Ideas are not static. There’s a constant ebb and flow to them and any sort of creative artist has to take advantage of the movement of ideas in order to fully develop the original thought.

I’m learning to do this better than I did in the past. Many times I would have a writing idea, I’d write it and then move on to something else. But I’ve come to realize that I might be missing a lot of potential by not putting the necessary thinking into a topic.

Here’s a couple examples:

First, as I mentioned before on this site, my fourth, yet-to-be released novel, A Love Story for a Nation, is a story based on a short 10-minute dramatic sketch. When I started to look at the structure and underlying themes of the short piece, it became obvious to me that it needed a longer treatment and I’m actually thrilled with how the novel has turned out. One idea – two works! That’s pretty cool.

I’m currently working on a short musical about the end of the world. It’s been stalled and started several times, but it’s coming along. A while after I started it, a friend ask me to write a dramatic duet for a forensics competition. I was happy to do it, but I needed an idea. I went back through some of my unwritten ideas for some inspiration and I eventually decided to take the musical I was writing, completely change the characters and setting, but keep the underlying theme and suddenly, within two hours, I had my short sketch called “Words to Say at the End of the World.” It’s a heartfelt piece I really like and I never would have gotten there if I didn’t piggy-back off of my musical. On top of that, sing I have a mini-musical and a dramatic sketch on the same topic – the end of the world – I got to thinking that perhaps I could develop idea into a full-blown thematic play. I just might do it. It has a lot of potential.

So if you are a writer and ever get stuck with what to write next, my advice is to go back to what you already have. You might find a hidden gem of an idea that can fuel your next writing session.