My first cup of coffee sparks many quirky story starters. If you’re looking for inspiration, try these random ideas… and coffee. Caffeine helps.
If you’re looking for story starters or ways to amp up a scene you’re already in, then throw in a real-life annoyance. A little accident.
I had a plan for dinner. Ready to get it done and provide a yummy meal for my family, I set about the task with zeal… so much zeal that I sliced a chunk out of my thumb on the mandolin. Blood gushing and my dominant hand now, well, unsanitary and out of service, my plan changed entirely.
All it takes is a little accident to change your character’s plans, too. Plans rarely go as expected in real life, so why should they in fiction?
Here are some little accidents to use as story starters:
- A fender bender in the parking lot of the job interview
- An allergic reaction on a date
- Getting splashed with mud while hailing a cab (to the interview, big presentation, audition, hot date…)
- A busted ankle rollerblading in the park
- Hitting delete on the manuscript, presentation, financial records, evidence, final paper…
- Falling off the ladder you’re using to spy on your neighbors
If you’re grappling with a scene that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, throw in a little accident. Just because you and your character make plans doesn’t mean they’ll be carried through as expected. Break expectations.
Here are some other ideas for accidents.
For story starters with bigger implications, steal something essential from your main character.
It could be something essential to all of us… like freedom, peace of mind, or healthcare. What if food became obsolete? Imagine big Pharma reducing all of a body’s necessary nutrition to a pill. The ramifications would be mind-blowing. And your main character is a chef…
Or it could be essential to your main character especially. A social media celebrity without a phone or computer… An addict without a fix… A hoarder whose house burns down… A doctor who loses his license to practice… Your main character could be the victim of a petty crime that causes a domino effect.
Consider what your character views as essential to his or her life. What if that thing was made obsolete or otherwise altered forever?
The main character of my mystery series, Delilah Duffy, loves books and runs a bookstore. But what if a tree shortage means the end of books altogether? She’d be forced to reinvent her business or get out of it altogether.
Figure out what’s important to your main character and brainstorm ideas of what would happen if that thing is taken away.
Start your story with an unexpected delivery.
A bouquet of flowers is delivered to your main character, but they are not a pleasant surprise. Who are they from, and why is she so bothered? Create the scene.
If flowers are too cliche, send your main character something else. A fruit basket. A pizza. A subscription box. A box of Omaha steaks. Pictures of the shrine he’s constructed in her honor. Creepy.
When I was a teenager, an elderly customer at the grocery store I worked at left me and another girl lingerie. Yikes… that was a very unpleasant surprise. (On that note, try these story ideas with a twist.)
Let an unexpected delivery set the tone and kickstart the action in your story.
Walking into the unexpected story starters.
A guy walks into a bar, but no one is there. The lights are on. It’s normal business hours. Half-finished drinks litter the tables. Music plays. A cigarette burns in an ashtray. The cue ball rolls to a stop on the pool table. He calls out. No one answers. What happens next?
Use this wonky writing prompt to start your story or fix any lackluster scene in your novel. Let your main character enter the bar, business, cubicle, car, apartment, whatever, and find something unexpected. An object out of place. A person she didn’t plan to see. Her cat missing. A putrid odor. A dead body. Something odd. It’ll add interest and tension.
Try one of these story starters…
- The inspector walks into the kitchen and is shocked by…
- The social worker walks into the home for her usual visit and discovers…
- She surprises her boyfriend by returning from her business trip early, walks into the apartment they share, and finds…
- The first person to enter the pharaoh’s tomb in centuries, the archeologist discovers the thing he least expects….
Try these plot ideas on being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Driving into the unexpected story starters.
Morning rush hour. Your main character sits in traffic, checking the clock on the dashboard every minute while half-listening to the local morning talk show. Life isn’t bad for your main character. She has a rewarding career, plenty of money, and a meaningful relationship with her stable, equally accomplished boyfriend. Life is good.
Radio celebrities Milo and Baby Chris catch her attention (these are my stock radio personalities, so I’ve used them already; you should invent your own). They’re about to do a phone prank, something she’s enjoyed before. A longtime girlfriend is pranking her boyfriend by getting Milo to call the house, posing as a hotel manager to confirm a romantic weekend getaway, complete with a couples’ massage, dinner reservations, and a horseback riding excursion. The problem is… he’s working all weekend. These plans aren’t with him!
“We’ve been together for ten years,” the girlfriend explains, “with no ring to show for it. This prank’ll push him out of the comfortable rut we’re in… I hope.”
Your main character shakes her head, glad she’d never be the type to resort to such desperate tactics to get her boyfriend to commit. Yikes.
The light changes. Slowly, she moves forward. The call is made. She hears a familiar voice over the speakers. Her face pinches slightly. Gosh, that sounds just like my… She gasps and slams on the brakes. This woman’s boyfriend is her boyfriend!
What happens next… well… could be anything. A traffic accident. A confrontation. A revenge story. A murder. A feel-good reinvention. A new romance. A big shock in the middle of a mundane activity, like going to work, could lead to thousands of compelling stories.
And morning radio can be used in other ways, not just to reveal a cheating partner. Consider these ideas using morning radio for plot development:
- A news report. Something important to your main character’s been defunded, voted against, repealed.
- Another news report. Someone’s been killed, released, exonerated, brought up on charges.
- A traffic report. She is diverted into unknown territory. Or perhaps she’s stuck. She misses the big meeting because she’s parked outside a weird convenience store or other interesting place.
- Yet another news report. Her stocks have tanked. A meteor heads to the earth. Somehow the world–or at least her world–skids into catastrophe.
- A strange, but alluring commercial calls to her so strongly that she forgets work to patronize the dealership, farm, store, doctor’s office, salon, whatever.
- A song plays that reminds her of her high school sweetheart, and when the song ends, Milo gives the name of the artist–and it’s him!
So many unexpected things can happen during our mundane must-dos, like driving to work. If you need story starters, put your main character into one of these tedious, normal life activities and then yank the rug right out from under her, propelling her and your readers into an awesome story.
Whew, the coffee’s wearing off. Did these story starters get you writing? Share your ideas below! And check out How to Get Story Ideas for more help!
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