Lori's Confessions Of an Idea Lady

So I had an idea...

So many conversations begin that way. And it's one of the things that define me. I had an idea. I have lots of ideas. My brain is over-run with ideas.

Almost daily I can think of a great idea for a story. Just this morning I was thinking about a story with a woman who's a personal assistant to a movie star. The star is a Jennifer Lopez type: beautiful, ambitious, Latina. She has an on again/off again relationship with a hot Latin hunk.

The star (who is described by a tabloid as *fat* because she has curves) hires a private chef to put her on a diet. The assistant then finds herself caught between the chef and the Latin hunk.

Cute idea, huh? It has the possibility of doing a little media jabbing and playing with the ideas of weight. The female star can be a great character for a variety of reasons while the assistant can be empathetic and more every woman.

Oh that's just today's idea. Yesterday I had an idea involving two best friends...

Most of these ideas are do-able. Some might even be brilliant. And yet so few even get attempted and most die at about the 3000 word mark.

I don't know if I'm waiting for THE story that I just must write or if the ideas are the extent of my creativity.

It's not always easy being the idea lady.



Carolyn:


It can be a great thing to be recognized as an Idea Lady. It's part of who you are: imaginative, optimistic, enduring. I hope one day Mollie knows how lucky she is that her Mom is an Idea Lady.

As for me, I make shameless use of you. I'd apologize but I think you like it as much as I do. Excited conversations, hurried writing because we can't write fast enough.

Most times I can't buy an idea; the few times I come up with one, I rely on you to make it even better, to take the story in directions I never considered.

When I think of my Idea Lady, I imagine ideas and story lines tumbling over and around each other, fighting their way to dominance. "Me next, me next," they're shouting. It makes me smile sometimes.

I'll take what I can get; finished or unfinished, 3000 words or 100,000. It's all good and worth the read.



Lori:


I have to add that I've been thinking more about this since we seem to have a lot of stories happening currently and I have some really strong ideas demanding attention. I think maybe it's the ideas that make the most sense to me to write that finally get worked on.

The movie star idea I forgot completely until I read this blog entry and I shook my head. That didn't resonate beyond a moment of thinking of it. The idea of the dog swallowing the engagement ring is still with me and the idea of the devil falling in love and I'm still thinking about Sugar and her checkered past...

Ideas are wonderful sparks that say your creative mojo is in working order. The ones that you sit down and have to write or that rattle around in your brain slowly adding more substance: those are the ones that call to me as a writer.

I like being the idea lady, truth be told. It means I usually have a movie going on in my head and what can be better than that?

I'm so easily amused...