HI THERE!! I have a terrible thing to tell you. I am GOD AWFUL at thinking of ideas for stories. If anyone has something I could write about, we can keep in contact as I write. I have no intentions of publishing anything.. Or even finishing anything. I occasionally have a day off where I have time to waste, and I enjoy writing! However, I can't ever think of what to write about. Previously, a friend would have a story plot that I would write. She oversaw the editing and ensuring I wrote true to her idea. However, we have not talked in over a year. If you can help, please do!
I'm not much for giving ideas my only advice to you is write about something that means a lot to you but i can give one suggestion for an idea how about a story of a soldier in a modern war who goes into battle
I could give you my idea, but then I'd have to kill you... Seriously, do what all the great authors do, crib off somebody else's work. Terry Practhett's Wyrd Sisters is a rewrite of MacBeth. George RR Martin's Tale of Ice and Fire is a rewrite of English history around the time of the Wars of the Roses. My WIP is about English history around the time of the Norman conquest. Asimov's Foundation trilogy has strong links to the Roman empire. Need I go on?
Draw historical parallels while adding in contemporary and speculative elements. Do remember that history is a foundation, not a restriction.
Okay, I'll dump some old ideas here and see if you can do better with them than I did. A world made of literally the dreams of humanity (surrealist dark fantasy). The world of faerie, realm of faeries (not just butterfly winged little women) as a main fantasy setting. Gay dude falls in love with his best friend while going through tough times and begins to have a breakdown (I really like the title here; Breakable Me).
I usually bum around with the WHAT IF question to think of ideas: What if ? A modern soldier transported back to WWI and has to deal with battle tactics, gear, beliefs ect A bartender went mad and poisoned everyone's drinks just to kill one person but something happens? A writer had to many ideas at once and goes insane trying to write them all? Those are just off the top of my caffeine deprived head but you get then point, just keep asking what if?
I used to write with a partner and he was the one who made those high-level creative decisions. After he moved to L.A. (I stayed behind for personal reasons) I was lost for things to write about for years. And when I started writing again, it was because I finally found a way to give myself permission to write in a sub-genre that I've always loved, but those around me (including my ex-partner) thought was a waste of time: humorous science fiction. Maybe what you need is to find your genre niche. Once I did, ideas flooded in so fast I couln't keep track of them all.
Write character sketches when you have those hours to spend writing. You can find interesting characters anywhere and everywhere, in cafes, at the grocery, on the street, at work, everywhere. Take notes during the day and then expand these characters when you sit down to write. As you go deep into inventing these characters you will find they want to interact. Voila! A story.
What are you interested in? What problems do you see with the world around you, and how people treat one another? Mix 'em up.
If it helps at all... I get my ideas from situations and events that happen in my life, even the simplistic things that happen throughout the day. I then see how I can make the activity into something creepy since I mainly focus on horror writing... For example, I got home from work one day, looked out my kitchen window just to look out. I looked towards the northwest of my property and saw the usual crop field and wood-line beyond it. Idea sparked! I wrote a story focusing on a man who abandoned his vehicle at a stop sign and walked off into the crop field and woods beyond the intersection only the baffle local law enforcement when he completely vanished. Use what happens in your life as inspiration, make it a habit and you will never run out of ideas again. Also, use your imagination...like you did as a kid, even! If only I had the writing skills I have now, when I was a child! Oh man! An imagination is a terrible thing to waste...
Write a story about a fanatical, murdering, crusader knight-commander, who is visited by a magical woodland nymph. The gentle creature charges him to escort what the knight views as a disgusting 'nonbeliever' to safety, or suffer a curse of mysterious nature. The knight is compelled to obey the powerful mythological creature, believing it is a test of faith. He gathers his man-at-arms, and sets off on his noble quest. This causes a dramatic conflict between the various military leaders and nation members of the crusade, as one of their most trusted and righteous generals takes his whole army from the front, abandoning their mission to follow a 'demonic' entity's trickery. A huge civil war is started, as allied factions slaughter each other, and holy 'brothers' murder each other over bird signs and hear-say. All the while, the 'nonbeliever' watches on in terror as the fanatical warrior's quest destroys more than any crusade every would. OR... Write a story about a prosperous, young race of crystalline birds, who live in paradise, the icy winds and chilling temperatures allowing their race to reproduce and thrive in never before seen numbers . One of their explorers finds the ruins of the 'makers', ancient humanoid creatures who lived thousands of years before, and ushered in the current age of prosperity for the birds by terraforming the planet. The explorer delves deep into the ruins, striving to discover more about these creators and what drove them, what inspired them, and what powerful secrets the bones of their civilization holds. The explorer discovers a strange story of generosity and bravery. The creators lived on the planet for many years, the hot, volatile temperatures and dramatic seasonal shifts spelling violent death for the early ancestors of the birds. For an unknown reason, and seemingly without a word of dissension, a unified effort of unimaginable sacrifice was undertaken. Slowly, carefully, and methodically, the progenitors bent every mechanism of their existence towards changing the climate of their planet. They blocked out the sun, thickened the oceans, killed off the creatures they relied of for survival. The process slowly poisoned their own bodies, but still they strove on, dedicated and unwavering in their mission of creation. Their goal was finally achieved. The planet was transformed into a gift for the birds, a freezing orb of glistening ice and empowering winds. The creators left, ascending outward into the stars, ready to spread their gift of life to other worlds.