This post is all about how to brainstorm story ideas so you can stop staring at a blank page and start filling your notebook with exciting possibilities.
You’ve been dreaming about writing a novel, but there’s one problem: you have no idea what to write about. If that sounds familiar, don’t worry, dear happy writer. I’m going to show you how to brainstorm story ideas so easily that you’ll go from staring at a blank page to having so many ideas you won’t even know which one to choose.
The ability to come up with story ideas is one of the most valuable skills you can have as a writer. Once you know how to brainstorm story ideas, you’ll spend less time feeling stuck and more time doing the fun part—writing stories and bringing new worlds and characters to life.
If you prefer the video version, check out the YouTube video below for tips on how to brainstorm story ideas.
What It Really Means to Brainstorm Story Ideas
Brainstorming isn’t about suddenly coming up with one perfect idea for your novel. When you want to brainstorm story ideas, you need to remove that perfectionism filter and let all ideas come in. You can choose the “perfect” one later.
At this stage, we simply want to generate as many ideas as possible. Don’t focus on finding “the one.” Instead, write down as many ideas as you can come up with.
It doesn’t matter how ridiculous, silly, or uninteresting they may seem right now. Just write down everything that comes to mind. The goal isn’t to judge your ideas—it’s to capture them. You can always choose your favorites and improve them later.
Now, here are five tips on how to brainstorm story ideas.
Tip #1: Start with “What If” Questions
This is one of my favorite writing games to play, and it’s exactly what the name suggests: “What if…?”
Start by writing down “What if…” and then finish the sentence. Write at least ten of these, and you’ll see that the more you write, the more your imagination starts to work. Before you know it, even more ideas will begin to appear.
Try it! It’s such a fun game to play.
Here are a few examples:
- What if your favorite houseplant turned out to be an ancient, wise spirit that came into your life to guide you?
- What if, on your next hike up the mountain, you encountered a mischievous leprechaun who decided he wanted to be your best friend?
- What if you bought a new journal and, when you opened it, it was filled with enchanted stories—and every time you read one of them, you were transported into the story?
And so on…
If you’d like even more fun “what if” scenarios, I created a list for you that you can use as inspiration to brainstorm story ideas for your next novel. You can download it for free using the link in the form below.
Tip #2: Brainstorm Story Ideas from Your Own Life
We usually think our lives aren’t all that interesting. And maybe your life isn’t quite as action-packed as Ethan Hunt’s in Mission: Impossible, but there are plenty of events from your own life that can inspire at least one novel.
And they don’t have to provide the entire story. It’s enough if they give you a starting point. From there, you can go back to our favorite “what if” game and build a story around it.
Your life is full of creative ideas. Think about the most important moments in your life, the scariest things you’ve done, and the biggest challenges you’ve overcome. Each and every one of them could become a new novel.
If you’d like to dive deeper into how life’s challenges can inspire your stories, I have another blog post that shows you how to turn your life obstacles into creative writing ideas.
Another great source of inspiration for story ideas is your childhood memories. When we were children, we experienced everything with a sense of awe. Seeing something for the first time, learning about something for the first time, or trying a new activity for the first time all felt exciting and magical.
Some of that excitement and sense of wonder may have faded with time, but I think it’s time we brought it back. Not only can it inspire more story ideas, but it can also put you in a happier and more positive state of mind. And when you’re having fun and feeling good, ideas tend to come much faster.
So try revisiting some of those childhood first-time memories. Bring back your inner child and then start playing!
RELATED POST: Writing Inspiration from Childhood Memories
Tip #3: Mix and Match Ideas (a.k.a. Genre Mashup)
This is another fun way to brainstorm story ideas. Mixing unexpected ideas, combining tropes, and blending genres is a fantastic way to get your creativity flowing.
RELATED POST: The Benefits of Writing a Genre Mashup
Again, don’t worry about coming up with the perfect idea. Just play. See how many unexpected ideas you can combine to create something entirely new and surprising.
How about:
- A spy, like James Bond, who instead of saving the world from international villains, has to stop the spread of a virus that turns every human into a vampire.
- An alien ship crashes on Earth, and the first creatures the aliens meet are a group of ducks. Convinced that ducks are the most evolved species on the planet, the aliens agree to help them turn humans into their slaves.
- An ER doctor moves to a small town looking for a quiet life. The story starts like a Hallmark-style small-town romance, but soon he discovers that the town is full of evil vampires, and his new love interest is a vampire slayer who spends her nights hunting them.
Now it’s your turn. Try to come up with at least 10 genre mashup story ideas of your own.
Even if you don’t end up writing a genre mashup, this exercise will still get your creativity moving, help you think outside the box, and open the door to story ideas you might never have discovered otherwise.
RELATED POST: The Drawbacks of Writing a Genre Mashup
Tip #4: Build Around Characters First
My favorite thing about stories is seeing a well-crafted character arc. So a great way to brainstorm story ideas is to start by thinking about a character and how you’d like that character to grow throughout the story.
This is one of the best ways to develop a story. It’s all about your characters, anyway. Unless you write detective stories, where the focus is often more on solving the mystery and less on the detective’s personal journey. But most of the time, starting with your character is a really great way to build a story.
Come up with a character. Who are they? What do they want most? What’s standing in the way of getting what they want? And most importantly, what do they really need, but don’t know it yet?
It’s that dance between wants and needs that helps a character grow. Once you know their wants and needs, you can build the entire story around them. You can start thinking about what challenges would best help your character realize that what they thought they wanted wasn’t actually what they needed all along.
And by finally getting what they truly needed, they become a stronger, wiser version of themselves—someone who feels more complete and fulfilled by the end of the story.
When I plot my books, I always start with the main characters and create their character arcs first. It’s only when I know them really well, and understand how they need to change and evolve throughout the story, that I begin adding the rest of the story details.
For this, I highly recommend K.M. Weiland’s book, Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author’s Guide to Uniting Story Structure.
Once you know your characters, it becomes much easier to come up with story ideas for them.
Tip #5: Have Fun When You Brainstorm Story Ideas
If you want to get your creativity flowing, it’s important not to try to force the ideas out, but to let them come out through play. When you’re having fun with the process and creating a fun atmosphere, the whole process of brainstorming new ideas becomes so much lighter and easier.
This gives your muse some room to play. And it becomes easier for her to inspire you than when you’re stressing her out with, “Give me a new idea NOW!”`
So make your brainstorming session as fun as you possibly can. You can listen to cozy music that inspires you or upbeat music that energizes you. You can use candles, fairy lights, or bright lighting. It’s different for every writer. So create the environment that makes you feel most inspired.
Maybe you’re most inspired writing in a café. Or perhaps being surrounded by other writers sparks your creativity simply because you’re in the company of people who love stories as much as you do.
RELATED POST #1: How Writing in a Café Boosts Creativity
RELATED POST #2: How a Writing Community Helps Writers
Use whatever atmosphere makes your brainstorming session the most fun. When you approach it from a positive, playful, and open state of mind, your ideas will come much faster.
This post was all about how to brainstorm story ideas. If you enjoyed it, you might also enjoy this post:
How to Get Story Ideas From the Life Obstacles You’ve Overcome
Now it’s your turn. Which are your favorite ways of brainstorming story ideas? Let me know in the comments.
Leave a Reply