I suspect some of my own ideas may be zooming around without insurance, if not actually under the influence.

fg: Ha! I bet my parents would’ve liked to use our tiny bathroom to confine us, too… except then they’d have had to, er, borrow the neighbors’ facilities for “real” reasons.

Jules: I think that’s called something like the “portfolio edition.”

I mentioned Edward Gorey above. I’ve got a book of Gorey prints-as-posters! (And a signed/framed print, from The Gashlycrumb Tinies, of “P is for Prue… trampled flat in a brawl.”

btw, yes I was responding to the thought of it as a general question, observant questions are very welcome critical or no.

recaptcha: captive would

Love your second graf. Suggests a story: Writer Struck by Hit-and-Run Idea:

“I don’t know what happened, to tell you the truth,” said JES, ageless, of Running After My Hat. “I was just standing there minding my own business and wham. Son of a bitch like to broke my neck.”

No charges have been filed.

Where do I get my ideas? I don’t get ideas. They get me.

fg: Funny thing is, I seldom get irritated when someone asks me where I got a specific idea. Some stories about the sources of specific ideas can be pretty entertaining, illuminating, and so on. But the general question… As you say: grrr. It’s almost like they’re hoping I’ll give them a demonstration: Here, let me show you — you turn this crank here, that’s right, now drop a coin in my ear, good… wait… something’s happening… HERE IT COMES–

I’m with you on not being bored. My mother tells me she used to get frustrated, trying to punish me by sending me to my room — it was no punishment at all, ’cause I always found stuff to do. Heh.

Misssy: Okay, I’ll bite — tell me about your book! Especially: where’d you get the idea for it?

[All: I started with the "Where do you get your ideas?" thing as just a lead-in to what I thought the post was really gonna be about. Little did I know... Ha!]

“Oh, I just steal them from other people”

or

“Stalking is an underrated pastime. More writers should try it.”

But really I would be happy just to have anyone ask me ANYTHING about my book.

OK, so what is my problem. Why does it make me feel a bit cross?

I think its because I find the question lazy. (Its similar to people making statements about being bored. “I’m bored”. Heavens!) Have these questioners lived? Do they not imagine, wonder and when bored (it does happen) fight back the feeling with an enquiring mind.
Sorry but if someone asked me “Where do you get your ideas from?” I would be very polite, kindly even but I would be thinking inside, HAVE YOU NOT LIVED!

The other problem with this question is that it smacks of complete misunderstanding of ideas. Like they grow on trees and are constantly available. Most creative people I have known well enough to know have had ups and down with ideas as with everything.

Finally if the person asking has actually taken some interest in ones work/writing surely they should have some idea themselves of where you are coming from? Surely!

Sorry, to sound hard line (I hope not arrogant). I should say that my context for this comment is things like my grandmother telling me as a child… “Bored people are boring.” And that was that. I was expected to go off and employ my brain myself if need be.

PS, I was once given a small square book calling itself a book of ideas or similar. It was thick with glossy photos of things, only photos – the moon, shiny shoes, ice cream cones. I didn’t really know what do do with it so it spent ten years in the downstairs loo. Finally I sold it for 50p at a car boot sale – a very satisfactory outcome I thought. I didn’t sell it before I had erased the birthday greeting to me in the front. For some reason I felt I might be dammed by association.