Brainstorming: Using Imagination to Start a Story

I remember the exact moment I had the idea for the story I am currently working on. It was around thanksgiving time and I was at work. While doing the dishes, I was following a rather morbid train of thought when I considered what would happen if someone found their mother dead… no, murdered-when going to visit them. Some might say that my muse was with me at that moment. This assertion takes away from the intentional act of brainstorming. Brainstorming requires one to take some time to simply think, commit themselves to a single idea, and to have the goal of exciting themself with their story.

For some context, I work as a caretaker for the elderly and disabled, so I hear a lot about the lives my clients have led. Talking with my elders has been extremely helpful to me in my reflections of my own life, and has forced me to confront a lot of my own thoughts on aging and perspective. These practices are very important when considering thematic elements you want to explore. I would highly suggest that other writers consider volunteering at nursing homes. Our elders can act as a great source of inspiration.

The idea that any art requires some moment of divine intervention or a presence beyond yourself blessing you with a stroke of genius is preposterous to me, especially in regard to creative writing. Are you really going to tell me that 50 Shades Of Grey was an idea blessed to E.L. James by a god-like being? Or that the works of Colleen Hoover are touched by a divine being? Absolutely not.

Muses also sound like an excuse for why one would have ‘white page syndrome’ which I don’t believe in (neither does Brandon Sanderson). That’s not to say that I haven’t mistakenly believed that I had WPS. Of course I’ve felt the intimidation of a blank page and nothing (or sometimes too much) to put on it. At the end of the day, both muses and WPS sound like fancy reasons NOT to write, and as Alexa Donne says (among others), writers write.

As a child, my father would always tell me I needed to try and see situations from multiple perspectives, and then make a decision based on what I think would have the most favorable outcomes. In short, think before you act. Embarking on the storytelling journey should be no different. In fact, this can be an extremely valuable way to brainstorm, as it requires you to consider each character’s motivations.

For my current story, I didn’t immediately run home to start writing when I came up with my story seed. Nor did I start writing as soon as I got home from work. Before dedicating precious keystrokes to my idea, I spent a month developing the story and the characters in my mind. I needed to know beyond a reasonable doubt that this story was worthy of my blood, sweat, and tears. I needed to know that I had something to say, and what it was.

Dedicating yourself to one story is vital, especially during the early stages of story development. Over last summer (2023) I dedicated myself to outlining a road trip romance. I ended up scrapping the idea because I found I had nothing of substance to say (only after completely outlining it), but the gumption was there. I took lessons from the experience, despite the story being a flaming piece of garbage. Additionally, I knew everything that would happen in the story from start to finish, which is something I could never say before. Those three months were not a waste of time because they helped me learn more about myself as a writer.

I felt very little towards my budding road trip romance, which meant that I wasn’t particularly excited to write it. Despite that, I was convinced I had a good story with solid beats on my hands. I thought to myself that people publish awful, cheesy romances all the time! Why can’t I? My arrogance fueled me forward despite my lack of passion. Therefore, it is vital to stick to your guns even if you end up scrapping the idea later down the line, because you’ll learn more about your craft in the process. It’s about the journey, not the destination.

If you aren’t excited about your story, nobody else will be. While this is an important thing to keep in mind, I think it’s more important to consider that if you aren’t excited about your story, nobody else will GET to be. That’s because you won’t ever finish it! This is the exact reason I gave up on my road trip romance. I postulate that this is one major reason many writers never finish their stories.

When you’re starting a story, nobody matters except yourself. You’re going to spend WAY more time with your characters and in your world than anyone else will, so if it doesn’t light a fire within you, let it fall to the wayside… or brainstorm ways to get yourself excited. There is absolutely no shame in starting over from scratch. If you don’t LOVE the story you’re telling, you won’t see it as worthy of late nights or canceled plans. Make sure your story excites YOU first, and to the point that it is always on your mind.

What have your moments of inspiration looked like? And where are you in the process of developing your story?