A Few Methods for Finding a Story Topic

After every book club event, I reflect on how it made me feel, what I learnt, and which aspects have stayed with me. This train of thought occurred to me when I considered the wide variety of stories in our fiction club. I wondered what approach could be taken to generate story ideas. You may find some of these helpful as well.

Since I’ve organised my notes under headings, I’ll present them in the same way. Let's get started.

· Generating random headings and brainstorming ideas

I want to start with what I think is the most enjoyable. I'm talking about free association. A word or phrase that you hear in your daily life might catch your attention. It could be something you recognise or something you don't.

Personally, I focus on unusual phrases that wouldn't normally be used.

I find that I come across these phrases unexpectedly, whether it's from a passer-by, a line from a song playing in the background, or a funny word or phrase that slips out during a conversation with a friend.

At that moment, I feel as though that sentence could be the perfect title for a story. Sometimes, I quickly jot down a few ideas, imagining what could be written under that title. Even if it’s not fully formed yet, the idea becomes a topic for me.

· Mixing multiple unrelated topics/elements

I think this is a fun exercise, too! In fact, I'm sure good writers do this all the time.

Unlike before, we can act intentionally and start combining things straight away. There's no need for a random situation. It might take more time, but you'll get a concrete idea as it takes shape in your mind.

As a suggestion, try combining at least two unrelated things. I deliberately included this in the title. In our writing club, we select three themes and try to incorporate them into our writing. These themes don't have to be related to each other. This offers both a restrictive and a developmental opportunity. You are free to make these choices yourself.

· Step outside your favourite and/or most written genre. Use it as a complementary element

You probably have a favourite genre of writing or reading material. You may even have a few. Writing about these genres can make you feel more comfortable and cheerful. However, sometimes, when you value them more, you may find it more difficult than usual. This is because you want them to be of the same quality.

Now, let's reverse this situation. Choose a genre you haven't written in before — not necessarily one you hate, but one you've overlooked because you didn't know what to write about. At first, you will naturally struggle. Don't worry. Keep writing.

You will notice that your mind will no longer work the same way due to the difference in genre, whether you like it or not. I'm not talking about literary rules or language style, but you may also have adopted different approaches in these areas. This is an advantage.

You will find yourself moving away from the topics you love and entering events you have never experienced before, the outcome of which you cannot predict. If you haven't realised this yet, let me tell you: at that very moment, you are one of us readers. That's the beauty of it. You will find yourself writing more and more out of curiosity.

There was an addition to my heading, so let's touch on that as well. Even though we are entering a different genre, we may sometimes feel inadequate. We may not be sure what we're doing. A little research may help, but the key to writing is knowing you always have a backup option. Don't forget the genre you have at your fingertips and use it where necessary, but don't let it take centre stage. Make sure you’re building on its foundations so you don’t stray from your initial endeavour.

· Copying what already exists

As those who participate in our book clubs might have guessed, I am going to talk about direct inspiration.

This time, I can provide examples from my own life.

When I first started writing as a child, aside from the school assignments we received in primary school, I used games. After completing each section of a game, I would pause, pick up my notebook and describe my experience through the eyes of the character I was controlling. I would narrate as if writing in a diary, giving the character a voice.

Another example is that when I first read The Lord of the Rings and played its games, I was so intrigued that I wanted to create my own world with its own races and cities. I took some names directly, while others were simply anagrams with altered letters. I added background information to the elements I had defined with made-up names and played my own game. In short, I was creating a copy of the work I had consumed.

The main point here, needless to say, is the fictions that take shape within our own perceptions. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't create an exact replica. At some point, we'll inevitably favour an element we like more or skip a part we don't like that the authors used. In short, we'll forge our own path. Just like life itself.

Photo by Jason W on Unsplash 

· Looking at photographs and paying attention to details

My final point differs slightly from the others. It has a more physical aspect to it.

When we look at old photographs, all sorts of memories come flooding back. Our thoughts then drift from one thing to another.

Family photo albums are a good example of this. We ask lots of questions because we don't know who anyone is, where the places are, or what the people in the photos are doing now. Although we can't experience life as people did in the past, we can think differently to how they did. Those times don't belong to us. We didn't live through those moments; we weren't there to witness them. However, we are outside observers.

Although this may sound sad, I thought there might be a way to benefit from it. I had the idea of searching for inspiration for stories. Looking at the photographs, I realised how little I knew. As questions arose, so did different ideas.

Another thing I noticed was how interesting it was to look at photographs of people we don't know. Of course, this doesn't necessarily have to involve people.

Perhaps you have visited second-hand bookshops, fairs or antique shops. Alongside old coins, there are usually black-and-white photographs whose owners are unknown. I have always found these photographs strange. They usually put me in a sad mood.

However, years later, I stopped seeing them that way when I had an idea. Instead, I thought I could turn the people in the photographs into characters in a story. It felt like a meaningful way to celebrate human life. Perhaps I'm exaggerating — I don't know — but that's how I felt about the idea.

The clothes they wear, the backgrounds, the expressions, the interpersonal connections that are the subject of speculation, certain names or signs... All of these are places and people that once existed, have changed, or still exist. Creating a story through them adds to their immortality. Just like those photo frames.

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I hope you found these points interesting, either directly or indirectly. If you have any thoughts or experiences relating to this topic, please feel free to share them with the other readers.