Can you give me ideas for my story or novel?

Answer 1

Any idea that is interesting enough to you will be a good idea. You cannot write a story or novel based on ideas that someone else invents - you won't be interested enough in the subject to be able to research and write anything that will actually sell. Plus, anonymous people on the internet have no idea how old you are, what your interests are, or how well you can write!

In order to write, you need a personal connection to the subject. Write about whatever you enjoy, or whatever you find interesting, and you will end up with your novel or story.

WikiAnswers is happy to help you learn how to write better. We will not do your writing for you by giving you ideas and paragraphs to copy.

Here are some more suggestions from WikiAnswers contributors:

• Write about what you know. A good idea for a first novel is to write your own personal story. Everyone has at least one novel in them waiting to be written.
• Observe the world around you. Anything interesting can be an idea for a story or novel.
• Research. The more you know, the more ideas you will have.
• Read stories and books that other authors have written in your chosen genre. This way, you can see how other people do things.

Here is more advice from our WikiReaders:

• A story can be either plot driven, character driven, or both. Most are stories are both but one or the other usually takes precedence. Charles Dickens' novels are primarily character driven Ian Flemings' are plot driven (although all the plots are the same.) If you need a place to start - trying thinking up interesting characters who can be developed and evolved against an interesting plot, or think up a good crises that characters can be illuminated through. In the genres of Science Fiction and fantasy setting and reality also become important but they must never take precedence over plot and character or they become essays, not stories. (The same is true for the detective story.)
• Great stories are relevant to the reader and have subject matter that may be new, controversial, unexplored, or based on real life events. For instance some of the greatest stories were "The Christmas Carol" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" because both stories touched upon current social problems. In the Christmas Carol we see Dickens is addressing the problem of greed, child labor (indirectly), money lenders who were unethical and poverty in England during his lifetime. In To Kill a Mockingbird the author takes the reader back in time to explore the faults and poor actions of racists and the conflicts of rape and truth telling in the face of moral sins. It can be perceived to be about the legal system and its injustices toward ethnic groups too.
• So find a topic that would be interesting to the reader. Try to be original and not copy other author's work. For instance I read a novel about a doctor who is sent back in time to accomplish something important during a certain era and the main character frets over whether she will ever return to her own time. It was very different and had a lot of themes about fear, forgiveness and hate. The conflicts in the story were believable and resolved in the story. You must have great conflicts and climaxes.
• Look in Barnes and Noble bookstores for a book about writing good plots by James Scott Bell. He really helps you open up your mind to new and great story plot ideas.
• When you go to bed think "story ideas, story ideas!" over and over again until something just pops into your head. Your probably thinking why I said when you go to bed to do that and this is why, If nothing pops into your head keep saying it over and over again until you fall asleep. Most likely you will have a dream that will give you an idea, but make sure you think about the dream straight after you wake up otherwise you will forget it. (it is probably a good idea if you put a note pad on your bedside table so then you can remember!)
• If your brain keeps running around in circles, a random plot generator can knock it out of its rut and set it on a new path. See the links.

This question is asked all the time and the answer is always the same, read and find inspiration.