There are so many ways to get ideas for a story, whether it’s for a blog post, an article, a short story, or a novel. Some of my ideas have come from listening to people talk, a song, a commercial, or grabbing one of the many random thoughts that constantly float through my mind.
One of my favorite ways to dream up a story idea is to play the “what if” game.
For example, if I am looking out the window while sipping an especially delicious Mocha Cappuccino I might see a man walking down the street and coming toward him is a pretty young woman wearing a yellow dress and a big blue floppy hat. I might think…
What if… as she passes him the wind kicks up and blows the hat off her head? And, what if… with cat-like reflexes, he is able to catch it in mid air? And, what if… as he hands the hat back to her, he makes an elaborate bow making her giggle with delight? And, what if… they chat for a minute and then slowly walk toward the coffee shop together and…….
You get the idea.
This is one that I’ve been ruminating for a while now.
What if…There is a hundred year old wedding chapel where no couple who has been married there has divorced.
What if….A reporter is assigned to write a story about it and she is not thrilled because she doesn’t believe in happily ever after. At least not until she begins reading all of the letters sent to the church over the years from people who were married there.
One of these days I’ll stop ruminating and just write the thing.
