BARNSTORMING FOR NEW IDEAS
Pay attention- observe the world around you–people, places, things.
Always have a notebook or recorder handy—ideas come out of the blue, quickly and disappear just as quickly.
Get silly—humor is by definition creative. If stuck, try rewriting a scene as a comedy.
Keep an idea box or physical file. Keep anything that provokes an idea—this keeps you from forgetting ideas.
Do something else, preferably something physical away from your desk—something that occupies your conscious mind.
Be happy and positive—negativity inhibits creativity.
FRESH NOVEL IDEAS
From the editors of Writer’s Digest
Sometimes coming up with a new idea for a story is very difficult. Here are 10 little tricks to help your creativity along:
Try “X meets Y”—genre-blending is “in” now and often bringing two completely opposite concepts together might produce a strange but workable result. Often, the bigger the contrast, the more room for a distinctly novel story idea.
Roll the Dice—take risks on possible ideas that go into dark corners of society not previously explored. Gamble on discordancy.
Observe the Everyday World around You—really try to be aware of the million little quirks that surround your life and the people you meet. Try to invent stories that you think might revolve around these strange but common observances.
Flip the Script—take a time-worn story, even a classic masterpiece, and turn it on its head. What if the protagonist did something different? This could lead to a completely new story.
Expand the Quote—adopt an old adage or quotation and produce a story that either proves the idea or disproves it.
Fictionalize a Real-Life—write a story that is loosely based on the life of a real person. What if Adolph Hitler, who in real life painted postcards in Vienna, was accepted to art school?
Rip from the Headlines—pick up a newspaper from a different city. Just read some headlines but not the accompanying story. Many headlines when disconnected from the story can give you ideas to pursue. Let your imagination run wild.
Investigate Strange Facts—when you run across a strange fact or unusual anomaly, try to come up with a seemingly sensible explanation and write a story surrounding that.
Write a Response—sometimes previously-written stories are replete with minor characters or plot points that beg for further exploration, often leading to new work or related stories.
Explore the Library—in a genre not your own, select random books and open them to a page and seize upon the most compelling sentence. Then see if their ideas can be adapted to your own genre. Possibilities are almost endless.
JUMP-STARTING A STORY IDEA
WAYS TO FIND A STORY IDEA:
Make unlikely pairings—adjective/noun, talentless/surgeon, etc.
Make a cluster map—a central idea with different sub-ordinate ideas around it.
Keep a log of possible titles—stories may follow.
Combine ideas and genres.
Read constantly—may stimulate thoughts and ideas.
Listen to conversations overheard around you.
Non-literature art—might provoke ideas or emotions.
Watch for core ideas to expand into stories.