Don’t Use Your First Idea

Continuing with our current theme of Brian Dispenses Dubious Writing Tips (installment 14 of 78,345,900) I’d like to share some advice I’ve found useful at almost every level of the writing process. It’s very simple. Don’t use your first idea.

(See? My post title was foreshadowing. Write that down.)

Don’t use your first idea, I say. You say, I have this great idea for a story that I’m really excited about, do I need to give it up because it was the first thing I thought of for the story? No, I don’t mean that; ideas and inspiration can come from anywhere, and if it sparks something great, by all means run with it. Write the story that’s in your heart.

What I’m talking about instead is execution. Let me give you an example.

Let’s say that part of your Big Idea is for the hero and villain to confront each other in some climactic battle scene. There’s nothing wrong with that, but think: is there some other way they could have that confrontation? A race, a debate, a contest, even a game of chess? Or, if you’re set on having a battle, could it be unusual in some way: maybe an honor system that forbids certain types of attacks, or they’re blindfolded for some reason, or whatever.

I’m not saying to avoid battle scenes, and I’m not saying to throw in randomness for the sake of randomness. What I’m saying is that, chances are, the first idea that pops into your head won’t be extremely original. Your first idea is likely to be the same kind of idea that a hundred other people will have, and you want to stand apart. Don’t forsake your original passion; instead, let that fire transform your work into something even better.

This applies to characters, too. Maybe your heroine needs advice in the next scene from some Wise Sage Person, and your first instinct is to throw in some old, white-bearded Confucius figure. Why not mix it up and use a middle-aged woman? Or a young boy who is, for some reason, wise beyond his years? Or three people instead of one? Or some fool who inadvertently gives advice by showing what not to do?

Does your protagonist wield a sword? Consider a bo staff instead. Is he going to meet a king? Maybe an earl would be more interesting. Fighting a dragon? Have you considered wyverns?

You can even take this down to the language level. If you need a metaphor to express bravery, a lion may be the obvious choice; so don’t use it. Avoid cliches. I’m not saying every sentence should be hacked into something unusual; that would drive your reader crazy. Just quietly, unobtrusively, search for better ways to say things.

You may be thinking that no story is completely original, so why bother? I say, no story is completely original, but some are a lot more original than others. This isn’t about making every element totally unique. It’s about constantly challenging yourself to use fresh ideas, approach things from new angles. Often times even your second or third idea will be stale; so use your fourth idea. Branch out. You’re not stuck with the first thing that pops into your head, no matter how great or clever it may seem at first.

I’ve been entering more short story contests lately, and generally they have some sort of prompt, or theme. So often, this is what happens: you get this great idea at once, sit down, write the story, submit it…and then browse through the other entries and see that ten or a hundred other writers had the exact same idea as you. The one that stands out is the story you didn’t even think of, but could have, if you hadn’t just gone with your first idea.

Like it or not, getting published is a contest; and even if you don’t care about getting published, fresh ideas will still improve your writing. Go forth and be awesome, my friends.