{"id":6582,"date":"2026-10-06T09:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T13:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T09:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T13:10:00","slug":"write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/","title":{"rendered":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write"},"content":{"rendered":"<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6582-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/218296520\/77a79a706bd2d80f8c4838b014dfbc82.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/218296520\/77a79a706bd2d80f8c4838b014dfbc82.mp3\">https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/218296520\/77a79a706bd2d80f8c4838b014dfbc82.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>For me, the most hectic\u2014and refreshing\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, <strong>\u201cThe heck with this. Let\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do I write.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finding the Idea You Have to Write<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Getting started is one of the hardest things a writer has to do.<\/p>\n<p>Where do you begin when you want to write the next great American novel? My first piece of advice is simple: <strong>take your expectations down.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t dream big. Dream as big as you want. But no great novel can come from you if you aren\u2019t committed to writing the novel in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>Writing is one of those endeavors where best intentions, wishes, and all the things you <em>would\u2019ve, should\u2019ve, could\u2019ve<\/em> written don\u2019t count for much. At some point, you have to show up and put words on paper. That\u2019s how you win the game\u2014or, more accurately, how you put yourself in the game.<\/p>\n<p>Before there are chapters, however, there is an idea.<\/p>\n<p>And an idea doesn\u2019t have to arrive fully formed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where Story Ideas Come From<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For me, book ideas tend to come in three ways: <strong>a person, a circumstance, or a fascination that won\u2019t let me go.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because I write historical fiction, I may happen upon an unusual fact or discover a person in history who immediately piques my interest. Something about that person catches hold of me, and I need to know more.<\/p>\n<p>That happened with <em>Queen of Exiles<\/em>. While researching and writing <em>Sister Mother Warrior<\/em>, I encountered the story of Marie-Louise Coidavid Christophe, wife of Henri Christophe. Christophe rose as a soldier in the Haitian Revolution to the liberator Dessalines\u2019s right hand man and then became the king of Haiti, which made Marie-Louise its queen. But what fascinated me was how this simple hotelier\u2019s daughter grew to handle herself on the world stage through building a kingdom in Haiti, then in exile arriving to Europe.<\/p>\n<p>I wanted to know her.<\/p>\n<p>Who was this woman? What happened to her? What did she experience? How did someone live through such extraordinary transformations?<\/p>\n<p>That curiosity became a story.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, though, it isn\u2019t a person. It\u2019s a <strong>circumstance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>My Lady Worthing Mysteries grew partly from my fascination with the complicated political and social world surrounding abolition, race, class, and freedom in Regency England. But another piece came from something much more personal: watching <em>Murder, She Wrote<\/em> with my mother. Those seemingly unrelated things could live together in my imagination\u2014an amateur sleuth stumbling across murders and a historical world filled with political intrigue\u2014catnip.<\/p>\n<p>Thus a circumstance became a playground for story.<\/p>\n<p>And sometimes an idea begins with nothing more complicated than <strong>something you can\u2019t stop thinking about<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>A question. An image. An experience. Something strange you read. Something that happened to you. Something you wish had happened. Something that makes you angry, delighted, curious, or confused.<\/p>\n<p>Pay attention to the thoughts that keep coming back.<\/p>\n<p>They may be trying to tell you something.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The StoryMetric\u2122 Idea Assessment: Start With the Bubble<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is why I created the <strong>StoryMetric\u2122 Idea Assessment process<\/strong>. That\u2019s a lot of fancy words for the way. Vanessa\u2019s brain works and how she teaches story craft.<\/p>\n<p>As an engineer, I love spreadsheets and forms. But I love love, magical forms that help build to something. So I built a bubble form where I throw ideas into them, play with those ideas, question them, and gradually refine them until I find the story I know I have to tell.<\/p>\n<p>At the beginning, I don\u2019t want perfection. I want <strong>possibility<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The Idea Bubble is deliberately simple. Give yourself ten minutes and fill the bubbles. One way to get moving is to use a basic story pattern:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Subject + Verb + Object + Conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A girl wants to become an astronaut, but she\u2019s afraid of heights.<\/p>\n<p>Is that your novel? Maybe. Maybe not.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not the point.<\/p>\n<p>The point is that you\u2019ve made something where nothing existed before.<\/p>\n<p>Fill another bubble. And another.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t edit yourself, not yet. Don\u2019t decide whether an idea is literary enough, commercial enough, original enough, or important enough. Generate first. Assessment comes later.<\/p>\n<p>Then take the ideas that create a spark and begin asking questions.<\/p>\n<p>What is the situation or circumstance?<\/p>\n<p>What fascinates me about it?<\/p>\n<p>What question keeps returning?