From physics to fiction: the necessarily speculative nature of ideas

From a US/LHC particle physics blog via an editor friend on Facebook: "All of our theories are probably wrong. And that's okay."

Just because someone spends some time developing a new idea, that doesn’t mean that they are doing so because they think it must be true. This may sound silly: if they don’t think its true, then why devote so much time to it?

One answer is that it could be true. Thus we should figure out what falsifiable implications it would have if it were true so that future experiments can cross it out. However, there’s a deeper reason to pursue ideas that one isn’t necessarily “married to.”
The point is that good ideas have value just because they’re good ideas, even if they are necessarily speculative.

This dynamic translates to writing and publishing without much mind-bending.

I'm finishing up a huge project. Unemployment is looming. Between me and my next job there are hundreds of ideas, any and all of which have the potential to blossom or fizzle. I honestly don't believe there's any such thing as a lousy idea for a book. There's ideas that are in the wrong head at the wrong time. Or in the right head at the wrong time. Or in the wrong head at the right time. There are ideas that get championed and ideas that don't, and the difference doesn't come down to good or bad, it comes down to what the author is willing and able to do with it.

Book ideas are, as the physicist said, necessarily speculative. Don't let a friend, family member, or rejection letter rob you of that journey. A few spectacularly speculative ideas that have turned into deliciously successful books:

The Interrogative Mood by Pagett Powell

The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) and by Lemony Snicket (The rest of the series seemed like a great idea after the first one made a bazilion dollars!)

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

St. Burl's Obituary by Daniel Akst

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

The Lovely Bones by Alice Seybold

Listening to the Universe

What's the most common question asked of writers? The inevitable "Where do you get your ideas?"

My favorite answer: "How do you not get them?" Because ideas, I believe, are simply out there, waiting to be heard, like the background static that permeates the universe. If you have the right equipment (a working brain)and really learn to listen, you'll discern so much inspiration, you couldn't write it all down in a thousand lifetimes.

Not all ideas, of course, are equally viable. Much of the creative artist's job is in filtering this raw material, cataloguing possible connections, and judging potential. Some really fabulous, high-quality ideas end up shelved because of their unwieldiness, lack of broad appeal, or a poor fit with the author's overall career plan. While I can practically hear some of you thinking "what a sell-out," these considerations are essential if you're going to make a living as a commercial writer. It's essential, too, to understand time limits. No matter how many ideas the universe rains down upon us, we have only a limited span to act on any of them. So choosing the best, most exciting, and most practical projects ends up defining your career.

So how do you gather ideas and choose which have the most potential? Have you ever been hounded by a totally impractical idea until you had no choice except to write it? (Been there, done that!) What were the results?