Maybe you’re a reader who wonders how on earth a writer gets so many different ideas for their stories or perhaps you’re a fellow writer looking for tips on how to brainstorm story ideas. If you ask an author, most of the time you get the answer to this question is “I don’t know! They just come.” While story ideas do seemingly pop out of nowhere sometimes, there are also some practical things you can do to jog story ideas. Here is a list of some ways I get ideas for stories (this is always a little or a lot different for every writer so take my methods with a grain of salt).

Ways to Brainstorm

1. Be bored.

This is some of the best advice I’ve gotten for brainstorming. It’s so easy not to be bored now days with social media, TV shows, and games just a few swipes and a click away. So maybe set down your phone or book *gasps* and do nothing. You heard me. Go and stare at that wall! Or if you can, look out the window and just think. Maybe process what happened that day or mull over the last movie you watched because you could not believe that ending. Most of the time, letting your mind wander is the flit and steel of sparking a story idea.

2. Take a walk or shower.

Walks have always been great to clear my head, but I cannot tell you how many shower ideas I have had whether that be whole plots for short stories or a discovering an important facet of a character’s story arc. Taking a walk or shower allows your mind to clear and wander and it is sometimes a little more relaxing or fun than staring at a wall 😉

3. Listen to music.

Listen to music that you love. Music that makes your heart warm with pleasure or thrum with excitement. Oftentimes, music sparks a lot of story ideas for me. The music starts and my mind starts to wander and in my mind, a thread of a story starts to play in my head. This doesn’t work for all writers, but it is one of my favorite methods! The theatre kid in me also loves it lol.

4. Ask “What if…?”

What if your pet could time travel? What if (gosh I’m horrible at coming up with cool ones on the spot lol) everyone in the world had superpowers? What if all superheroes were immortal? Okay, you get the picture. Make a list of crazy what if questions that pop into your head. It can be anything. That list never has to see the light of day, but maybe one idea is kinda interesting, so you run with it. For example, let’s run with that last what if question. What if a boy’s uncle had superpowers and he died and had to pass them onto the boy, BUT the boy doesn’t want immortality because his promised his father? etc. It can be in any genre of course, but the main reason to write out this list is to get your creative gears moving!

5. Make a list of stories you love

Reading great stories is another good way to spark story ideas. No, I am not approving plagiarism (though if you want to create a cool fan fiction no one is stopping you 😉 ), but authors have inspired authors for generations. The Wingfeather Saga was inspired by the works of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Most of the Studio Ghibli films were based off of books (Howls Moving Castle, How do You Live?, etc.). Heck, you’ve seen how many retellings of classic fairytales, myths, and legends have and still hit the bookshelves every year. Think about your favorite books. Now, make a list of things you liked about the book. Maybe start with something more ambiguous like “the first chapter was great!” Then go into more detail on how you liked the first chapter. For instance, “I loved how deeply connected I felt to the main character from the first few sentences. Also, the magic system was super cool!” Do this with a few more books you love. Now, what if you mashed up that quirky side character from that romance novel and gave that character magic? What would happen then? Well, now it’s up to you to find out. Not all of your mashups will work, but these lists will give you a great idea of the kinds of stories you love and what’s more fun then writing your favorite kinds of stories to read?

Conclusion

I profess to be no professional, but I still hope you found these tips helpful for your writing journey! If I missed any, make sure to comment them below and follow along my blog and newsletter for more writing tips.