Story Ideas – 7 Tips For More Than You’ll Ever Need

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Story Ideas – 7 Tips For More Than You’ll Ever Need

By Deb Gallardo

My friend, Dan Goodwin, AKA Coach Creative, has written about 7 ways to generate more creative writing ideas than you can imagine that you could have. A mere list of these tips in no way does justice to his article. You will need to read what he has to say about each of these to really “get” his meaning. Here’s my take onDan’s article:

First he says you need to be open to receiving ideas. If you are convinced that you can’t have ideas, guess what? You won’t have any. Ever.

In order to receive broadcasts on your TV, you have to have cable service hooked up, plus your TV and cable receiver box plugged in and powered on in order to receive broadcasts. It’s the same with being able to receive ideas. You must be receptive to them. Tune in to your environment and you’ll begin “receiving” story ideas in abundance.

Next, he suggests that you start keeping an ideas journal, if you aren’t already doing so. You never know when an idea will come to you, so always have something handy to write on. I like 3×5 cards, as they easily fit into a purse or a shirt pocket. Then transfer what’s on the cards to a notebook you keep at home.

If you want to be a writer, you must read extensively, not only in the genre you want to write in. Read poetry, non-fiction, bestsellers — anything you can get your hands on. And, of course, read your favorite genre voraciously. You MUST know what is selling and analyze the market to determine how you can bring something unique to the marketplace.

His next point I’m not quite sure about, but I believe it has merit. He says to ask yourself what it would look like if you could have all the ideas you would ever need. The premise is that we may think we need an inexhaustible supply of ideas, but that’s nowhere near the case. How fast can your write? How many stories and novels are you capable of writing in the time you have left on earth, assuming you live to a ripe, old age? It’s not as many ideas as you might think.

Ask yourself what inspires you. Do some soul searching. Perhaps it’s seeing Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent wowing the judges and the crowd when they expected nothing much out of a rather frumpy, middle-aged woman. Maybe it’s watching a movie about people overcoming incredible odds.

Finally he says to take existing ideas and divide and multiply them. Take one idea and separate it into parts, examining each one. Or take two or more ideas and combine them.

This doesn’t do justice to his article, so be sure to go here to read the entire article. (opens in new window)

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