What is a writer without an idea for a story?
Probably about as useless as a driver without a car or a football player without the ball.
Unfortunately, it’s much easier to say, “I want to become a writer” than to actually do it.
But that needs to be a thing of the past. This is to help you overcome feeling useless and get you started.
How to get ideas for a story
Do you often sit at your desk, desperate for an idea that never seems to come?
Words, sentences, and paragraphs, are they all eluding you?
I remember the struggling times like it was yesterday.
The constant battle with an empty mind and eager finger.
It was the worst time of a writer.
Because what do you do when story ideas just won’t come?
Do you accept the loss and just move on? Do you beat yourself down until you can milk something out?
I understand it feels like a loss, but there are ways around it.
Ways that don’t require you to beat yourself down or accept anything, except the best.
But before we get too deep into it, I have to be honest: this has never really been my problem.
I have multiple ideas lying in the vault waiting for me to finish and I could generate at least 5 new ones.
This is not to brag, but to let you know that even though it’s tough now, it won’t last forever.
I understand it might not seem like it, but hopefully, I can inspire you to at least give them a try.
Because they are dead simple, and I can guarantee, with a bit of practice, the days of the dry streak will forever be over.
But first, you need to wasting your time on brainstorming for ideas.
Why I don’t believe in brainstorming for story ideas
“Just sit down and brainstorm some ideas.”
That’s the advice that’s blasted through our ears whenever we ask how to come up with ideas.
And it’s bullshit.
I mean, if you struggle to come up with ideas, how is opening a document going to help you in anyway?
Sure, you might imagine a beautiful network of ideas connected with bright and colorful lines, but is that going to help you in any way when the network is empty? Probably not.
Will it waste your time if you’re already at the bottom? Absolutely.
The only success I ever had with brainstorming was wasting my time staring at a document with “idea” in the middle.
“But if brainstorming isn’t the solution, what can you do instead?“
Instead, I use an exercise like thought dumping – An exercise, I named myself, which in all its simpleness is just dumping your thoughts onto a piece of paper.
“But Jack, isn’t that the same as brainstorming?”
No.
With brainstorming, you’re just jotting down points.
With thought dumping you’re writing out your thoughts.
One gets you nowhere and the other require you to be active.
That’s the clear difference.
By writing out a complete thought instead of just a note, you’re letting your mind work on the ideas. This means you not only get to exercise your writing, but you also get to dig up those well-hidden ideas and find some inspiration for your writing.
Finding inspiration for writing
If brainstorming worked would you still be asking the questions?
Probably not.
And that’s why to find inspiration for your writing you need get out.
You need to get out and experience life.
I remember a sunny day. I walked down by the harbor, listening to the seagulls flying over the water. There were container ships moving in both directions.
“The ships. The harbor. This could be a great story idea, but how would I do it?” I thought as I looked around. Everything looked old. Like it belonged to a different time.
“Different time? That’s it,” the realization hit me. “I’ll write a story based on a different time.”
Later that day, I researched Sicily because I wanted to go on a vacation and a few days later, I started watching Band of Brothers.
It was like a chain of events that created the initial idea for my book, Italia.
It was never about war or anything. I just knew I wanted to write about a pair of siblings living in an exotic place and suddenly, everything fell into place because of these events.
And I don’t think I would have reached this point, if I had just stared at piece of paper with the words “novel ideas” in the middle.
In fact, I probably would have gone mad and therefore, I encourage you to try it.
It might not be anything crazy, but even the smallest experience, question or thought can spark the inspiration you to need to find the next idea for your story.
But if you’ve gotten a massive idea and are struggling to turn it into a manuscript you like, then don’t worry. I have a post that’ll show you how to overcome writer’s block.
Your mind is constantly generating plot ideas
This is not just for the people suffering with anxiety.
You have decided to become a writer – would I be wrong if I assumed it’s because you think there’s something special creating interesting stories?
That’s personally how I feel.
I have always known I wanted to write, but it’s only in the last 4 months of editing that it truly has become a part of me. And it’s through these 4 months I have realized that our minds are endlessly generating plot ideas for our novels.