<\/p>\n<p>What connection do I have to this idea\u2014something I\u2019ve lived, witnessed, inherited, studied, or wondered about?<\/p>\n<p>Now we\u2019re moving from <strong>having an idea<\/strong> to discovering whether there might be a <strong>story<\/strong> inside it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Give Yourself Permission to Want What You Want<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The next question is one writers sometimes don\u2019t want to answer:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why do I want to write this?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Maybe you\u2019ve never heard of this subject before and you\u2019re fascinated.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe you want to explore something you don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe there\u2019s something you want to say that might encourage another person.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe this is personal.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe you simply want to write.<\/p>\n<p>Or let\u2019s get mercenary: <strong>maybe you think the idea will sell.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s allowed, too.<\/p>\n<p>None of these motivations is inherently wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Some writing may be primarily for you. Some may be intended for a particular community of readers. Some may be a gift you want to put into the world. Some may be unabashedly commercial. Some may begin as one of these and become another.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m Vanessa Riley, and I\u2019m giving you permission to write about anything you absolutely want.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t know how far an idea will reach when you\u2019re standing at the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>And there are no stupid ideas.<\/p>\n<p>There are no trivial ideas.<\/p>\n<p>If you look at an idea and think, <em>That\u2019s stupid<\/em>, my response is that you may simply not have developed it enough yet.<\/p>\n<p>Question it before you discard it.<\/p>\n<p>Turn it around. Make it more specific. Find the conflict. Change the circumstances. Ask what fascinates you about it. Ask why it keeps coming back.<\/p>\n<p>The important thing at this stage is clarity\u2014not justification.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Kind of Story Might This Be<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once an idea survives that first examination, I start asking another question:<\/p>\n<p><strong>What kind of story could this become?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Literary Fiction? Historical Fiction? Romance? Love Story? Mystery? Thriller? Horror? Commercial Fiction? Memoir? Biographical Fiction? Science Fiction? Space Opera? Fantasy? Saga? Women\u2019s Fiction?<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe your answer is:<\/p>\n<p><strong>I don\u2019t know yet.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a perfectly legitimate answer.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re still in a nebulous phase. You aren\u2019t signing a contract with a genre. You\u2019re forming a hypothesis.<\/p>\n<p>But having some idea of where you\u2019re going can begin to tell you what you need to learn.<\/p>\n<p>Genre starts shaping your research. It gives you craft questions. It helps you identify the books you should be reading. It begins to reveal what kind of experience a future reader might expect.<\/p>\n<p>So choose a direction without treating it as a permanent label.<\/p>\n<p>Then test it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Genre Is Also a Promise<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is where the I shift from <strong>What do I want to write?<\/strong> to <strong>What experience am I preparing to give a reader?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Genre creates expectations.<\/p>\n<p>A reader who picks up a Mystery has expectations that differ from someone choosing a Romance. A reader selecting Horror is looking for a different emotional experience from a reader choosing Women\u2019s Fiction. Those genres may overlap. Writers may bend conventions. Books may be hybrids.<\/p>\n<p>But readers still bring expectations with them.<\/p>\n<p>That isn\u2019t a limitation. It\u2019s information.<\/p>\n<p>Think about pacing. Character. Conflict. Worldbuilding. Emotional experience. Plot and structure. Ending and resolution. Tone. And of course Genre conventions.<\/p>\n<p>What does a reader who loves this kind of story anticipate in each of those areas?<\/p>\n<p>The fun of writing is knowing the rules and carefully breaking them. You never blindly obey every convention, but you should fulfill expectations, maybe bend them, combine them, delay them, and sometimes give the unexpected.<\/p>\n<p>But you should know the rules and expectations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Find Your Story Neighbors<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The next question I ask is:<\/p>\n<p><strong>What stories live near my story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I call these <strong>Story Neighbors<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>A good writer is a reader.<\/p>\n<p>Think about the books you love and the books that resemble some aspect of the story you\u2019re considering. A Story Neighbor doesn\u2019t have to contain your exact plot. It may share your genre, audience, premise, setting, character type, emotional experience, tone, structure, or reader promise.<\/p>\n<p>Then go back and read those books like a writer.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t merely ask whether you\u2019re enjoying them.<\/p>\n<p>Study them. I had a lovely conversation with an author yesterday about the lineal movements within Fire Sword and Sea. Those in between times of the twilight acts really stuck with her and she wanted to know why I chose those moments to open Jacquotte Delahaye\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s inside baseball talk for writers. You should be looking at how quickly the story moves? How are the characters introduced and developed? What creates conflict? How much worldbuilding does the author provide? What emotional experience does the book deliver? How is the plot structured? What happens at the ending? What\u2019s the tone? Which genre conventions appear again and again?