Hi, I'm new here. I'm 15 and want to write a fiction novel, preferably in the crime/thriller/suspense/mystery genre, but just cannot think of decent ideas. I get good ideas but they're either already taken or highly clichéd. How do you guys think of ideas? Cheers.
It's best to think of your own ideas. I mean it is your story and you shouldn't have someone else come up with ideas for you. We can help you with little stuff or to help you think of stuff on your own. Nothing really comes to mind when I think of crime/thriller novels since those books don't really interest me. I do recommend watching the movie Inside Man or Mystic River. Inside Man is about a bank robbery and it is loaded with a bunch of crazy twists that make the movie absolutely brilliant and it is also highly believable. Mystic River is a murder mystery with a depressing plot twist that makes the movie emotionally powerful as well. I'm not saying you should steal these ideas, but it's a great source to get inspiration from and see how people come up with simple stories (such as a bank robbery or a murder) and are able to twist around the plots and characters to make it into something much more original and impacting and moving.
Thanks for your quick reply. I'm not asking people to think of ideas for me, simply to offer suggestions on the best ways to think of ideas or how they think of them. Been meaning to watch Mystic River for a while so will get round to watching that sooner rather than later, hopefully. Also, Inside Man looks good and I'll check that out too.
Ask questions. Take a story you read, a movie you watched, etc. and ask what would have happended if something was different. I'm not saying write alternate endings or fan-fic. What if Little Red Riding Hood were a Jedi? What kind of story would you have and what would you need to tweak to make it more interesting than Red pulls her lightsaber and maims wolf, The End? Stuff like that. Or go find some writing prompts. I'm new to this site and I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to post links, but if you google "writing prompts" you should find a few things. Have fun.
If you want to write in a particular genre, you have to be totally familiar with it to avoid writing similar stories. Also, you need to read 'current' books in your genre - Raymond Chandler is a classic noir author, but his style is considered 'old-fashioned' now - so check out Lee Child, J.A. Kerley, Barry Eisler, James Patterson... Or go to your public library and browse the thriller/suspense section. If you weave two unoriginal ideas into a single storyline, that might become original. Or take a cliché and twist it.
read the newspapers watch the news on tv watch people read books keep pen/paper by your bed to write down your dreams and, btw, novels are fiction, so don't call them 'fiction novels' if you don't want to appear to be totally clueless... love and hugs, maia
Here's another list of great crime thrillers for you to reference to: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/contraband_2012/news/1924183/10_certified_fresh_crime_thrillers/
