So you need to write a story. The subject matter? It’s easy. Or so it sounds. “You can write about anything you want,” your teacher says. You pull out a sheet of blank paper. Find your favorite pen or sharpen your dull pencil. Stare at the paper. Nothing comes to mind. You don’t know where to begin. Where do story ideas come from, anyway?
First look at yourself. Is there something you do that’s funny? Or unusual? Or is there something you do that everybody does? I wrote one story because of an itch in the middle of my back. I tried to reach it with one hand. Then the other. But I couldn’t quite reach the spot. So I took the “something I do” and wrote about a boy with the same problem. How he solved it got other people itching, too, including people who have read the story.
Think about your past. Is there something that scared you? Made you happy or mad? Something you’re proud of? Write a story about someone who experiences what you did. Maybe you can make your readers feel what you felt. But remember, this is fiction. Your character won’t do or say exactly what you did or said.
Think about things you wish had happened. Instead of third in the race, what if you’d been first? What if that shiny rock you found had really been gold? What if it snowed so much there was no school for three months? Author/illustrator Brenda Guiberson,Turtle People and Cactus Hotel, has said she writes about what she wishes had happened to her. You can do it, too.
Think about what you’d like to have happen. Do you want to find a map leading to hidden treasure? Do you hope a certain boy will talk to you? Do you wish you could win a contest? What if you got your wish? What would happen next? Keep asking yourself questions and soon you’ll find an idea for a story.
What about other people? Can you get story ideas from them? You bet! Did a friend say something funny? Has your grandpa told you what it was like when he was a kid? Does your big sister have an interesting hobby? Once a friend of mine said, “That cat needs counseling.” Immediately a picture formed in my mind. I saw a cat going to a psychiatrist. I wondered what the cat’s problem was. Was he afraid of mice? Didn’t like to climb trees? Take what someone else said or did and use your imagination.
Is it cheating to get ideas from things you read? As long as you are not copying a story, no. What if you read the title The Fourth Grade Wizards and think the story is about wizards who just can’t quite succeed at wizardry? Barthe DeClements’ story isn’t about real wizards at all, but your story could be. Pick up a magazine or a newspaper or read a bulletin board. Does something catch your eye? I once saw an ad which said, “Quarterhorse for sale. Likes to chase cows.” Now, doesn’t that make you wonder? What does the horse do with the cows when he catches them? I don’t know either, but I could make something up.
Maybe you had a dream you could turn into a story. Or maybe you’d like to write a story about the person in the picture on the wall. Why do they look the way they do? What do they care about? Or maybe your dog does something unusual. Write about it.
What if your favorite stories are make believe? Can you, too, write about things that aren’t real? Sure you can! You could make up a place that isn’t real as C.S. Lewis did for his Narnia Chronicles. Or you could write about alien beings as many science fiction authors do. Or perhaps you’d like a person to be able to understand animals a la Charlotte’s Web. Pick one thing and think about what would happen if it was true.
Play the “What If” game. What if you put a ballerina on the moon? What if your teacher is really a spy in disguise? What would be the problems? How would the person in your story solve the problems?
Excited now about writing your story? I hope so. As for myself, I think I need to do some more thinking about that cow chasing horse.
