storytelling whats your story

Tips for developing story writing ideas.

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Short stories, flash fiction, novels, and novellas: there are countless stories floating around out there — and those are just the fictional works.

It’s no wonder writers get frustrated trying to come up with a simple concept for a story. One look at the market tells you that everything has been done.

But what makes a story special is your voice and the unique way that you put different elements together. Sure, there might be something reminiscent of Tolkien in your work, but so what? Echos of Lord of the Rings can be found in some of the most beloved stories of the 20th century: Harry Potter and Star Wars, for example.

I’m not saying J.K. Rowling and George Lucas intentionally used elements of Tolkien’s work in their stories. Maybe they did; maybe they didn’t. But I would bet both of them read and appreciated Lord of the Rings. Whether they were conscious or not of its influence on their work doesn’t really matter.


Developing Story Writing Ideas

There are countless ways to develop story concepts. You can start with an event from the news or a character you’ve created; you can base your plot on an old legend or fairy tale; or you can combine two of your favorite genres.

  • What happens when you mix Hamlet with Star Trek? Well, you might get something that looks like Star Wars. Take a traditional legend or folk tale and send it to space or place it in a magical fairyland to give it a new twist.
  • It works both ways. You can take a modern story and put it in a historical setting. Star Trek is about explorers who are deeply humanitarian. Could there have been such explorers on Earth thousands of years ago?
  • If you can create a believable and complex character, you can evolve a story from the character’s emotional landscape and personal experiences.
  • A romance horror story, a western set in space, a chick-lit war story, and a fairy tale about the business world are all ways you can combine genres to inspire writing ideas.
  • Instead of starting with a story, start with a big idea. How do you explore abstract concepts like sacrifice, redemption, rebirth, and wrath through story?

Sometimes by brainstorming established genres, stories, and themes, you’ll find that an original idea emerges.

More Specific Story Writing Ideas

Let’s say you’re writing a story about a homeless teen who squats in a family’s Manhattan apartment during the day while they’re at work and school. It occurs to you that there are some parallels to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Instead of writing off your idea as unoriginal, use the fairy tale to infuse your story with archetypes and symbols that are universally recognized: three teddy bears on the child’s bed, three chairs of various sizes in the living room, the family eating porridge for breakfast.

Here are some more specific idea starters based on fairy tales:

  • Little Red Riding Hood in Suburbia: There’s a stranger at grandma’s house.
  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears in the Big City: A squatter makes herself at home.
  • The Gingerbread Phone: A smartphone becomes self-aware.
  • Dystopian Cinderella: This fairy tale been done and redone. Cinderella is apparently an exhaustive source of story writing ideas. Set your version in a bleak future.
  • The Little Badass Mermaid: Take any old fairy tale and turn the heroine into a badass.
  • Beauty is the Beast – What if the gender roles were reversed?

What’s Your Story?

Our world is full of patterns and cycles that repeat infinitely. Every story you write comes from every story you’ve read. Some writers consciously use old tales as a foundation for their work; others are surprised when they realize there are similarities in their work and someone else’s.

I’m not suggesting you go out in search of stories to rewrite (and I’m definitely not suggesting you avoid coming up with your own original ideas). I hear from writers, on a regular basis, who are frustrated because they analyze every detail in their stories and stress out when they realize certain elements already occurred elsewhere in the literary canon.

So I want to put forth the simple truth that everything has been done. Your job is to do it your way.

Where do you get your story writing ideas?

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