+ 4 Practical Tips to Keep You Inspired
After I finish a project, I often think: What if that was the last good idea I'll ever have?
I used to deal with this fear by trying to squeeze story ideas out of my brain with the gusto of a homesteader juicing oranges. Even worse, I latched on to whatever seemed "good enough" and dove in. This led to unfinished drafts and underdeveloped stories. I needed something different.
I'm sharing 5 tips to come up with writing ideas for unique stories you'll want to finish.
Create a Trope Wishlist
Take a notebook (or a notebook app) and jot down all your favorite tropes. Feel free to pull from online trope lists, especially ones specific to your genre. These lists can go beyond the usual tropes to include niche things you enjoy. For example, my trope wishlist includes betrayals, deserts, fake dating, and sketchy contacts from the past.
Consider how to incorporate as many of these tropes into your story as possible. If you're a plotter, use this as a starting point for your outline. If you're a pantser, return to the list when stuck. Since you likely can't put everything into one story, the list can carry over to your next project too!
Ask Magical "What if?" questions
Try asking "what if?" about things you take for granted in your story. What if my character doesn't have a full name? What if oxygen worked differently? What if the plot isn't sequential?
"What if?" questions can also expand a small idea to novel-size. I know the inciting incident is her boyfriend's death, but what if she already knows who killed him? What if he knew a secret? What if that secret had to do with her dad? What if her dad were a washed-up rockstar? What if her dad were a shape-shifting monster? etc. etc.
The best part about "what if?" questions is that they feed into each other in a happy little circle of ideation.
Gather information constantly
As my mom says, "Everything can be used for writing." She used this to encourage me through school when I had to take classes I had no interest in. And she was right. (Thanks, Mom!)
You have to live and learn to have the fodder your brain needs to produce ideas. To return to the homesteader imagery, you can't make orange juice from nothing. Be open and exploratory. Go to new restaurants, talk with friends about niche interests, listen to new music, all the things!
For example, I got the idea for the YA fantasy novel I wrote in 2022 after going to a real forge and smithing with my family. That idea never would have come from sitting at my desk and staring at a blank page.
Marination (!!!)
This is the MOST important step. Let ideas sit. Let them soak in your brain juice.
A key part of marination is daydreaming. I recently read Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, which explains the benefits of mind-wandering including that "in situations of low stress and safety, mind-wandering will be a gift, a pleasure, a creative force."
An incredible amount of creative work is done in our subconscious. Your brain is constantly making connections and forming ideas on the down low. It's the reason so many writers have eureka moments in the car or in the shower when they weren't even trying to have an idea.
This requires putting away screens and spending time in silence and/or alone. Give your brain space to work its magic without distractions. You won't be disappointed.
If you try any of these, let me know on Instagram! Feel free to leave your own tips in the comments.
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Write on the Exhale
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