How do you get your ideas for stories?

A former co-worker of mine and I were having a discussion on story ideas for books. He was stuck early on in a book and didn’t feel like the idea would be able to make a full-length novel. It was one of those great discussions I enjoy having with other writers whether they write comics, short stories, novels, novellas, or even music.

Story ideas are easy to come by for me. Sometimes the idea comes from a location like a vacation that inspires something based on the setting. Sailing in the Caribbean on a cruise sure inspires me to want to write a story about pirates which is already a topic I enjoy. I might visit a historical port or learn something historical that inspires an idea. Granted, traveling is fun and inspiring, but not always an option when you’re trying to gather book ideas. I have inspiration of locations through reading books on travel or even other novels that take place in interesting locations.

This museum in St. Thomas gave me many ideas.

Story ideas might form when you think of a single character. I had always wanted to write a story using a character like Carl Kolchak from the television movie and series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. The series inspired the X-Files television show and had been attempted to be brought back life with unsuccessful results. The key was to make it mine and develop it to make my own original take.

I was always wary about using anything that related to other books or television shows, but the reality is that many books and other media are based on others. There is nothing wrong with developing your own take on an idea that has been used previously if it’s an original idea based on it. Who doesn’t want to write a book with a lead character like Indiana Jones? If the character and stories are original ideas of yours there is very little risk of getting in trouble. If something works once, it will be copied by many, and you’ll notice a lot of books copy each other with some themes and mixes of character types. This is why you compare your book to other popular ones in query letters and why literary agents are looking for a specific mix of certain types of characters.

Television shows based on the Sherlock Holmes approach of deduction through unusual means are a staple among police procedurals. Elementary, Monk, Bones, Forever, Harrow, Numbers, Perception, and two of my favorites The Mentalist and Lie to Me are based on this premise and there are certainly dozens I could not instantly think of. Creating a book or even a series based off a character who solves murders, missing persons, or other mysteries by smell alone would be an interesting take on the approach.

You might find that one idea just isn’t enough to stretch out into an entire novel let alone a series. There comes a time when you might combine some previous ideas together to help strengthen the storyline. This is where notetaking comes in handy. I write down ideas for anything and everything that sounds interesting even if I’m neck deep in another writing project. This goes for story ideas, characters based on a person I met or saw, plots, situations, locations, or anything else that might later spur on an idea. I keep notes on my phone, computer, and even in a writing binder for general ideas as well as separate folders for specific stories that I am developing.

I mentioned plot and have been talking about story ideas. It’s important to note that in writing terminology these are not the same thing. A story idea to me is just the foundation of a book and is generally not enough detail to carry a book to completion. In writing, a story focuses on the characters, locations, situations, and themes. The plot is concerned with the sequence of the events of the story and how the narrative is impacted along the way. A story is just basically telling what and how things happened in a chronological order whereas a plot is the cause and effect of the narrative.

Many of my ideas have come from influences from television or other books I have read. Sometimes a small idea can morph into a great idea with just a little thought and creativity where some ideas just sit there waiting to be used. The more ideas you have laying around the better. Never be afraid to rethink how a story idea has unfolded, especially if there doesn’t appear to be enough meat to make a novel out of it.

My character based on Kolchak: The Night Stalker ended up being vastly different than what I had originally intended once I began to add plot details and developed him. Without the original idea it would have been more difficult to create the overall story and plot. You never know where you will find inspiration and you should always be looking at people and your surroundings. Great story ideas are always around you and just waiting for you to develop them into your own works.

I know this is just a general post, but in the coming weeks and months I will be expanding on these basic ideas into more specific topics. I touched on story ideas and in a way how to take those ideas and create a plot, but what is a plot and how does it work? Is there a winning formula for a plot? How do you create and develop characters and what are the different types? I’ll explore these topics and more and will also talk about non-fiction as well since I have published six non-fiction titles. If you have any questions or ideas about writing that you would like me to explore or even talk about with you let me know!