By Julie Glover

A couple of weeks ago, I finished drafting the final novel in my YA contemporary series. Once I edit and release Pairing Anton, I’ll be ready for the next project. Which is…what? I don’t know yet.

Perhaps you’ve faced a similar dilemma, wondering what to write next—usually for one of two reasons.

Out of Fresh Ideas

Some writers pour themselves into the book they’re writing, reach the end, and face a blank slate in their mind. They need a break between books to observe the world around them, let the wheels turn in their heads, and come up with a fresh idea.

Here are some ways to come up with a great one:

Ask “what if”?

Stephen King encourages this approach in his popular book, On Writing. His ideas are a bit wilder than some, such as “What if vampires invaded a small New England village?” (Salem's Lot) and “What if a young mother and her son become trapped in their stalled car by a rabid dog?” (Cujo), but the notion is solid.

Your “what if” could be about a single person, a community, or the whole world. Here are some classic movie examples to show what I mean:

• What if you had to relive the same day again and again until you got it right? (Groundhog Day)
• What if a killer shark preyed on a small beach town? (Jaws)
• What if artificial intelligence took over? (The Terminator)

Create your own imaginative what-if, and you’ll have a compelling idea to work with!

Combine contrasting things.

Suzanne Collins came up with The Hunger Games by blending two opposite events: “I was flipping through the channels one night between reality television programs and actual footage of the Iraq War, when the idea came to me.” Contestants in one, soldiers in the other—mix and voila!, kids compete in a life-and-death game.

The first book in my YA series, Sharing Hunter, also used this approach. I was thinking about dating advice given to teen girls and then how huge shows like Big Love and Sister Wives had become. Next thing I know, I had the idea of two best friends sharing a boyfriend.

Take two things that don’t seem to go together and test out whether they might. If a combination strikes you as exciting, that might be your next book!

Watch and listen to people.

Tayari Jones was partly inspired to write An American Marriage after visiting her mother in Atlanta and overhearing a couple arguing. She explained, “I couldn’t get these people out of my head.” From there, she wrote her bestseller about a marriage torn apart by a wrongful conviction of one spouse.

Writers are, by nature, people watchers and eavesdroppers. Why? Because people are interesting and inspire stories without knowing it. So keep your eyes open, your ears peeled, and your pen ready.

Look wider in the world.

At any given time, numerous social issues can be explored through story. Alicia Ellis tackled today’s artificial intelligence concerns with her Flesh and Metalseries, Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and Bonnie Garmus’s Lessons in Chemistry addressed sexism in the 1960s (and, let’s face it, beyond). Classics like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and George Orwell’s 1984 also wrestled with social issues of their time.

Consider what’s bugging you today. Maybe that issue could be the focus of your next book. 

Twist another story.

How many times has the basic plot of Romeo and Juliet been copied? Who knows, but it’s a lot. For instance, These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong retells Romeo and Juliet in 1920s Shanghai, A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole depicts a star-crossed-lovers romance between a black woman and a Union soldier during the US Civil War, and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer essentially replaces Capulets and Montagues with humans and vampires.

Take someone else’s idea, twist it, and you’ll get a fresh plot! Honestly, that’s what Shakespeare did too. He often borrowed from others and built on it to create an original work. Good enough for the Bard? Good enough for you.

Too Many Ideas, Not Enough Time

Some writers have more ideas than they can write in a lifetime. How can you decide which ideas get the red flag, and which get the go-ahead?

Here are a few questions to ask:

What are your readers waiting for? It might be okay to pause and do something different, but If you have an established audience, you don’t want to keep them waiting too long for the next installment in your series or genre.

What needs to get wrapped up? Speaking of which, perhaps you should tie up the genre or series you’ve been writing before taking on a new project. Prioritizing the completion of your current body of work can free you up to fully concentrate on the next grand idea.

What do you have the time and energy for? Maybe writing the medieval family epic you’d love to pen isn’t the best choice for your crazy calendar, but you could probably knock out the shorter, lighthearted rom-com. Consider what your life will allow right now and lean toward projects you can actually finish.

What won’t let you go? Is there an idea that won’t leave you alone? Maybe it’s a plot idea you had, a first draft you wrote, or a half-finished manuscript tucked away somewhere. For various reasons, you haven’t completed it, but the project is like an earworm in your mind—unwilling to let go. That might mean it’s time to tackle it.

What do friends or colleagues tell you to write? Of course, you shouldn’t write whatever others tell you to. Rather, come up with what you want to write, narrow your list, and then get input from people you trust. It could be friends, family, critique partners, or writing colleagues, but they likely have valuable feedback worth your attention.

As for me, I’m in the too-many-ideas camp, but two potentials have been calling out to me the most. So I’m delivering the first chapters of each project to my critique group for their input.

What should you write next? Only you can make that decision. But hopefully, you’ve gotten a few ideas for how to solve the dilemma.

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About Julie

Julie Glover is an award-winning author of young adult and mystery fiction. Her contemporary YA includes Sharing Hunter, Daring Charlotte, and coming-soon, Pairing Anton, and she has written several YA paranormal stories. She has also co-authored five supernatural suspense novels and two short stories in the mythology-based Muse Island series under her pen name Jules Lynn.

With her coauthor, Christina Delay, she recently published Together, We Write: An Author's Complete Guide to Cowriting, currently available as an e-book and soon coming out in print.

A native of Texas, she now lives in Denton with her hottie husband, her loquacious cat, and her large collection of cowgirl boots.

Photo credit: Konstantin Postumitenko, Prostock-studio @Canva; Professor25, Getty Images Pro @Canva