What Can I Write About – 6 Ways to Come Up With Ideas

Finding Your Ideas

I’m often asked ‘how do you come up with your ideas?’

Actually, being a fantasy writer, I’m almost never at a loss. But I know other folk aren’t as lucky (or as unlucky, it’s a real pain sometimes, all these stories sloshing about inside). Here’s some tips to help you find your ideas, with examples of how these have worked for me.

6 Ways To Generate Ideas

1. Inspiration. This doesn’t actually happen that often. It was how I wrote A Necklace of Souls though – I had a dream, and scribbled it down.
2. What ifs. I tease out an idea I’m interested in. I did this for Inner Fire, because I was interested in the idea of facial recognition technology, and what might happen if someone might be able to change their face at will.
3. People I meet. My boss’s daughter works in a shoe-shop, and somehow that morphed into a Cinderella remake. Go figure! (That’s in Upon a Time, in case you’re wondering.)
4. Family stories. I once wrote my grandfather’s story – he was a conscientious objector in World War One. This was published in The School Journal, Feb 2012, which made my entire family very happy!
5. Change up an old favourite. – That’s my entire Upon A Time collection, as they’re all retellings of fairytales.
6. Look online. There are some great ideas on this tumblr blog (Writerswrite.org). I’ve also pinned images on my pinterest boards to act as story inspiration. You have to be careful with this though, or you’ll end up with the same ideas as everyone else.

Want more information or downloadable resources? Check out my “For Teachers” page, or check out this FREE printable resource.