If you’re looking for story ideas, picture a calendar marked with a special event and your main character X-ing out the days until it arrives. The automatic tension of an upcoming event could raise the stakes in your story.
Okay, so these ideas might sound a little Hallmark, but I’ve been toying with plots centering around special events, especially recurring ones–anything that brings people together repeatedly. Sparking romance is the most obvious outcome of these event springboards (hence, Hallmark), but, whatever you write, you make it your own–romance or otherwise. How about a suspenseful obsession story? A great mystery can be inspired, too. The story ideas just keep coming…
Here’s a list of events for story ideas:
1.) Pet appointments, check-ups, dentist appointments, scheduled routine car maintenance, therapy sessions, any appointment that repeats. With repetitive appointments, one often sees the same people in the waiting room, as well as the same staff. It could be a way for people to meet.
2.) Hot-tempered competitions, especially anything that keeps going, like regionals, states, nationals… battles, redemptions, championships… Food competitions come to mind (I watch a lot of Food Network)–BBQ battles, Chopped, Cupcake Wars–but those might be too obvious these days. Here’s a list of actual food competitions around the country. What about a dog show or beauty pageant? A horse show? A talent competition?
3.) Festivals. We have many of those in the South. During the spring and summer, there’s a festival every weekend–Blueberry, Seafood, Azalea, and so on. Here’s a list of wacky ones you might consider to inspire story ideas.
- Every year, two people notice each other at an outdoor film festival, and each year they move closer and closer to each other on the green. Will this be the year they finally speak?
- If Miranda isn’t named Azalea Queen, she’ll be devastated. Her entire family–generations of previous Azalea Queens–are counting on her. But none of them were up against such fierce competition. How can she beat a chess prodigy and a concert pianist, especially after that…. well, incident? Ah, she’d kill to win… but will she have to?
4.) Conferences. An annual conference brings people together from all over the country with that profession, hobby, or interest in common. With a year between them, much can change, too.
- Maybe Bob hit the cocktails hard, leading to an embarrassing scene involving pool tools, shrimp, and hotel security at one conference, only to turn it all around and achieve MVP at the next.
- Or maybe a romantic encounter at the last one leaves two people anxious and excited to see each other again.
- Or the mysterious death at last year’s conference has everyone on edge, but murder doesn’t strike twice in the same place… does it?
5.) Reunions–high school, college, and family all provide innate drama. Unique reunions would be even more interesting for story ideas. Childhood friends who’ve drifted apart (perhaps for a good reason), disbanded clubs, victims and/or survivors of a traumatic event.
6.) Campaigns & Elections.
- Tristan was devastated when his candidate lost the mayoral seat, but the results would be different this time. He’d make sure of it.
- Serving on the board of elections seemed the perfect way to beef up Jennifer’s community service on her resume. It’s only one day, after all. How hard could it be?
- Thomas stared at the threatening letter, unsure what to do. Showing the campaign manager would only put her and everyone else on high alert, forcing them to pull back instead of push forward, which was probably the author’s intention. And they were so close. What’s one menacing letter to a woman about to be a senator?
7.) Seasonal work. Christmas, other holidays, summers. So many extra people are hired to support the Christmas shopping season. What about two people who meet this way, and continue doing the work each season only to see each other again? Oh, and try these Christmas Meet Cute ideas, too.
- A seaside hotel specializing in beach weddings hires the same staff every spring to handle the events. And each spring, the group settles bets on whether the previous couples are still together. Jenna always wins–she has couple compatibility down to a science, a surprise given her inability to hold onto a relationship herself. But when she meets the girl of her dreams, one of the season’s brides, what will she do to convince her that they have a better chance at love?
8.) Death date in common. A little morbid, perhaps, but losing a loved one on the same day could bring people to the same place year after year.
9.) Shooting a TV show that keeps getting picked up season after season despite predictions otherwise or a movie that continues to make sequels could bring the same groups of people together repeatedly (fans or actors or crew). It would also impact a location–like a small town that keeps getting put in the limelight because the show or movie is shot there.
10.) Clubs. On my writer’s to-do list: A moms’ walking club steps out of their routine to investigate the suicide of a park regular. There can be a club for anything, which provides loads of opportunities. Weekly, monthly, quarterly… bring some odd characters together and watch the magic that happens. Oh, it could be a magic club.
11.) A repeat performance. Devoted fans or people with connections to a certain recurring performance, may get tickets every year.
- A “Miss Marple” type knew something was off the moment she took her usual seat for the concert. With the obvious tension between the cellist and the string section, she wasn’t surprised to learn there’d been a murder backstage. And knowing the musicians so well, she had to help.
- Two people reserve adjoining boxes yearly for a concert, play, comedian, Christmas pageant, fashion show, or movie. Always alone, they often chat about the performance. One year, when a remodel removes one of the boxes, forcing them to share.
Another benefit to a scheduled, recurring event serving as a premise for a story is that the timeline is built in. Plotting becomes easier with a framework to build from.
How about you? What special events or recurring appointments could be the catalyst for your story ideas? Share below.
Need more coffee-fueled inspiration? Check out my blog, and never run out of ideas.
