How to Generate Creative Writing Ideas
Writer's block can be frustrating. You need fresh ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Generating new ideas on your own can be tough. If you get out and experience the world around you, you'll be surprised at how many ideas come to you.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer or paper and pen
- Writing exercises
- News source
- Writing class or group
Instructions
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Find characters in your everyday life. Create a character profile on them and keep these profiles on file. Come up with a different name, place of birth, physical description, life experiences that shaped their behavior, demeanor, talents, weaknesses, careers, hobbies, idiosyncrasies, problems and whatever else you can think of. You never know when you'll need to dip into your character file. Creating a character profile can generate a great story idea.
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Go to a restaurant, bar, mall, or park and watch people. Listen discretely to their conversations and create stories behind the snippets that you hear. This method can generate many situations and story lines if you let your imagination run wild.
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Do some writing exercises to get your creative juices flowing. For example, think of a story such as The Three Little Pigs and put a new twist on it. Write it from one character's point of view. You can also find some writing exercises in books on any given subject.
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Check your local paper and the Internet to find an interesting news report. Write a story about it but put a twist on the characters and events. You can also just look at the photograph in the news and come up with your own story.
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Brainstorm to come up with a problem that needs to be solved. Play with it to come up with solutions and characters that could be involved in the situation.
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Take a creative writing course or find a group of people to write with. Writing assignments can give you a start to write about something you've never thought about before. Brainstorming in groups is also a great way to generate new ideas.
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Keep a file on your short stories or ideas either on your computer or in a notebook. Carry a notebook everywhere you go and write down things you think of immediately. You may think you'll never forget this wonderful idea you've thought of, but before you know it it'll be gone.
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Tips & Warnings
Dreams can also give you great story ideas. Keep a dream journal and write in it daily.
