One of the questions we authors are asked most often at events, once our conversation partner or panel moderator opens up the floor for a Q&A, is . . . “Where do you get your ideas?” I confess, I dread this question, and am rarely prepared to answer it, even though I always know it’s coming. The reason I dread it is because I know so many people who come to bookish events are either A) already writing a book of their own or B) hope to write one someday, and they’re looking for inspiration from me—someone who’s lucky enough to have been published.
The thing is, sometimes I don’t even know where some of my ideas came from. By the time I’m halfway through writing a book I’m so engrossed and immersed and things have changed so much since the beginning, I might not even remember how it all started (and might regret starting at all). Those moments of inspiration I do remember are quite different. A couple of examples:
People Will Talk (An Adult Mystery-Thriller published in 2024): I attended the surprise wedding of a guy who was a former player, so of course I started imagining what might happen if one of his exes had been invited and thought they were going to reconcile at this “BBQ” only to find out he was GETTING MARRIED TO SOMEONE ELSE! (Of course the answer was MURDER!)
Pretty Fierce (A YA thriller published in 2017): I had a dream about Chris Hemsworth saving me from a nefarious bad guy. So.
See? Not an easy question to answer. For me, ideas come from anywhere and everywhere! From lived experience! From dreams about hot Avengers! But maybe that’s encouraging to aspiring writers? Because you just never know? In case it’s not, I’ve invited some author friends to add their thoughts. Their answers might surpsise you!
Gene Luen Yang, award-winning author of Dragon Hoops and American Born Chinese
I find that the parts of your life that caused you negative emotions (sadness, fear, anger, annoyance) are the best places to look for story ideas. After all, stories are all about conflict, the very stuff that causes negative emotions.
Brenda Janowitz, author of The Audrey Hepburn Estate and the upcoming The Introvert’s Guide to Kissing in Europe (her YA debut!)
What inspires me? That’s an easy one. Everything. Literally everything. What I see, what I hear, places I go, people I meet. I’m getting inspiration from this exercise, right now! Every experience I have provides inspiration to me as a writer in some way. Even if it gets tucked away for years and comes out later. The more difficult question to answer would be: what doesn't inspire me? I find life and people endlessly fascinating and complicated and interesting (in a good way, and bad ways, too). Writing is my way of figuring it all out.
Zakiya N. Jamal, author of the swoon-worthy romance, Sparks Fly
Usually my ideas spring from something, usually an issue, I want to talk about or I'm passionate about. For my adult debut Sparks Fly, I really wanted to tell a story about a late bloomer virgin who wasn't innocent and totally unaware of sex because as an avid romance reader that was mostly what I was seeing with this trope and as a late bloomer myself I felt like that wasn't relatable to my experience. For my next book, Two Can Play That Game, I, along with everyone else, was witnessing a rising interest in women's sports. Back in 2024, my family was in Barbados for my aunt's birthday and we all sat down at the hotel bar to watch the women's NCAA basketball championship and root on Dawn Staley and her team. That was the first time I'd ever watched the championship game but we were all locked in. So with that in mind I wanted to write about a basketball player and specifically I wanted to write about a trans/nonbinary basketball player because of the ongoing conversations about trans people in sports as well.
Julie C. Dao, author of the YA Evil Queen reimagining, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
I get my ideas from other people’s ideas! I seek inspiration in every art form. I’ve had lightbulb moments in the audience of a Broadway show, wandering the halls of a museum, watching the big screen with a bucket of popcorn, or simply walking and listening to music that somebody wrote for a TV show or a symphony orchestra. I find that emotion stirs up story concepts in my brain, whether it’s a painting that feels sad or a piece of music that is powerful and energetic. For me, art creates more art.
Michelle Chouinard, author of The Serial Killer’s Guide to San Francisco and its sequel, A Tour to Die For.
My tried-and-true method for generating ideas is true-crime media. From regular news coverage to podcasts, there's always something my mind can run with. For example, I once read a story about feet washing up on the shores in Washington; turns out, there was nothing murder-related about what was happening, but I now have notes jotted in my journal about ideas for a foot-fancying serial killer...
THANK YOU to Gene, Brenda, Julie, Zakiya and Michelle for sharing their responses! You can order any of these authors’ books by clicking the title of said book and you can follow or subscribe to their substack (if they have one) by clicking their names. And if you want to check out my next one, THE GETAWAY, out September 1, you can do that, too!
Currently watching: The Ultimate Baking Championship on FoodNetwork/HBOMax. I love to bake and I love to watch baking shows, even though they make me feel like I have no idea how to bake. This one is next level. Watch It!
Currently reading: Kin by Tayari Jones. Just like everyone else you know. Feels like a sister story, even though it’s technically not, which I love. Read It!
Currently listening to: Good Hang with Amy Poehler. Because we all need a little laughter (or a lot) right now! Listen to It!
Most recent bake: I made Martha Stewart’s chocolate chip cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting. YUM! They’re from this book right here: CUPCAKE BOOK! But you can also snag some of her amazing cupcakes recipes for free on her website!
Happy cupcake baking and idea-making!
xoxo
K
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