Leap Into Something New

February 29th, the day that happens once every four calendar years. I've always wondered where the idea to use a leap year to balance time with the patterns of the sun came from. So I did what most writers do. I researched.

Good'ole Julius Ceasar came up with the idea over 2,000 years ago. But his idea was flawed. Applying a leap year to each year divisible by four lead to too many leap years. Duh. It was finally corrected approximately 1,500 years later, when the Georgian Calendar was introduced.

But JC was onto something. An idea, a way to take what was in existence and heighten it, make it more productive, appealing. Hmm... Isn't that what writers do?

How can storytellers make the leap from current ideas and ideals to new avenues and arenas?

• Setting: spice up an average setting with the unexpected. Maybe put a polar bear on the beach in Hawaii or set an igloo on the equator with no signs of melting. 
• Surprises: have a character do the unexpected - the exact opposite of what he/she is made of. What could the results be? Where could that take the story? What dimension could be added to make it unique. Combinations.
• Mix familiar histories from totally opposite cultures. I think this could give any Sci-Fi story flare.
• Personal experiences: Yes, we have similar experiences during those YA years. They are not all the same, though. The differences are in the guts, the threads that patched your life together differently from mine. Maybe take those and add a reaction you wished you'd had back then--even if that was just yesterday.
• Be brave. Be bold. Don't be afraid of any idea. Brainstorm with a friend.

How will you spend your EXTRA day of writing, this Leap Year? Any thoughts on leaping from stagnant ideas to fresh ones?