<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly:<\/p>\n<p><strong>What might a reader of that book expect when they pick up mine?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re learning the neighborhood before you build your house.<\/p>\n<p><strong>An Idea Doesn\u2019t Have to Become a Book<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Shocking but true. This may be the most freeing part of the entire process.<\/p>\n<p>After you\u2019ve bubbled and questioned and researched and read and considered genre and reader expectations, you\u2019re allowed to decide:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Not this one. Not now.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My process isn\u2019t designed to force every idea into becoming a novel.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s designed to help to help me write that next important book. That means a lot of ideas go into a file cabinet or a waste can.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes when I go through this process ideas bubble to the top and I have enough direction to begin the story.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes I need more research before I decide a bubble\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n<p>Sometime the bubble pops under its own weight. Because there\u2019s just not enough there.<\/p>\n<p>All of this deciding is part of the progress.<\/p>\n<p>Never give up too quickly, but don\u2019t waste time on an idea that\u2019s going no where or is not the right time.<\/p>\n<p>Remember the next great American novel doesn\u2019t begin as the next great American novel.<\/p>\n<p>It begins with somebody showing up.<\/p>\n<p>It begins with curiosity.<\/p>\n<p>It begins with a bubble.<\/p>\n<p>It begins with words on a page.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s how you put yourself in the game.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve just walked you through my <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/product\/story-idea-storymetricassessment\/\">STORYMETRIC\u2122 Story Starter \/ idea assessment<\/a> process. Because you guys are my audience, I\u2019m giving you a link to download the free PDF for this concept. It\u2019s a fillable PDF. It\u2019s printable and it will help you decide on what\u2019s your next great American novel will be.<\/p>\n<p>Through this last quarter of 2026, I\u2019m going to be teaching, so buckle up, subscribe, stay tuned, and let\u2019s write together.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s books include:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Romance \u2014 <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2644\/9781250326263\"><strong>Last First Kiss<\/strong><\/a><strong> by Julian Winters:<\/strong> An event planner is forced back into the orbit of Jamie, the person who broke his heart, giving the two a second chance at both love and self-discovery while planning a high-profile wedding.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Horror \u2014 <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2644\/9781668075142\"><strong>Mazywood<\/strong><\/a><strong> by Tananarive Due:<\/strong> Decades after a celebrated Black actress\u2019s death, her filmmaker grandson visits her secluded California home and confronts the monstrous legacy of the choices she made to survive old Hollywood.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Women\u2019s\/Commercial Fiction \u2014 <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2644\/9781662537998\"><strong>The Me I Used to Be<\/strong><\/a><strong> by Kristan Higgins:<\/strong> Twenty-five years after a tragedy shattered their friendship, four former best friends reunite for their high school reunion and confront the secrets, regrets, and unexpected lives that have shaped who they\u2019ve become.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Historical Fiction \u2014 <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/2644\/9780063271043\"><strong>Fire Sword and Sea<\/strong><\/a><strong> by Vanessa Riley:<\/strong> In the seventeenth-century Caribbean, Jacquotte Delahaye defies the limits placed on women to become a pirate captain and ultimately turns from the pursuit of riches toward a fight for freedom and liberation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And Loyalty <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/loyaltybookstores.com\/book\/9780063271043\"><strong>Books<\/strong><\/a><strong> is my Indie of the week. Check them out for these and my books.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can also try one of my partners in the fight<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\"><strong>, bookstores<\/strong><\/a><strong> large and small, who are in the trenches with me.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can find my notes on Substack or on my website, <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanessariley.com\/\"><strong>VanessaRiley.com<\/strong><\/a><strong>, under the podcast link in the About tab.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hey. Let\u2019s keep rising and creating together. I need you. That\u2019s the truth. Like, share, subscribe, and stay connected to <\/strong><strong><em>Write of Passage<\/em><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you for being here.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I want you to come again. This is Vanessa Riley.