You might ask, "Don't ideas just come?"

For some of us, the answer is a loud, "Yes." There are people who are overwhelmed by a constant flood of ideas. I'll talk about that problem later.

I find, however, that many new writers really only have one idea. Often, it's related to something that happened to them. And, quite often, they think they have to write a book about it.

Since all of writing is dependent on ideas, I want to explore this world of ideas in the next few weeks, starting with how to find ideas to write about. But first, there are a few things you need to know about ideas.

Four things you should know about ideas:

1. An idea is simply a starting point. Fifty people if given the same idea would likely write fifty different things.

2. It's what you do with an idea that matters: not what you might do.

3. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Good writers learn to separate the good ones from the great ones.

4. Ideas must be refined. Yes, a good idea well executed is a wonderful thing, but ideas have to studied and evaluated and  shaped and crafted to make them work for you.

Writing exercise:

Using 3" x 5" cards or small 2" or 4" pieces of paper, write down every idea you have at this time.