1. Music!
This is my personal favorite way to get ideas... Listen to music. Turn it on, then let your mind go wild! I don't know the exact science, or any science of this really, but I've found that I have more ideas, creativity goes off the charts, and I feel super motivated to go write after/during listening to music.
Whether you're thinking from the lyrics, the emotion you can feel in the beats, or even memories that come from the song, you'll most likely get something to work with... And that's not even the best part!
When you use music for an idea, then later about half-way through your book when you're ready to trash the whole thing, listening to that song can help you get back into the book and ready to go.
2. People
I don't usually condone stalking... But if you're low on ideas, then low-key stalking is totally fine. As in, go somewhere public, ideally where you don't know anyone, like Walmart. Then choose a person, and take in as many details about them as you can. Clothing, emotions, what they're buying, how they interact with people, and then make up a story about them.
For example, if I see a man dressed in nice yet slightly wrinkled clothes, looking frazzled and rushed, buying ipecac (a medicine that makes you puke) and some Twizzlers, here's the story I might make up... While he was at home, maybe he found his young son freaking out because he swallowed some dental floss, some still hanging out his mouth but a lot swallowed. After trying for a long time to get it out, he and his wife decided to try different tactics... Like getting him to throw it up. So he rushed off to the store to get ipecac, and in case his son didn't want to take it, some Twizzlers to either bribe him with or douse with the medicine in secret. And from there, I might get the great idea of a book about a kid who's always in some sort of trouble, or some sibling of a kid like that who somehow has a deep, unresolvable issue based on that kid's behavior... But you get the idea.
Fun Fact! Did you think "Wow, how do you think of some wacky story like that?!" I'd think that too... If that kid wasn't my brother, who did exactly that.
3. Writing Prompts
Even if I'm not looking for book ideas, I have a lot of fun looking at these... You can Google them, look up writing prompt generators, or check social media (There are some accounts dedicated to making these!)
They give you a vague outline of an idea, but allow plenty of room for adding your own details! Here are some of my favorite prompts...
Humans are the weakest, most underdeveloped beings in the galaxy. Humans should be a huge pushover, but for some reason, whenever an alien sees a human they scream and run in terror. No one knows why.
You discover that you can alter historical events by simply changing words in your high school textbook. This discovery leads you on a journey to literally rewrite history books. You've almost figured out world peace until one day, you alter one minor detail, and your city crumbled around you. Worse than that, your book is gone.
You can see the devil and angel on peoples' shoulders, as well as which one they listen to more. You meet a guy online and start dating, and on your first real date, you're shocked to see he listens to his devil 100%.
4. Read
Now, don't go around stealing everyone's ideas... Nobody ever remembers the copycat books anyway. But read them with the goal in mind being to pick out which part really attracts you to the story. Is it the forbidden romance? Do you like the creepy feeling you get when you read a certain scene? Do you just love the unique way the author wrote the character? Find your favorite parts of each book, and see which you can use without copying someone's idea. If you're basically writing The Hunger Games except the main character is a boy and there are only 7 districts, which you've renamed them sectors... Then you aren't gonna get too far. If you're using the main-character-leading-rebellion-against-their-wishes-and-ultimately-succeeds plot, and it's based fifty years in the past, and their main hurdle is that nobody listens to them... Then you're getting somewhere. Take one detail, make the rest your own!
5. Live Life
As awesome as writing is, go live your life too. That actually really helps come up with stories and gives you a deeper understanding of things that can translate to your characters. If you sit in your room all day, you won't have as much knowledge of the world which will make your characters come across as fake since you'll be writing about things you really don't know that much about.
You can use your own experiences as story-starters too; just had a car crash? Write about a car crash victim, you'll be able to make the story very vivid! Just had a failed relationship? People love to read about those, and the relationship that follows!
No matter what happens in your life, you can make a story out of it... You hate your mundane job? There's a guy who hates his mundane job and so he takes a risk and it changes everything! For the worse >:)
How To Tell The Good From The Bad
If you've got some ideas, how do you tell if they're good or not! So here's a checklist of what makes a good idea:- Has it been overdone? Meaning, it's been used so many times it's a cliche and some people don't even want to see a cover that suggests the idea anymore?
- Do you love the idea? Would you be willing to spend months writing about this?
- Will it go somewhere? Can you make a plot that will last the entirety of a book without becoming boring, old, or stupidly simple to solve?
- Would you read a book about this? Even better, would you spend money on a book about this?
- Do you have the knowledge to write this? If you're writing about a brain surgery, you best know what's happening or your readers are going to know... Be sure you either know about or will be willing to put a lot of research into your topics!
If you answered yes (and no to the first one) to most or all of these, then it sounds like you've got a good story! If not... There are still things you can do to fix the issues. Add more problems, research, make some subplots, add a twist that makes the cliche idea more out of the box! Just don't give up, unless you're not really wanting to go through all that work, that means you don't like the idea enough. Find a new one, or don't give up!
Anyway, there are my tips for getting inspiration and making sure your idea will work... I hope you find them helpful! Thanks for reading!
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