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is a public episode. If you&#8217;d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=CTA_2\">vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"vanes-2553036062\" class=\"vanes-after-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 3px;margin-right: 3px;margin-bottom: 3px;margin-left: 3px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?fit=1080%2C1350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Listen to the Write of Passage Weekly Podcast\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=240%2C300&ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=819%2C1024&ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=768%2C960&ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"540\" height=\"675\"   \/><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For me, the most hectic\u2014and refreshing\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, \u201cThe heck with this. Let\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[81,793,9,620,756,694],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-stories","category-politics","category-recommended-reading","category-syndication","category-technology","category-tv-and-film"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.2.1 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For me, the most hectic\u2014and refreshing\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, \u201cThe heck with this. Let\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\"\/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 5.0.2.1\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vanessa Riley&#039;s Research Blog and Resource Center - Research, Resources, &amp; Book Store\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write - Vanessa Riley&#039;s Research Blog and Resource Center\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For me, the most hectic\u2014and refreshing\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, \u201cThe heck with this. Let\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-06T13:10:00+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-06T13:10:00+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VanessaRileyAuthor\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write - Vanessa Riley&#039;s Research Blog and Resource Center\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"For me, the most hectic\u2014and refreshing\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, \u201cThe heck with this. Let\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do\" \/>\n\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"aioseo-schema\">\n\t\t\t{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BlogPosting\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#blogposting\",\"name\":\"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write - Vanessa Riley's Research Blog and Resource Center\",\"headline\":\"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/#author\"},\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/f88f158ef93ae10e288ed457623e01f2.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-06T09:10:00-04:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-06T09:10:00-04:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#webpage\"},\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#webpage\"},\"articleSection\":\"Podcast - Write of Passage, Politics, Recommended Reading, Syndication, Technology, TV and Film\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#breadcrumblist\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/recommended-reading\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Recommended Reading\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/recommended-reading\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Recommended Reading\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/recommended-reading\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write\",\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/recommended-reading\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Recommended Reading\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Vanessa Riley's Regency Reflections\",\"description\":\"Research, Resources, & Book Store\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/VanessaRileyAuthor\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/vanessarileyauthor\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@vanessarileyauthor\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@FictionSagaQueen\",\"https:\\\/\\\/bsky.app\\\/profile\\\/vanessariley.bsky.social\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/#author\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#authorImage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e182ebb59a3afb6736cc00df1fa63da8cf9fc06b3fb933948793ca7012d26fe3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"width\":96,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"admin\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/\",\"name\":\"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write - Vanessa Riley's Research Blog and Resource Center\",\"description\":\"For me, the most hectic\\u2014and refreshing\\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, \\u201cThe heck with this. Let\\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#breadcrumblist\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/#author\"},\"creator\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/#author\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/f88f158ef93ae10e288ed457623e01f2.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#mainImage\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/06\\\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\\\/#mainImage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-06T09:10:00-04:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-06T09:10:00-04:00\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Vanessa Riley's Regency Reflections\",\"description\":\"Research, Resources, & Book Store\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vanessariley.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"}}]}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO -->\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write - Vanessa Riley's Research Blog and Resource Center","description":"For me, the most hectic\u2014and refreshing\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, \u201cThe heck with this. Let\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do","canonical_url":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":""},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#blogposting","name":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write - Vanessa Riley's Research Blog and Resource Center","headline":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/#author"},"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f88f158ef93ae10e288ed457623e01f2.