Most of the time we are just too caught up in something else that we don’t see it.
Have you ever tried to be out for a walk with some friends or by yourself and then suddenly:
“Shit what if that building exploded and a group of teenagers ran out with a body amongst them.”
Never had that crazy thought?
It’s what I mean. Your mind holds the answers you need to generate stories. It just gets shy when you put it on the spot.
It’s like putting the introverted kid in front of 500 people – They’ll freeze.
But put them in their comfort zone, and suddenly you’ll be like: “Shit Darian knows his stuff.”
Now, if for some reason you don’t like the stories it comes up with, then it might be useful to use a writing exercise.
And that’s cool.
As long as it’s not brainstorming, then you’re well on your way.
Use writing exercises to get ideas for a story
Have we agreed on the fact that brainstorming is not good?
Perfect.
From here, it shouldn’t be part of your exercise stack, not even if shit hits the fan. Especially not if shit hits the fan.
If you’re struggling to get ideas for a story, it’s way more powerful and useful to use an active tool, like thought dumping, that lets you actively using your brain by processing and building the thought.
“How exactly does it work?”
Quite simple.
You open up a blank document.
As the cursor is blinking, you take a deep breath and then it’s go time.
You let your thought run down the face of the page.
Every last single one of them.
It doesn’t need to be pretty or make sense. It just needs to be words that fit together.
“Why does this work?”
The idea is that because you’re writing every thought down, you’ll process them all. This means that you give your mind the opportunity to develop them as you write.
The task is not to write a single idea into a full story.
It’s to explore the possibilities inside your mind and make yourself aware of them. Because once you have four-five ideas, you’ll slowly realize how they warp together and turn into something useful.
And if that takes 15 or 45 minutes, it all depends on how much time you want to use.
Once you have arrived at a few ideas, I recommend that you walk with them for a day and ask yourself: Is it an idea that you like for a starting point?
If not, then, onto the next idea in the document.
If yes, then you have something to work.
And the rest? They’ll go straight to the vault.
How I explored genres to get ideas for my story
Let me put a scenario up.
What do you do if you have an idea for a story, but you aren’t sure if it’s something you want to write?
Are you going to leave it alone or are you going to make the jump and actually, do it?
Wanna know what I think?
I would do it.
For one simple reason: As an aspiring writer, it’s much better to get out there and gain as much experience as possible.
This comes from writing plenty of ideas.
The good and the bad.
They all need to pass through your fingers before you can truly put them into a category.
Why?
Two reasons:
- Practice
- Filling up your vault.
And as a little bonus, you might even find a hidden jewel that you can use for you next story.
The point is just, a written word is never a lost word. Even if you don’t finish a draft first time around, you can always put it in the vault and save it for later.
It’s a no-lose situation that’ll only make you better.
Personally, I have about five drafts, ranging from 25-42,000 words, laying around. Some I thought would hit the end goal, but didn’t. Some I thought wouldn’t, but they surprised me.
It might seem tough in the beginning, but once you get started on that idea, you’ll thank yourself for it. It’s was got me started with my italia draft and I’m currently 130,000 words in and having the time of my life.
And I’m pretty sure you could too.
Story ideas for writers comes in many forms
Ideas for your story usually come from many different directions.
It’s the constant mixing of the questions and thoughts that day after day fill your mind.
Either from going out in the wild, experiencing life, or by experimenting with your thoughts, they’ll all eventually help you find ideas for a story
Personally, I use a short exercise like thought dumping to actively help me pull my thoughts forward and build them in as little as 15 minutes.
But if you don’t feel like letting your thoughts roam freely for that long, then try to experiment with new stuff.
Whatever it is, just remember: there are a lot more ideas in your mind than you can write in a single session.
That’s a wrap for today.
What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to generating ideas? Do you feel inspired to get ideas for a story and feel like it’s actually possible now? Share your story in the comments or send me a mail – I’m here to help.
Until next time – Hope you have a productive and creative day.
Your writing buddy,
Jack