Story ideas can hit you like a miracle. Inspiration can come from anything or anywhere, and it can come at any time. But there are times when nothing happens at all and you are stuck. Whether you’re experiencing writer’s block or not, you don't have to wait for the muses to get inspired to write again. You can brainstorm to get your creative juices going. Here are some ways you can brainstorm for short story ideas.
Instructions
1. Start with a story idea or an image. It can be anything that strikes your fancy or a topic that you’re interested in, such as war or a historical event, or perhaps a photograph, painting or dream.
2. Build on that idea. Where do you want to take it? For instance, if you’re interested in a particular historical event such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor, what areas of that event would you find most interesting? The attack itself? The people living in the surrounding area during that period? A particular place such as a bar or restaurant? If it’s a photograph or a dream, jot down the things that these images bring to mind. They can be anything from a sense of time, a place or a particular character. Let your imagination go with these and jot down everything that pops into your mind.
3. Look over your list. You’ll probably have a lot of ideas by now and most of them won’t be in sync with one another. Circle which ideas interest you the most, the ones that will offer the most intriguing storytelling opportunities.
4. Take the ideas you’ve chosen and brainstorm some more. This time, think of characters or situations that these ideas bring to mind. For instance, with the example above of Pearl Harbor, let’s say you jotted down “Hawaiian restaurant.” Jot down what this restaurant brings to mind. It can be food, music, the people who work there or the type of patrons who frequent the restaurant. Write as many ideas that you can think of that will help you come up with a story.
5. Narrow down your choices by picking one idea that will become a story. Some of these ideas can be incorporated into your story, depending on how closely they are aligned to what you want to write about. But do narrow it down to one idea and build characters and plots around it.
