Where To Find Writing Ideas

"Yeah, where is my motivation?" You blurted.

Writing ideas are scooped out of living life,

family gatherings, a newspaper headline,

chatter you over-heard at the mall, or a

chirping bird outside your window.

Let's start with one of my real life

experiences. There is a room in my

house that is cluttered most of the

year. Why? Everyone living in my

house dumps unused clothes, radios/

televisions to be fixed, old furniture,

books, and toys in it.

Not-so-often, I muster up the

courage to, at least, curve out a

walking path. Yes, I bring in

help too.

My story idea is on a particular

day, after struggling with an old

television, I discovered a small

closet. It banged against the wall

several times, which forced its

door to pop open.

I jumped back, coughed from

the dust. I left the room for

about ten minutes.

I returned. It took awhile

to clear-out the dust and cob-webs.

In one corner, there sat an old doll,

covered with strips of linen. Or, was

it something else?

I pulled on it, in an attempt to

see exactly what was hidden.

"Oh, no!" I dropped it.

The exposed face showed a

skeleton.

How and why the bundle came

to rest in the small crawl space

will unfold my plot. Throw in

suspense, obstacles, and the

recipe for an interesting thriller

is born.

Think about your daily routine.

What room in your house,

apartment, or office could you write

about? Perhaps, a place you once

visited. Is there something that

has nagged you about the premises

since you first visited? One place

you stepped into made you

uncomfortable, but you never

figured out why. Digging up

the reason can make an

excellent fiction idea.

Always change names, addresses,

dates, and actual likenesses. It is

done to avoid the "L" word,

litigation.

Your family near and far gathered

to have fun. During the occassion,

recipes are exchanged, updates on

family not seen often, and general

chit-chat goes on.

Someone mentioned secret. You

were not able to hear the full details,

because a baby cried. The utter of

the "S" word brings all kinds of

options to write about.

The person working under-cover for

the government, retail outlet, or a

doctor comes to mind. Any of

the three ideas can be explosive

reading.

A doctor with a practice in urban

America. His/her staff consists

of relatives. However, the patients

are disappearing. How? Any

connection to the doctor's office?

Hmm. What do you think?

What conditions would a

government spy change sides?

Every time a certain

individual departs Macy's items

do too. Only, he/she is a secret

shopper. Frame?

A newspaper has a wealth of

writing ideas. A quick scan

of the daily newspaper gave me

the following titles: Bus and

Mosque Owners Teaching At

Odds.

I have not read the articles,

but a bus is used to rob a bank.

The would-be robber knows its

schedule, plans to dress as an old

lady, and afterwards, climb on the

bus for home.

The Mosque Owners, in my

fiction story, taught the children

some Western beliefs, and the

children acted on those words.

One evening, a teen shared

with another teen his view,

and one of the Owners was

murdered. People at the

Mosque said it had to be an

outsider.

What ideas can you pull from

headlines in your newspaper?

It is unbelievable what can be

over-heard at the mall.

"My boyfriend is an animal."

One teen girl said to another.

From the one statement,

various ideas stumble to mind.

A man, much older than she,

is called animal, and he is an

arms dealer. My second idea

is two teen males known for

making animal sounds as jokes.

One day, animal sounds were

used to distract the cashier,

and a kidnapping took place.

Your ideas?

A chirping bird brings to mind

day, sweet sound, or panic, death.

The point is use life as your disk

to pluck ideas for writing.