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February 3, 2016

Writing Tips from RRR – WHERE DO YOU GET IDEAS?

dd_iheartwriting1

I get a lot of awesome letters from my readers, and I’m always so excited when someone tells me Dork Diaries has inspired them to write their own stories. Often, I get asked for writing tips, and one of the top questions is, “Where do you get ideas??”

If you’ve written to me or read any interviews with me, you probably already know this: I get most of my ideas from the hilarious real-life experiences of my two totally dorky daughters, Erin and Nikki. They’re adults now, but when they were in middle school, they had crushes, bullies, BFFs, and all sorts of ups and downs that are now reflected in the pages of the Dork Diaries books.

“That’s great for you, Rachel,” you might be thinking. “But, I’m still in middle school! I don’t have two daughters providing me with ideas! I haven’t lived a whole life yet! So, where should I get ideas?”

Here’s the thing—ideas are EVERYWHERE! Most experienced writers (like me!) have no shortage of ideas. Usually, they have more ideas than they can ever possibly use. But, it’s not because they’ve had a longer life, or because they have kids supplying them with ideas, or even because they have some special talent that you don’t.
Nope! Ideas are everywhere, and the only thing I have that you might not is a bit more practice in noticing ideas when I see them. This is something you can learn to do, too! Soon, you will have more ideas than you know what to do with.

But, where are all of these ideas? How do you find them? I’ve got a few hints…

⭐️ Keep a diary…

I mean, I obviously had to start with that one, right? Keeping a diary like Nikki’s is great for so many things, and one of them is remembering the funny things that happen to you, the weird things, the sad things—and also the way you felt when these things happened. When you’re trying to come up with an idea for a story, a great place to start is by going through your diary and looking for the past events you have a strong emotional response to—whether that’s tears or laughter.

💡 Wonder what if…

A big part of being a storyteller is having an active sense of wonder. If you’re still growing up, you’re ahead of the game—kids are generally better at wonder than adults. If you’re not naturally curious, it’s something you can build. Take the time when you learn new things, meet new people, or see something interesting on the street to wonder. Learn about earthquakes…and wonder what would happen to your family if a major earthquake hit your town. Meet someone who builds model airplanes…and wonder what would happen if their model airplanes suddenly started flying around the room on their own. See a boy and girl having an argument across the street…and wonder if they’re siblings or friends or crushes and what their argument is about and how it will be resolved. Ideas are truly everywhere you turn!

🤓 Observe people…

As suggested above, the people around us can provide some of the richest material for our stories. These might be people you already know, like I’ve found inspiration in my kids and the kids they grew up with. There might also be people you never speak to but who pique your interest. Maybe there’s an old man you always see working in his garden when you walk home from school, or a kid on your bus with a super unique sense of style, or a cashier at the grocery store who never stops talking. Notice people, and jot down notes about them. Even if you don’t think of a story the moment you see them, you never know when they might turn into a character in a story down the line.

🙂 Pay attention to current events…

I know, “current events” sounds like something teachers go on and on about in school. But world events can really feed your creativity! I’m not just talking about things like wars and politics, either. In the last couple months, you might have read in online news about  a) the discovery of water on Mars (which is an indication that living creatures of some sort could possibly live there—and that could lead to a cool sci-fi story!),  b) the story of an aquarium coral that when exposed to the air releases a toxic gas that can kill a person who inhales it—a mystery in the making! Or  c) the discovery of a South African plant that makes seeds that look and smell exactly like antelope poop in order to fool dung beetles. I don’t even know what kind of story you might write about that, but someone should write something!

Those are just some of the ways you can find ideas. The blank page can seem intimidating, but once you get into the habit of noticing ideas, the problem will be finding time to write them all. I hope this helps!

Where do you get YOUR ideas, and what type of story would you like to write?

Please post your comments below.

3,468 Comments Category: I Heart Writing Tags: writing tipsnikki

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Comments

  1. 2575
    Sweetie Pie says:
    August 4, 2019 at 11:07 am

    I get ideas when I read.I used to love to write before,but then I kind of got bored of it. But now I have new inspiration! Thanks!

    Reply to this comment
  2. 2574
    ME4LIFE says:
    August 4, 2019 at 7:42 am

    That is great advice Miss Rachel

    Reply to this comment
  3. 2573
    Special Dork says:
    August 4, 2019 at 6:36 am

    Thank You So Much

    Reply to this comment
  4. 2572
    I❤️BOOKs says:
    August 4, 2019 at 3:23 am

    Well, I like writing fantasy, but most of the books I read are realistic fiction? Should I do realistic fiction or fantasy?

    Reply to this comment
  5. 2571
    sassy soccer girl says:
    August 3, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    I am writing a book about a soccer player who is made fun of because she is black. You are one of the many authors who inspired me.