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","width":1280,"height":720},"datePublished":"2026-10-06T09:10:00-04:00","dateModified":"2026-10-06T09:10:00-04:00","inLanguage":"en-US","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#webpage"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#webpage"},"articleSection":"Podcast - Write of Passage, Politics, Recommended Reading, Syndication, Technology, TV and Film"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/#listItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/category\/recommended-reading\/#listItem","name":"Recommended Reading"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/category\/recommended-reading\/#listItem","position":2,"name":"Recommended Reading","item":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/category\/recommended-reading\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#listItem","name":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write"},"previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/#listItem","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#listItem","position":3,"name":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write","previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/category\/recommended-reading\/#listItem","name":"Recommended Reading"}}]},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Vanessa Riley's Regency Reflections","description":"Research, Resources, & Book Store","url":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VanessaRileyAuthor","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vanessarileyauthor\/","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@vanessarileyauthor","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@FictionSagaQueen","https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/vanessariley.bsky.social"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/#author","url":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#authorImage","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e182ebb59a3afb6736cc00df1fa63da8cf9fc06b3fb933948793ca7012d26fe3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","width":96,"height":96,"caption":"admin"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/","name":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write - Vanessa Riley's Research Blog and Resource Center","description":"For me, the most hectic\u2014and refreshing\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, \u201cThe heck with this. Let\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do","inLanguage":"en-US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#breadcrumblist"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/#author"},"creator":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/#author"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f88f158ef93ae10e288ed457623e01f2.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#mainImage","width":1280,"height":720},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/#mainImage"},"datePublished":"2026-10-06T09:10:00-04:00","dateModified":"2026-10-06T09:10:00-04:00"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/","name":"Vanessa Riley's Regency Reflections","description":"Research, Resources, & Book Store","inLanguage":"en-US","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/#organization"}}]},"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"Vanessa Riley's Research Blog and Resource Center - Research, Resources, &amp; Book Store","og:type":"article","og:title":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write - Vanessa Riley's Research Blog and Resource Center","og:description":"For me, the most hectic\u2014and refreshing\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, \u201cThe heck with this. Let\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do","og:url":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/","article:published_time":"2026-10-06T13:10:00+00:00","article:modified_time":"2026-10-06T13:10:00+00:00","article:publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VanessaRileyAuthor","twitter:card":"summary_large_image","twitter:title":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write - Vanessa Riley's Research Blog and Resource Center","twitter:description":"For me, the most hectic\u2014and refreshing\u2014moment is when one book is finished and turned in. My mind doesn\u2019t like to be idle, so I find things to do. I read. I explore. I bake. And eventually, I reach that moment when my brain says, \u201cThe heck with this. Let\u2019s write. The question becomes, what do"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"6582","title":null,"description":null,"keywords":null,"keyphrases":null,"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"default","og_image_type":"default","og_image_url":null,"og_image_width":null,"og_image_height":null,"og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":null,"og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":null,"twitter_use_og":false,"twitter_card":"default","twitter_image_type":"default","twitter_image_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[]},"schema_type":"default","schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":null,"robots_max_videopreview":null,"robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":null,"local_seo":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"ai":null,"created":"2026-10-06 14:18:54","updated":"2026-10-06 14:18:54","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null,"focus_keyword":null,"additional_keywords":null,"truseo_locale":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/category\/recommended-reading\/\" title=\"Recommended Reading\">Recommended Reading<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tWrite of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/"},{"label":"Recommended Reading","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/category\/recommended-reading\/"},{"label":"Write of Passage: Finding the Idea You Have to Write","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/06\/write-of-passage-finding-the-idea-you-have-to-write\/"}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f88f158ef93ae10e288ed457623e01f2.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}