60 of 66

Write now Article Tools

Stories are driven by three things: character, plot and setting.

In most stories, the characters are put into some kind of conflict with their environment (setting) and how they resolve the conflict is the plot. (There are magnificent exceptions to this formula, but this is how most popular writing works.)

Character is the strongest foundation to build on. If the reader believes your character, they will believe the story. For story ideas, make up a character and put them in a challenging situation. For example, a happily married woman whose neighbour makes a pass at her; what does she do? Does she tell her husband; does she try to ignore it; does she have an affair? What she does depends on what kind of character she is. How she responds and how it affects her relationship with her husband, her understanding of herself and her perception of the world she lives in will make the story. If you put ten different characters into the same situation, you will get ten different stories.

Or take an office worker who is approached by someone willing to pay for company secrets. How does he handle the situation? Be careful not to make your characters stereotypes, they need depth, inner doubt, right and wrong descisions. Things get really interesting when a character makes a wrong descision.

Some stories are plot driven. A recent example is The DaVinci Code which has cardboard characters moving around in a complex, action filled plot.

Other stories, such as fantasy and science-fiction are driven by their setting; although, these stories often depend on strong characters to make their unusual worlds believable.

In most cases, the strength of the characters, the plot and the setting rely on how the story is told. If you read any Agatha Christie mysteries, for example, the plot is virtually the same for all of them: one person kills another and the detective figures out who did it. But Christie's genius was to be able to make the stories unfold in interesting and inventive ways.

So the basis of finding story ideas is to imagine a character facing tough decisions and weave the story around the character's efforts to resolve the conflict. The character, plot and setting are the easy parts; the hard part is the storytelling, presenting your situation in a way that entrances the reader.

Learn more about this author, J. Goodman.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Tips for finding story ideas?
We want to hear your view. Write now!