    Reply to this comment
  6. 2570
    Advice asker says:
    August 2, 2019 at 12:40 am

    U have opened my eyes to more fabulous story ideas!!!!! I’m hitting the paper and pencils!!!

    Reply to this comment
  7. 2569
    Book lover says:
    August 1, 2019 at 3:42 pm

    I normally play with my dolls then come up with a story idea.

    Reply to this comment
  8. 2568
    Bookworm says:
    July 31, 2019 at 8:27 pm

    Thank you so much for the advice! I love to write books, and reading your books (and now this article) helps me a lot with inspiration!

    Reply to this comment
  9. 2567
    Mc Diana says:
    July 31, 2019 at 9:54 am

    Hi Rachel !!! Thanks very much it has inspired me very much

    Reply to this comment
  10. 2566
    PrettyDorkDiariesFan says:
    July 29, 2019 at 4:57 am

    Thanks so much rachel! I LOVE dork diaries so much! Even my younger sister loves reading these books as much as i do. We also started reading Max Crumbly books.I could say so much more,but that would probably take up alotta room,lol. This advice is amazing,once again thanks so much for everything! 🙂

    Reply to this comment
  11. 2565
    Dorky Fan says:
    July 29, 2019 at 12:08 am

    I am a Dork Diaries fan and I have 12 books!

    Reply to this comment
  12. 2564
    DorkyAuthor says:
    July 27, 2019 at 9:30 am

    Another tip I came up with is to get inspiration from books you read. If it’s a young reader, ask parents or older siblings to help you read or read to you. Books are where I get inspiration from. People call me a young author.

    Reply to this comment
  13. 2563
    sportydorkyfan says:
    July 26, 2019 at 10:07 am

    I love dork diaries even though I only have three or four dork diaries books! once I was doing a club after school and I missed my club because I was reading dork diaries! I am a super fan! keep going dork diaries! I will never stop reading dork diaries! I like chloe best out of nikki and her bffs.

    Reply to this comment
  14. 2562
    DORKdiariesFaN says:
    July 26, 2019 at 8:20 am

    Thanks! Will use this advice a lot in my life.

    Reply to this comment
  15. 2561
    The Dorky Girl says:
    July 25, 2019 at 7:27 am

    Thank you Rachel, Your advice really helped me!

    Reply to this comment
  16. 2560
    catdorklover says:
    July 25, 2019 at 1:49 am

    this advice is AMAZING!!! normally I would run out of ideas.. but now AMAZING!! Thank you!!!

    Reply to this comment
  17. 2559
    Luv DORK diaries says:
    July 24, 2019 at 11:57 am

    I really love to write and I keep loads of diaries which made me want to be an author when I grow up.There are lots of types of books you can write,novels,diaries,it’s hard to choose!!!If I was a author I would obviously like to choose diaries and novels.

    Reply to this comment
  18. 2558
    Dork Gal says:
    July 24, 2019 at 11:56 am

    Thx soooooooooo MUCH for the advice RRR! This helped me very much! :]

    Reply to this comment
  19. 2557
    SUPER FAN FR. PH says:
    July 24, 2019 at 7:51 am

    hi i really love your book its amazing and i got inspired by you cause now i’m writing a book same as yours but dosen’t have a title yet… 🙂

    Reply to this comment
  20. 2556
    QPDiamond says:
    July 23, 2019 at 8:47 pm

    THANK UUUU FOR DA ADVICCE

    Reply to this comment
  21. 2555
    Yay says:
    July 23, 2019 at 9:02 am

    This really helped me!

    Reply to this comment
  22. 2554
    Indi says:
    July 23, 2019 at 6:26 am

    Thanks for the advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply to this comment
  23. 2553
    Book lover says:
    July 22, 2019 at 4:35 pm

    Cool.

    Reply to this comment
  24. 2552
    Princess Book says:
    July 22, 2019 at 10:41 am

    I use my best friends for inspiration for the main characters in my new book! The book is called Weather Kingdom, and I am nearly done with it. Mimi is based on my girly BFF, the second-youngest in my class, born a day younger than the girl who I based Alex on, and Amy is based on how people describe yours truly

    Reply to this comment
  25. 2551
    Diary lover says:
    July 22, 2019 at 4:49 am

    I have written a story called THE UNGRATEFUL KING! And so much people have read it and enjoyed it !!! Squeeeeeeee!!!

    Reply to this comment
    • 2551.1
      superdorkgirl says:
      July 26, 2019 at 10:10 am

      thanks for the advice! keep going dork diaries…SQUEEEEE!

    • 2551.2
      Ry says:
      July 28, 2019 at 9:38 pm

      Cool

    • 2551.3
      Yeah right CHILD! says:
      July 30, 2019 at 7:59 pm

      Where? At school? Cause if that, boooo. Pfft. I bet not.

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