Writing Mixtape - Where Do Story Ideas Come from?

I’m often asked where ideas for my mysteries come from. The answer is everywhere.

Real World News/Stories - Many ideas come from real world news, odd history shows, overheard conversations, and weird objects in stores. Anything that is unusual or odd can be a spark for a story. I find the best “murder weapons” in antique, hardware, and kitchen supply stores.

Moral Dilemmas - Look for situations that contain betrayal, loyalty, justice, and power themes. All have the makings of a good story.

Brainstorm Ideas - Sit down for ten or fifteen minutes and jot down or type any idea that comes into your head. You never know what will pop up. It will give you a starting point. Don’t edit, just make a list of what comes to mind.

Brainstorm with Others - The most fun we had in my writers’ group/critique group was when we did a group brainstorm to help out an author with some plot ideas. Some of our ideas were wacky and others were pretty good. It was a fun activity, and we all got a creative spark from it.

Create an Idea File - I used to rip out magazine and newspaper articles when we actually had those and keep them in a file. That graduated to a collection of sticky notes of cool things I wanted to remember. To corral the mess, I finally put together an organized (massive) idea spreadsheet. I go through the tabs before I start to plot. Make sure to mark off what you have already used before. If a file or spreadsheet, don’t work for you, you may try an idea journal.

What do you do to come up with ideas for a story?