I'm at the brainstorming stage - looking for likely threads to weave into my next project. What I need are interesting characters, intriguing plot lines, problems to be worked out and lessons to be learned. In some ways I love this part of the process the best. After months - even years - of being hamstrung by the limitations of a project I feel like a kid in a sweet shop. I can run around grabbing chocolate and jelly beans from every glass jar and tossing them into the mix. Nothing is out of bounds, nothing too extraordinary; everything is allowed.
But where do these ideas come from?
A useful tool I'm trying this time is tarot cards. Pull a few at random and try to arrange them into a story. Here's a useful site I discovered that explains the process. It's basically a randomiser, but anything that helps break the linear mode of thinking is a big help. I'm trying to be open to the process and let my imagination have free reign.
