Get UnStuck and Bring Your Story Into Focus
Let’s talk about writer’s block – at the beginning of a project or somewhere along the journey – it stinks. When it strikes, it can tie us to the chair like a hostage.
We’re going to walk you through a process that will help you generate story ideas in less that 10 minutes. Think of it as a generative MadLibs exercise.
Generate Story Ideas Through Story Components
At their core, stories are made up of components like Characters, Location, Time, Valuable Objects, Decisions, Fears, and Numbers. By creating a list that touches on these items, you can easily mix them around to generate multiple story ideas in one go. And use them to get yourself going again in the middle of a story.
As we go, list the first thing that comes to mind. Grab the worksheet above to help you keep track as you go.
- Characters: Start with 2 names. It’s easy to get bogged down in character details up front. We’re going for story ideas, and that’s often messy and incomplete in the beginning. Embrace the chaos.
- Holiday (or Time): This can mean the amount of time that passes while the story is told, the time period in which the story takes place, or time constraints around an event or vacation.
- Location: Your characters must have a place to work out their drama. Choose something interesting to you, even if it doesn’t seem like it fits right away. Location doesn’t have to be a city, it can also be an event, or an outer planet, or a point in a process like a debutante’s coming out ball.
- Something Valuable: Rare, stolen, antique, valuable or trash. List objects that might have some kind of significant meaning to the characters or the story itself, the more valuable the better.
- A Life Changing Decision: When a character makes a decision, it impacts the entire story and all the players. The more life changing the decision, the higher the stakes.
- Fear or Phobia: Fears and phobias are excellent tension devices because they add an additional layer to the drama. So, is it spiders, or the number 13, or something else altogether?
- Number: Speaking of numbers… Jot down the first one you think of.
A word on Conflict
I have never dreaded conflict, but I have taught many who have. It’s pretty normal to not want to put your characters through it, but if we don’t, what’s the point? Conflict can be with nature (location), each other (characters), time, desire, a decision, a fear or phobia, and so much more. More conflict, more story ideas.
- Sometimes it’s easier to think of what your character most wants, and then think of all the obstacles they’ll have to face in order to get it.
Mix It Up and Get Even More Story Ideas
Now that you’ve got your list, it’s time to start playing musical chairs with the components. Let’s say your characters are siblings. Are they squabbling over an object or reckoning with a life changing decision? How would that play if they were lovers or long lost friends or colleagues instead? What if they were at odds with the location instead of an object?
