Since I’ve written all of my life, finding story ideas was something I just did without a thought.
In 2001 I attended my first writer’s conference with excitement and nervousness. How much could I learn in two days? Would I leave the conference with enough wisdom to become a published writer?
I was shocked when one of the presenters began talking about where story ideas came from. I never knew it was an issue that needed to be discussed. This lady proceeded to share how many writers are asked by non-writers where we get our ideas from. She finished with some quirky ideas writers came up with to answer this question. One idea she shared was that writers pay fairies to mail them story ideas in plain, unidentified boxes. They were fun answers yet did not explain where our story ideas really come from.
The real answer for finding a good story idea is to ask ‘what if’. This is true for all fiction, from flash fiction to epic novels. As a normal person living my life from day to day I always ask, ‘what if’.
An example is once when my husband and I were hiking in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains on a beautiful summer day. We came to a bend in the trail and I wanted to sit and soak in the warmth and beauty. He wanted to hike around the next bend. Let me add here that there was no cell-phone service in that area. He continued hiking and I sat on a log enjoying the serenity. Then the writer part of my brain spoke up and asked ‘what if’. “What if a cougar came down the path my husband had just walked up?” “What if, one of the men in the boat far below me shot the other man?” Neither of those things happened. I had a great time and came home with more story ideas.
Several weeks ago I shared that I would be working with foster children again. A friend, David Hoof, sent me a ‘what if’.“What if a foster child with a troubled past was adopted and the family moved out of the area and the child had a rare condition that was unknown and undiagnosed.”
I am already writing this story in my mind.
Thanks, David.
In 2001 I attended my first writer’s conference with excitement and nervousness. How much could I learn in two days? Would I leave the conference with enough wisdom to become a published writer?
I was shocked when one of the presenters began talking about where story ideas came from. I never knew it was an issue that needed to be discussed. This lady proceeded to share how many writers are asked by non-writers where we get our ideas from. She finished with some quirky ideas writers came up with to answer this question. One idea she shared was that writers pay fairies to mail them story ideas in plain, unidentified boxes. They were fun answers yet did not explain where our story ideas really come from.
The real answer for finding a good story idea is to ask ‘what if’. This is true for all fiction, from flash fiction to epic novels. As a normal person living my life from day to day I always ask, ‘what if’.
An example is once when my husband and I were hiking in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains on a beautiful summer day. We came to a bend in the trail and I wanted to sit and soak in the warmth and beauty. He wanted to hike around the next bend. Let me add here that there was no cell-phone service in that area. He continued hiking and I sat on a log enjoying the serenity. Then the writer part of my brain spoke up and asked ‘what if’. “What if a cougar came down the path my husband had just walked up?” “What if, one of the men in the boat far below me shot the other man?” Neither of those things happened. I had a great time and came home with more story ideas.
Several weeks ago I shared that I would be working with foster children again. A friend, David Hoof, sent me a ‘what if’.“What if a foster child with a troubled past was adopted and the family moved out of the area and the child had a rare condition that was unknown and undiagnosed.”
I am already writing this story in my mind.
Thanks, David.
Wishing you a successful journey,
Crystal
Crystal
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