Fantastic Stories and Where to Find Them

As we’re prepping for November this year, we’ve talked to some participants to get their stories about how NaNoWriMo has influenced them. Today, NaNoWriMo participant Justine Dietz shares how she finds inspiration for her stories:

In my experience, one of the more difficult stages of writing is when you have that fascinating idea for a full length story, or even new ideas to add to that story to make it more interesting, when suddenly you encounter that famous “writer’s block” and your story seems repetitive, without any innovative or new, interesting elements.

Getting an idea in the first place took the longest for me. I used to sit around thinking about what I liked to talk about, or what kind of “world message” I wanted to get down on paper or document in the form of a fictional story. But perhaps those thoughts were the most considerable contributions to the writer’s block I had in the first place. It’s like when you’re looking for a word that is on the tip of your tongue, but the more you try and catch it, the more you become frustrated, and the less you are actually likely to recover it… until one day, when you are not even thinking about it, it suddenly comes to you. 

In a way, story ideas work in a similar fashion, at least from what I’ve learned. They come to you spontaneously. However, there are different ways in which you might be able to encourage these sparks of ideas without blocking your creativity. Here are some things I found quite helpful: 

1. Go outside. 

Take a walk down your local street, take in the scenery. Can you imagine some sort of story taking place there? A romantic story, perhaps? Or a short horror novella? Anything is possible! Also remember to always have something with you to write everything down! 

2. Listen to Music. 

Listen to music that evokes specific emotions and don’t even think about trying to find something. Just close your eyes and imagine a scene taking place. If the scene sounds interesting enough, write it down! A story can derive from a simple two-liner that’s going to end up somewhere in those pages (or not)! 

3. Read.

Don’t deprive yourself of reading other books or watching media. They can spark character ideas, landscape ideas, and can make you think of story arcs that you feel are missing in the original – you can write it! Personally, a few original story ideas sparked through the writing of fanfiction. However, you are going to want to be careful if story ideas stem from other works. Being inspired by them is beautiful and amazing, but you’re going to want to only be inspired by them, and not outright plagiarize them. Ask yourself this: Are my characters and settings my own or are they simple copies of another author’s characters? Is my story something new and innovative or a simple reflection of a story that’s already out there? 

4. Don’t think.

Open your eyes to look around you, take in everything. A simple color, phrase, or event can spark an idea. Let your emotions flow. Many times, it is during times of distress or sorrow or extreme happiness that words just pop up. 

5. Don’t stop.

Don’t stop at that one idea. Keep working on it. Your ideas will get better and unravel more often. Years ago I’d need a whole year to come up with one idea, now I get a couple a month!

In conclusion: Go outside, open your eyes, and let you mind wander, don’t force it into a box. You’ll find something. Don’t stress out about it, you can do it!

Justine Dietz is a third year University student studying English Literature and Visual Culture. She is a radio show host, musician, artist, poet, writer, and YouTuber. She has over twenty novels in the work with plans to publish two of them in the near future. Her favorite genres are young adult, fantasy and coming-of-age.

Top photo by Jess Watters on Unsplash.