Coming up with good story ideas can be quite tricky sometimes. Producing an idea that you can see blossom into a short story, or a novel is the key—and it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Non-writers seem to think that authors just wake up with mass amounts of story ideas to begin writing. I wish. One proven method to staying with an idea is to play the “what if?” game. Most writers have heard of this and most writers have used this method before. In this article, let’s discuss how to ensure that the nagging story idea you have been thinking about gets even better when you use the “what if?” method.
The Nagging Story Idea
As writers, we conjure up countless story ideas in our thoughts every day. We might not do it consciously, but they are there. You are the creative type of person. For whatever reason, you have a single idea that has been nagging at you for a while now. Maybe you read a book and there was a passage that really struck you in such a way that you think you could develop an entire story. Or perhaps you saw a movie and a scene was so vivid in detail and suspense that you felt the buzz of an idea and want to use that idea for a story now.
But how can you tell if it an idea worth pursuing? As I said before, writers have hundreds of ideas each day. Well, if the idea is temporary or not special, it will go away on its own never to return. That means it wasn’t special for your writing goals. However, if the idea ruminates and comes back day after day, then you should pay attention to that idea. It is there for a reason. It was special.
The next thing to do is to write it down. Using either a pen and pad or a computer, get as many thoughts down as you possibly can before they leave you. Write what you see in your head. If you see a beach landscape or the innards of a dark volcano, write it down. Or if you see characters engaging with others in a certain way, write it down. For example, if a man and his best friends are out at a bar celebrating a promotion and happen to stumble upon a murder in an alley, write down the fright and the suspense of the action, of the scene. Even if they are one-word keywords jotted down on a paper, it will help you grow your story tomorrow.
The message here is to make sure you, the writer, pays attention to what your subconscious is telling you about story ideas. Your mind is literally helping you on its own by searching for possible stories without you. Think about that! When you get that certain buzz, listen to it.
Maybe you could be walking your dog and you see a rusty car drive by and think of a mystery story involving a murderer who left the scene of a crime with a rusty car. Or maybe you could be cooking dinner and smell the chicken burning on the stove and think of a drama story about a long-lasting feud between mother and daughter and how it all started over a disagreement with spices on a chicken. Simple things like this could bloom into great novels of 100,000 words easily just by acknowledging an idea in your mind.
Build Upon Story Ideas
After you have realized that your subconscious is giving you an idea and you jotted down enough information to keep it solid, the next step is to build upon that idea. Using the “What if?” strategy is the best way to do it. Not every avenue you use with this method is likely to work, but it will help you weed out the bad pathways from the good ones. And you might learn that your original idea is too difficult (at this point in your writing life). You might want to return the idea sometime down the road. That’s fine. That idea will always be there.
The “What if?” method should pump out more than enough helpful story ideas for you at this point. For example, if you were building using the abovementioned bar murder story, you could ask what if the murderer saw the man and his best friend that night. Would they be in any danger at that moment, afterward? Would they go to the cops or just act like nothing happened because they don’t want to include themselves in the situation? Think about all the great ways that can build forward. Their lives and their families lives could be in danger just for seeing that. How could you make it personal to the characters? What if the murderer they saw was actually a neighbor or relative of the best friend?
The point is when you have a story nagging you and you have jotted down some notes, immediately begin asking what if? Just brainstorm with that question in mind and you will see all the great possibilities that will come from it.
Conclusion
I know that making a story idea isn’t easy. Once you realize that you don’t have to do as much hard work, the process becomes a lot easier. Just listen to what your mind is telling you and you have countless story ideas at your disposal every day.
If you are looking for more creative writing tips, you can check out my YouTube channel here.
Download my eBook to help you build better suspense in your novel here.
If you want your manuscript professionally edited, you can check my SERVICES page here.