Taking inspiration from your surroundings is a common piece of advice for writers, but Ashley Schumacher takes it a step further by explaining the process and meaning of finding inspiration and brainstorming ideas.

Schumacher is a YA author who wrote “The Renaissance of Gwen Hataway,” “Amelia Unabridged” and “Full Flight.” Her newest book “In The Orbit of You”,” is set to release this March. All of her books are inspired from different moments in her personal life or moments found around the world.

The first step of effective brainstorming that Schumacher introduced is research. This can be done through search engines, not to copy from, but to draw inspiration from.

Another research aspect is to find personal favorites. Schumacher explained that people already have favorite hobbies, favorite items and favorite tropes. She encourages writers to add their own little spin to familiar stories. For example, there are hundreds of versions of Cinderella retellings, each one with a different approach.

Schumacher also highlights how every idea, even a crazy idea, can turn into an amazing story. Throughout the workshop she described different examples from movies to highlight her point. Strange character quirks can be used to help further the plot.

Another aspect that is important to consider while brainstorming is unique characters and character dynamics. Well-written characters can create interesting tropes to add complexity to the story.

Schumacher frequently writes a “bookish” character into her novels and adds conflicts inspired by her own life. In one of her novels, Schumacher also used animals as a metaphor of a “coping mechanism” to give the characters a quirk or an interest, and to add a twist. For instance, in “Amelia Unabridged,” Schumacher took inspiration from a documentary on whales, using whale imagery as a consistent symbol throughout the novel.

One idea to overcome writer’s block, is to put a character in an uncomfortable situation or keep a character from attaining their desires. This adds tension and excitement in the story, as well as fostering important character growth.

Schumacher emphasizes the importance of supporting each and every idea that the mind comes up with, and to not limit the brainstorming process.

Towards the end of the presentation, Schumacher gave the students a worksheet to brainstorm or doodle our ideas. She emphasized the point that each person has an idea, it is only a matter of harnessing the idea to craft a unique work.