The most commonly asked questions of writers is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And they nearly all answer the same thing: "from everywhere".

For my educational books, the ideas come from thing I find interesting and want to convey to students. Many topics in these books arose from questions students asked in class and discussions. The livelier the discussion, the more certain I was that this topic should be in the book.

So your first test of your idea is the dinner table. And the classroom. And anywhere people talk.

For my novel, Avenging Janie, the theme also arose out of discussions with students. They kept telling me that people would have to be stupid to fall for the tricks of the psychics and gurus claiming absurd powers for crystals or mysterious rituals. I do not believe it is stupidity at all. I believe that some people are extremely trusting. They are therefore vulnerable. I know. I am one of them. Call me gullible, if you like. It is just the way I am. I was writing about an exploitative human behaviour I believe is the cause of much misery. I wrote about something which makes me angry. Your emotions are a guide to what you should write about and where to get your ideas.

If you react to something strongly then that is a good guide to what you should write about. If others react as well - and differently - then it is an even better idea.

The discussions on what people believe, and my total belief in the science I was teaching, led me to write The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal. The scientific explanations for claims of the paranormal caused so much discussion. Those which generated the most made it into the book.

I was an arachnophobe. It got to the stage it was ruining my life. So I took action. I started studying spiders. I overdid the cure. I became addicted to them. Seeing Allen & Unwin's narrative natural history series in bookshops, I decided I really wanted to write Spider: from arachnophobia to obsession into that series and convert the entire world to loving spiders. I dream big!

They liked my proposal, but wanted someone to write Crocodile: evolution's greatest survivor. Would I do it first? Of course! I am fascinated by all animals and crocodiles are creatures that are talked about constantly. Crocodile is now published and, at the time of writing this unit, Spider is well on its way. By wearing spider jewellery, I can guarantee that everyone I meet will tell me their spider story. And I enjoy hearing every one - it helps me know exactly what interests people about spiders.

If other people can't help but talk to you about your topic, then you have a topic worth writing about.
Spend the next few days noting everything people talk about. Analyse it. What particularly got your attention? What was the most animated conversation you were part of? That is the source of your ideas.

And then you take that idea and run with it. Make it your own. Create from it the book that no-one else can - because the one thing no-one else can ever be is you. You can take that idea and write it as non-fiction, or fantasy, or science fiction, or crime or a dramatic novel. You can use it for poetry or a verse novel. Or maybe you are an artist, and the idea becomes the theme for an art book.

Choose your topic. Write a one page outline describing your hypothetical book.

From this idea you will imagine the creation of your hypothetical book. You won't write the whole book. This is not a writing unit nor do you have a year or two to complete it. Even if you have no interest in becoming an author, it is worth thinking through an idea this way to understand the process. Maybe you want to be an editor. Or work in some other area of publishing. Or own a bookshop. In all cases, you still need to understand the process from the perspective of an author.

In this unit, you will look at the entire process from the idea to the bookshop. You will imagine how this process would pan out for your book. You will get a glimpse of the reality of an author's life.

Choose your topic well! Make it something that interests you - for fiction or non-fiction - because you are going to be thinking about it a lot as you complete the unit.