If you are really having difficulty with coming up with an idea look no further than the bookshelf of the stores you walk into. They are filled with ideas you could build from. Look at what's selling; that is your best hope of making something worth reading. I know it may sound harsh but I thought I could branch off from it as well and I was wrong. In truth I'm glad I didn't or I wouldn't have the splendid idea that I have now. Feel free to say I'm wrong but when you think about it....Anyway, happy writing everyone!
Hmm... I agree and disagree. I think the best way to come up with story ideas is to play around in your head, or think about the world around you. I do it all the time. I can't say I've ever finished a story, but I can say it was fun and gave me ideas.
What helps me is to think about something that happened to me or someone I know and twist it around. An example, I was driving by this guy on a motorcycle when I thought we were about to hit him. It got me to thinking about my dad, who rides a motorcycle. What if he were to get in an accident? How would that affect me? What would I do with the motorcycle?
It gave me an idea for a character. He's a grease monkey who's dad died in a car accident, the story is about him repairing his father's motorcycle and it uses symbolism with the motorcycle representing the kids set backs and recovery from the incident.
Good ideas come from playing with your mind. Don't ever tell yourself an idea you have is bad, otherwise you won't have any ideas. If you have an idea you don't think is good or unique, twist it a little bit.If you start hating it and yourself both, give up on it and start playing around again.
Review unto others as you would have others review unto you.
"Look at what's selling; that is your best hope of making something worth reading."
I don't agree in every circumstance- some writers are better at picking up on trends and writing novels that people want to read, and others are better at being oddities and writing novels that nobody has read before.
I do agree, however, that book shelves are a good place to get ideas. A lot of writers seem to think that ideas magically appear, but the appear from in our minds and no matter how much we resist we will always inevitably be influenced by our culture.
By paying attention to things like trends in the book market we at least are able to see which of our ideas are a part of culture. We're analysing it and viewing it from a creative perspective, rather than absorbing it unconciously and living under the disillusionment that because this idea came from our heads then it must be completely unique and unheard of.
Art and culture are part of who we are, we need to use them in harmony, not have them battle against eachother.
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