Coming up with story ideas is part of a writer's job, but the ideas don't always materialize when you want them to. But hey, don't panic, you can find ideas in all sorts of places.
There are many prompt sites out there like Seventh Sanctum http://www.seventhsanctum.com They have seventeen generators to choose from and a list of fifteen other sites with generators. This is the link to the quick story generator http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=quickstory All you have to do is click until you find a story idea that works for you.
Over at Duotrope they have a theme calender http://www.duotrope.com/themecal.aspx You can scroll down through the calender and find any number of different themes that might trigger a story for you. If the zine with the theme doesn't suit you, it doesn't matter. There are always other markets, only the idea is important at this point. Get the story written.
And speaking of themes, I found a Western theme opening for you Western writers out there. It's a non-paying quarterly market called "Schlock" who's looking for pulpy type stories for a variety of themes. http://schlockmagazine.net/submission-guidelines/ They also take reprints. The deadline for the Westerns stories is November 1 for the December issue.
Of course, there are other places to find ideas like prompt groups, google, and blogs. All you have to do is open your mind to the possibilities then hit the keyboard.
5 comments:
Schlock is a great find for me as a reader. Exactly my cup of tea.
I usually come up with ideas from the world around me, which is screwed up enough for me not to need any help from other sources in generating ideas.
But what you listed seems like good places for other writers, both old and new, to find story ideas.
Just to give you a basic idea on what triggered my current story, was my 1040 tax form, specifically, Line 21 (Other Income).
And boy, am I having fun with that one.
It's always great when you find reading material that you like, Anton.
I'm the same way G! But occassionally I like a prompt or a sentence that sets my brain off in different directions. The trick with a prompt is to discard the first three or four ideas and really go out on a limb. And your story idea sounds intriguing.
One of the best prompts is the guidelines for an open-call anthology. If the prompt works, you know exactly where to submit the story that results.
The Schlock Magazine Western issue has just been published. Go to the site and check it out. :-)
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