How to come up with story ideas
A lot of writers get bogged down in the idea that they need a ‘high concept’ idea to start writing. Something so mind-blowingly original or interesting that it’s just begging to be written. Think Jurassic Park; dinosaurs are brought back to life and are used as attractions in an amusement park, and things go wrong.
I mean, who could resist?! This is the reason why this is a high-concept idea. It’s easy to pitch in a sentence, sums up the entirely of the story, and it’s immediately intriguing.
In reality though, this kind of idea very, very rarely happens. Most often, 98% (That’s some real math, no need to fact check!) of those books on your shelf were not high concept ideas, and instead they started with a spark. That spark needs to be fed until it’s a full-blown inferno, and that’s what we’re going to cover here. How to take that spark and make it into something more, something tangible, something real.
You do have something, it’s in there, I promise you! It’s just about learning how to work with the small pieces you do have and creating that complete picture.
So, how can you stoke that flame?
How do you get started? Here are some step-by step methods for grasping onto and fleshing out your ideas!
Set yourself aside a solid chunk of time to think. 2-3 hours, or even more, and dedicate this time to fleshing out your idea for your story. Grab a cuppa, turn your phone on silent, and sit your butt down! The reason why you want so much time set aside is because you don’t want to lose your creative flow. Once your muse turns up, you need to keep going until you have a solid foundation you can work off of in future.
Start general. Don’t immediately sit yourself down and try to come up with a ‘big’ idea, the full plot for your story. These are my characters, this is what happens in the beginning of my story, the middle, the end, these are the plot points…Nah, forget that! It won’t happen. Try starting from a simple place instead, like…
Think about the books you love reading. What genre are they? What do they have in common? Start jotting down 3-5 of your favourite book titles, and write down 3-5 things you loved about each of them. Have a look once you’re done and circle the things that these books have in common. Compelling characters? A fantastical setting? Stories that evoked the human experience?
Great! With that done, think about what kind of book do you want to write. Imagine, right now, you’re holding your very own book in your hands. What genre is it? What kind of story do you think it would be…? Chances are, the story you want to write will already be within the realms of what you already write, or what you enjoy reading. If you love romance novels, you’ll likely be attracted to the idea of writing a romance. If you love memoirs, you might want to write one of those. What we’re inspired by most in the world around us always finds ways to worm itself into our stories.
Find some inspiration. I know, I know. Easier said than done, right? Actually, not so much! Inspiration is all around us, and we all find inspiration in different wats. Images, poetry, music, nature etc. Take a moment and jot down some ideas on what you find inspires you. Stuck and can’t think of any? Go back to the above exercise we did. What do you love about your favourite books? Chances are, those themes inspire you!
Whatever you find inspires you, perhaps listening to music or flipping through photography books, start there. For me, looking at landscapes always triggers something creative in my mind. Sometimes I can picture a scene taking place in that setting, or a character that might reside there. See if you can make this happen for you. Whatever inspires you, seek it out, spend some time indulging in this with the goal of finding things about it you love, that intrigues you, and be curious. Let your mind wander, ask questions and see what pops up for you. Then you can try…Brainstorming (Write down anything you think of). This is called a stream of consciousness, in which you simply start writing down everything and anything that pops into your head. For me, I like to write lists, so I, in dot points, will write down everything that comes to mind. Character details, like what they look like, sound like. Describing a setting, a line of dialogue, a scene…it doesn’t matter what it is, you likely won’t use most of this, but write it down anyway and try not to censor it by thinking on any one thing too hard. Just write it down, resist the urge to fix, and get down everything that you possibly can onto the page related to this thing that inspires you and feeds into your curiosity.
Now, it’s at this point that usually something interesting starts to happen. Our brains like for things to make sense. We like completion and resolution, we like for things to be recognisable, so as you’re writing down all these little random things, you’ll find that you’ll start to connect things together.
For example, I may be looking at a landscape photograph of foggy moors. This brings to mind something eerie, almost supernatural, and I can imagine a character in a black cloak looking out over this scene. I start jotting all of this down. Foggy moors, supernatural, character in black cloak…and here, I start to try and make sense of this. Moors make me think of Scotland, and the image of these dark, foggy moors makes me think of something supernatural…what are some Scottish folktales with supernatural entities? I know that banshees are something, so I write down that. Banshees herald death. So this character in the cloak…maybe they’re hired to go and kill the banshee by the townsfolk haunted by this creature. See? You can see here, just from a few very simple, small details, I’m already starting to piece together what could be become a larger story.
Once you’ve gotten down everything that you possibly can and your brain is leaked dry of anything new, start to develop some solid plot points based on what you’ve written down. Who is the protagonist in your story, the main character? What do they want to achieve in this story? What kind of obstacles will they face and what is preventing them from getting what they want? What or who is the antagonist, or the antagonist force that’s getting in the way of your character? What happens if the main character doesn’t achieve their goal? What are the stakes? When and where does the story take place? I get it; this probably feels like a leap from the last step to here. But it’s all about asking yourself questions. What DON’T you know about this story, what do you need to find answers to, and what might those answers be?
You will likely have to really think about this stuff, but that’s okay. Writing is a large part thinking. This step is incredibly helpful though in helping you get a much more comprehensive view of your story. It will change over time, the more you learn about it, but right now you’re just trying to give yourself a road map to follow as your move forward through this process.
For example, I know that my main character is the person in the cloak, and he’s a monster hunter, hired to track down creatures of mythology and kill them. He is hired to kill this banshee who has been haunting a small, rural village for weeks. Once he encounters her though, he learns that she is not the monster he thought, and she has been attempting to warn the villagers of a terrible danger. The hunter is now thrust into a situation way over his head, in which he now must go up against this force far bigger than himself, all the while attempting to keep this strange and alluring banshee woman safe from those that would have her head—and his, if this all goes wrong.
See? This is something I’ve just come up with while sitting here typing this out, and this is just with 15 or so minutes brain storming. Imagine what you could come up with if you allowed yourself the time and space, and give yourself permission, to sit down and think about your writing and your stories. Go on; give it a try! See what magic you’re capable of making!
Drop a comment below on what gets you most inspired to write!
