Do you want to write but don’t have anything you’re excited to write about? Missing that something that makes you want to put your butt in chair and get started? Do you have writer’s block?
Goal: To come up with 10 story ideas every day.
For a month.
At the end of a month, choose your favorites for future writing.
Ready? Grab your journal. Let’s do this…
Break each day into a different theme, something you are genuinely interested in and want to write about, or include in your current work in progress.
Themes can be zombies, mermaids, dystopian setting, whatever. Choose a subject that you can conceivably come up with multiple story ideas.
To find out more themes: What’s your favorite book? TV show? Movie? For example, if you are into Game of Thrones, come up with a list of ideas to write your own dark fantasy filled with political intrigue and backstabbing. If Star Wars is on your list, come up with ideas for a Space Opera setting, filled with numerous worlds and unique alien species, with a powerful enemy out to rule the galaxy.
Since I write in multiple genres, I make a category for Sci-Fi, Horror, and Fantasy, and then apply my theme of the day to each category.
Try to do this every day, for at least a month.
Write out a concept for each idea, so when you revisit it in the future, you’ll have an idea of what you originally came up with.
If you struggle with coming up with 10, can you come up with ideas to apply to, say, a romance arc? Or an antagonist story arc?
Some days, take a break from writing fiction ideas and try a day of marketing ideas.
Choose your one or two of your favorites each day, and add it to a second list, one of your best ideas that you’re excited about and want to actively pursue.
Don’t throw out the other ideas.
Can they be combined with your favorite ideas for other story arcs, whether for the main story or for secondary characters?
Can they be made into short stories?
This was not by any means something I came up with. I found it on another website that was written primarily for blogging, and found it works great for fiction development.
G.S. Wright 