by Emily Hunter

Created on: March 05, 2010

“Okay, write me a story.  You have an hour.  Now, go!” You can feel all of your thoughts being tossed out the window, left with the sound of chirping crickets.  Sitting in front of the blank screen produces the same anxiety, the same pressure to perform.  It is difficult to write a story on demand, just as it is difficult for a comedian to be funny on demand.  The pump needs to be primed for the well of ideas to produce.

Brainstorm. 

Of the hour, give yourself five minutes to brainstorm.  Most of the time, we’ve judged the stories and ideas that are everywhere as being boring or contrite, perhaps even patronizing.  The key here is not to judge, just to write.  Ponder stories that you’ve read, think about relationship that you’ve had, question authority.  Just write.  Don’t try to be interesting or fascinating, you’re after quantity.

When you’re done, take the ideas that you have come up with and shake them up.  Take the ones that were written off as being sleepers and put them with the other sleepers to see if something new can be synthesized out of that mixture.  Sometimes, the idea will still be flat, but there may be something that gets your imagination soaring.

What if?

The best stories are crafted from events that actually happened.  Take those situations and events with the question of ‘what would happen if’ in mind as you examine them.  Think of the ordinary and add a touch of the improbable or impossible to it.  Why are there cows crossing the road in the middle of the day?  Nothing is crafted from thin air, fiction is always created from a nugget of truth.

Character driven.

Sometimes, starting with a character and building a plot around that is the best way to go.  Are there people that you know who would be perfect for a story?  What would happen if your wild and crazy best friend would up in a monastery?  Come up with birthdays for your characters, and then build up their personality traits based on their astrological signs.    

Draw from the things and people that you know to turn the ordinary into the stupendous.  Once the idea pump has been primed, there’s no stopping it.  Start from what you know, add a few ‘what ifs’ into the equation, and soon you’re being taken places that you had never expected.   

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