t combined before… like geckos and mysteries. Ideas are a little bit magical, but if you keep your antennae up, they’re all around you. Just ask the question, “what if…?” and you’ll get an idea rolling."

BETSY BYERS: "Since my books are mostly realistic fiction, I get my ideas from the things that happen to me, to my kids, to my dogs and cats, to my friend's dogs and cats, and from things I see on TV and read about in the newspaper. I sometimes think my books are like scrapbooks of my life because almost every incident brings back a memory."

TEDD ARNOLD: "My ideas come from different places at different times--sometimes from something one of my children said; perhaps from seeing something outside, for example, watching animals; sometimes from just letting my mind wander. Once I have an idea, I write it down so I won't forget it. Of course, having an idea doesn't mean you have a story. Sometimes an idea immediately makes itself into a story in my head. Other times I put the idea away and forget about it. But my mind doesn't ever completely forget the interesting ideas. My mind keeps quietly playing with them. Then suddenly one day I may fit that idea into a story. Or I might combine two ideas into one story. When I have most of the story worked out in my head, I go to my paper or computer and start writing. Once in a while, I will open my folder of idea notes that I've jotted down and see if those old ideas finally spark a story. Somethime they do. Sometimes they don't. You never know."

HOLLY BLACK: "I guess they come from things I like, my subconscious, and my past experiences. And what I wish my experiences had been. There are also movies and books that have made me feel a certain way that I want to be able to capture."

JUDY BLUME: "I used to be afraid to answer that question. I thought if I ever figured it out I'd never have another one! But now I know that ideas come from everywhere -- memories of my own life, incidents in my children's lives, what I see and hear and read -- and most of all, from my imagination."

R. L. STINE: "Goosebumps fans are always asking me that question. And it's not an easy one to answer. Think about where you get your own ideas. They come from everywhere. People you meet. Stories. Movies. Dreams. Memories. Thin air!"

ROBIN McKINLEY: "The short answer is: I haven’t a clue."

JANE YOLEN "I am always asked where I get my ideas from. That is a very difficult question to answer, since I get my ideas from everywhere: from things I hear and things I see, from books and songs and newspapers and paintings and conversations--and even from dreams. The storyteller in me asks: what if? And when I try to answer that, a story begins."

So Where Do Ideas Come From?

Ideas come from...

• Freedom: When we give ourselves permission to daydream, when we value our down time and the free flow of thoughts, we invite in ideas.
• Observation: The world is filled with ideas -- even Schenectady -- and we need to slow down and look, listen, observe...to find the idea store nearest you.
• Questioning: Let yourself be a kid again, filled with questions and musings and even wishes -- "What if...?" "I wonder..." "I wish..." Let the questions take you to places where ideas live and grow.
• Grouping: Neil Gaiman says sometimes his ideas come from putting together things that don't normally go together -- "If a person bitten by a werewolf turns into a wolf, what happens when a goldfish is bitten by a werewolf?"

How Do You Know When An Idea is Worth Following?

We have ideas all day long -- daydreaming, wishing, rewriting the last argument we had with a family member. Most of those ideas aren't stories. But how do you tell which ones are? A story is an idea that grows until it takes on a life and energy of its own. That doesn't mean a story idea doesn't sometimes bog down or thin out or take sweat to bring to conclusion. It means you grab hold of energy and excitement when you take off. One writer says it becomes more like dictation than creation. When you have a story, the people in it become real to you -- which is key -- because an idea without convincing characters is just a notion, not a story. And once you are convinced by the characters, then their responses and voice grow out of that life and energy. It can sound mystical. It can feel mystical. But ultimately it's a marriage of the freedom you've given your mind to wander and question, and the order you bring upon it during the writing process.