I think ideas are as amazing as dreams.

Trying to figure out where your dreams came from, or why you’ve dreamed about an ex-boyfriend who is suddenly a French poodle flying from South Africa to Mendocino, is kind of fascinating.

Ideas are just as fascinating, and if you’re a writer, you get to connect the dots.

So where do these ideas come from in the first place?

The short answer is everywhere.

The long answer is also everywhere, such as…

1. Childhood is a goldmine

Not just your childhood—anyone’s childhood.

The birthday party that went wrong.

The summer when everything changed.

Remembering what made me wonder or made me angry or made me sad or embarrassed me when I was twelve.

If it felt huge back then, it’s probably story-worthy now.

Middle grade stories live in that messy, magical space between the innocence of childhood and the cusp of growing up.

2. Questions that won’t go away

“What would happen if your best friend turned into your biggest rival?”

“What if you were given something that you just learned was actually stolen?” (Okay, that one’s mine.)

Or more personal: “What if your dad stopped smiling after your mom died, and you thought maybe a cookie could fix it?” (That one’s mine, too.)

Or what’s the most ridiculous situation you can think of? Amp that up.

Middle grade readers love the intersection of the real and the ridiculous.

If a question keeps buzzing around your head while you’re in the shower, on a walk, or trying to fall asleep—it might be a story.

3. Emotion first, plot second

This one’s big: some stories start with a feeling.

Loneliness.

Hope.

Embarrassment.

Grief.

The desire to fix something you can’t.

When I tap into that, the characters and plot usually show up on their own.

4. A sprinkle of magic, even when it’s not

Even my realistic stories have that “what if” shimmer.

Not actual spells (okay, sometimes cookies might be magic or the moon might be an instigator), but always a sense that the world is bigger, stranger, and more meaningful than it seems.

Middle grade readers are open to the idea of the possibility of magic.

Next time you have a tickle in your head from a question, from the news, from a conversation you’ve overheard between two kids, from heartache, from anything you’re still wondering about, you’ve been touched by an idea.

Pay attention. Ideas deserve to be developed and nurtured.

Sometimes they pan out, with a little watering and a sprinkle of magic dust.

Have a great week,

~ Gail

(Tick tock)

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