Hi, Marta. I’m so excited you are here today. Thanks for hanging at my blog today. Welcome!
~ ~ ~
First off all, a big “Thank you” to Ciara for having me as a guest on her blog today.
I pondered a while what to write about for this guest post which triggered a perfect topic:
Help, I need a writing idea…
When writing my first novel I just wanted to finish, but as the end neared, I thought – what’s next? My first novel was inspired by someone else, I dreamt a variation and wrote down the idea, but how could I get another one? Would I ever have such powerful dream again? Is that all I could count on? Dreaming?
No, I don’t count on dreaming. Yes, that will get you some great scenes or a slurred dialogue (if you’re quick enough to record a conversation when you wake up in the middle of the night).
“What? There is another way?” you ask.
Yes!
“But, there are so many books out there, how do you get that unique concept and go with it?”
Here’s the answer. Ready? Get a pen, because it’s my secret and I’ll share it with you. *hushes her voice* It’s called the daily news.
“Marta, what are you talking about?”
Well, have you ever asked yourself “what if?” Come on, don’t be shy – I’m sure you have, and you know what? That’s all it takes, asking “what if?”
I’ll do even better than to give you that secret away. I’ll give you an idea, right now. Feel free to use it too.
“But if we all use the same idea, we’ll all write the same book, about the same thing.”
I’d be willing to bet you wouldn’t. If you had a room full of 100 writers, I bet their imagination would take an idea in 100 different directions.
Now as promised, here’s the idea and where it came from.
8:40 am, I’m driving home from dropping the kids off at school and the news comes on. An interesting topic today: you can apparently clone your pet for $50,000! There’s even a TV show about it.
“It’s been done before.”
Of course it has! So have alien invasions, vampires, stock market crashes, dragons, witches, magic, tragedies, romances – it has all been done before, except for you, it’s the direction you want to take it in. And that starts with asking yourself “What if?”
What if we fast-forward 25 years? Now, cloning costs anywhere from $100 – $5,000, depending on what you want cloned. (Think about any technological advances. Some TVs are still in the 10’s of thousands, other ones are cheaper.) You can use this concept for your novel in both, a humorous way, and serious way. Here’s how:
What if you wanted that perfect piece of steak each time you go to the restaurant and you can pre-order the exact same one, each time you go? And you know you can because that restaurant has a cattle ranch of thousands of identical cows.
What if a husband passed away and the 60 year old widow she can re-clone her hubby? Better yet, he can be in his twenties! (Yes it would still take the same amount of time to train him so think twice!)
How would human cloning affect the world population? Oh-oh! I see a conflict in the society (hint, hint).
What if little Joey’s goldfish passes away and it was his only friend in the whole entire world and he would get so much more satisfaction from greeting his old goldfish back than any toy for his birthday and his little heart would break if he didn’t. (I’m pretty sure this one was done in a movie with a dog.)
Speaking of dogs: What if your hunting dog was that perfect terrier with the perfect traits? Could you get two of them? Perhaps three?
What if you could re-clone your champion horse so he could win all the races? $$$ for the owner.
What if the next genius on the verge of a breakthrough to stop pollution, world hunger, depletion of resources passed away? Wait! Let’s clone him, catch him up on his research so he can finish it quicker!
As much as I’d like to take credit for these ideas, more than half of them are not mine. That’s what they were discussing in the morning news. That light bulb in my head shined brighter and brighter as I drove home, asking myself “what if?” And that’s all you have to do to get that next bright idea. The challenge will be in the direction you want to take the idea in.
But Marta, why are you sharing this with us? Don’t you want to use it for your next great novel?
No thank you. I have too many projects on my hands and I listen to too much news. 
About Marta Szemik:
Marta’s first novel Two Halves debuted in November of 2011. She is a full time writer, mom of two and, a wife. A great skier (in her kids eyes) she loves the outdoors. Very often she can be found creating new worlds on her laptop. She has a sarcastic sense of humour and those very close to her know she can make a joke out of almost anything, but she would suck as a comedian 
To find out more, visit her blog.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006F9G8ME
Hi Marta,
It’s great to meet you. Fun post, but the idea of having extra copies of our puppy makes me want to run and hide
I think I’ll change the channel and try for some different news! It’s true that ideas are everywhere. All a person needs to do is twist them around to suit their needs.
Hi Shelly, nice to meet you too. But think how funny ten of your puppies in action would be. Like Beethoven all over again.
Shelley ~ Oh, I so don’t want a replica of mine. LOL
Marta ~ Welcome! I’m so excited you are here today.
That’s a great way to prod the brain cells. What if…
Warning: Too many ‘what ifs’ can fry your brain.
Clone your pet? Wow. That’s crazy! But you’re right, it does make a great prompt.
The show is supposed to be on TLC.
Thanks Ciara and Marta.
Good point about creative direction. Each of us can take an idea and run with it–some reaching heights that we never would have expected.
And, I watch/listen to too much news as well.
My current WIP was inspired by true events. I asked myself the ‘what if’ question, took the worst case scenario (freaked out a little that it could actually happen) and went with it.
What if is a great method. The widow would have to grow her clone husband from a baby, though, so he couldn’t be 20 for 20 years. She’d probably be dead by then. Wait, there’s another idea…. Thanks for the fun post.
You’re welcome – glad you enjoyed it.
Love the “what if” question. It’s great to apply all through the plot as well.
I think I use it on daily basis as well when I can’t come up with a solution. Sometimes it drives the hubby nuts when i ask him 10 different ways to do something: “Don’t you think the grass looks a bit long?”, “Do you like how the shade of the grass changes colors as it grows?”
LOL – he got the point after a few times.
Great guest post! Thanks Marta and Ciara.
I think if you write any kind of fiction, specifically speculative, “what if” is at the core of your story. My current WIP centers around an alternative history timeline. So much fun to play with reality.
One of my big “what ifs” is….what if the European kingdoms failed to colonize The Americas…
Jay, your story sounds intriguing!
I thought about cloning myself, but my wife threatened murder (hey, there’s an idea …)
LOL – that made me laugh.
Super post. I love the idea of what if. I also rely on dreams, though.
Your book cover is beautiful.
Thank you Jillian.
Great post. Writing fiction don’t we all ask the ‘what if’ question as we write the story.
I know that’s how I get my story finished, especially since I’m a panster.
Pansters of the world unite.
Love the ‘what if’ concept, definitely will use when my brain is dead and can’t come up with new ideas! Thanks for sharing Marta!
You’re welcome.
Marta, it is so nice to meet you…
Nice to meet you too Savannah.
Marta, nice to see you on Ciara’s blog. I agree that one prompt will get wildly different stories. You demonstrate that on this post!
Thank you Theresa.
You’re so right. The ideas are everywhere. It’s up to us to twist and shape them into our own stories. I have a file bulging with news clippings from over the years that I thought would make good stories. Problem is I keep coming up with new ideas and haven’t had to resort to my files.
Lee
An A to Z Co-Host
Tossing It Out
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
I find myself facing the same issue Lee. Guess we just have to sit down and write.
I think having one copy of each of my kitties is more than enough for me! but it’s an interesting idea