1. Pictures. Images explain a 1000 words or more. Any photos you take indoors or outdoors, collected on your photo album, images you download or upload online, each visual has something special to say. They could be pictures of people, places things, illusions and ideas. For example, you got a picture of a beach resort in a vacation magazine, you can use it as a setting in your story. Or you see a photo of a model in a unique hairdo or wierd clothing, write about that character in the story.
2. Talk shows. Every guest on talk shows has an unique story to tell about their personal experiences, the situations they have been through, their successes they’re sharing, the life lessons they’re learned based on the shows topics. Take any small piece of their stories and use them as the main ideas of your story.
3. Social experiment specials If you watch social experiments on tv, pay close attention to how everyday people respond to situations they witness or the role playing experiment they participate in. This will help you give your characters situations in your story and how they live through them or solve them. Use those situations as the focal point of the story. For example, if you watch the television show “What Would You Do,” then picture your characters in any situation they demonstrate on the show and ask yourself “What would you character do differently?”
4. Video games. Combative games, adverture games, and simulation games. Believe it or not, adults play them as much as children and they talk about them. Favorite games, favorite combative moves, favorite characters, favorite scenes. The more they talk about them, the more ideas flow into their heads and their creativity starts to take form. This is good resource if you want to write a story on adventure, science fiction, action, mystery, fantasy, any type of genre.
5. Real life events and situations. If you witness certain situations outside your home, write about them. For example, natural distasters like earthquakes and hurricanes that tore up the entire city, fights on the subway trains, shootings on a crowded city bus, prostests or strikes on public streets against corporate giants. They are good stories for drama, crime drama and psychological drama genres.
6. Home videos. They are also a great source of ideas for your story. You can write about special events like birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, weddings, family reunions, graduations, christenings, weddings. You can also use special occasions like vacations, social events, social outings, road trips, proms, sporting events, etc. Plus, you can use events as your film documentary. Perhaps, you’re looking through old home videos, taking a trip down memory lane. Great resource for story ideas of any genre, especially time travel or historical genres.
7. News stories Many ideas with news stories. Good for mystery, suspense, crime drama, action, adventure and drama genres. Unsolved crimes, tragic situations, heroic rescues, amazing wits of survival, successful triumphs, events that are now historical.
8. Personal experiences. You want to tell your about your own life experiences, tell it through your characters. No one knows you better than you yourself. Your main character can be based on you, or your friend, family member, loved one or anyone you know as an inspiration. Using you own diary, journals, or memoirs are a great reference for choosing a certain situation for your fictional story.
9. Community events. If there are events or social activities going on in your neighborhood that you’ve involved in or planning to attend, use your experience of that event as a foundation for your story idea. Social events like local street fairs, local talent shows or recitals, expos, summer concerts, street festivals, block parties, etc can make great locales for any story genres. Social activities like taking new lessons, volunteering, protesting in rallies, auditioning for a show, competing in local contest, etc. will help give background for your idea.
10.Articles. There different types of articles that you can use as cross references for your story idea. It can be news articles, editorials, how to articles, etc. Mix your story ideas from any article with any genre you wish to help make your story idea unique.