7 Things to do to help spark new ideas for a story - Uniting Artists

7 Things to do to help spark new ideas for a story

by Ines de los Santos | May 22nd, 2020

There is no wrong place to get an idea from. Therefore, “building a story” has countless sources. However, there are some that we might not be aware of their accessibility to us. A great screenplay that has been written comes from dreams, conversations with friends, news stories, personal experiences, historical facts, and even brief encounters with total strangers. The first step to do is to always train your brain to be opened up to all the ideas that come up every day that could potentially become a great story, and a journal can always help to keep track of the numerous things that could inspire your writing.



But despite this journal, there are other points that every young writer should do as well to feel motivated:

  • Daily newspapers or online news sources: there are at least three good ideas in every single daily issue of any newspaper.
  • Listen to your family: Those funny and embarrassing old family stories might start you on your way to a sitcom.
  • Listen to your friends: One person’s problems, issues, solutions, and triumphs are interesting to all people.
  • The classics: Seek out old novels, scripts, and movies. If you can’t come up with an idea, maybe try to adapt it to a different genre or world-building.
  • List your dreams: The fairytales and nightmares that haunt us during the night might be a good start to a potential story.
  • Read obituaries: Newspapers try to include the occasional obituary of people who weren’t famous but lived amazing and interesting lives.
  • List the ten most important events of your life: What changed you? What made you the person you are now? Pick the most interesting one.

Always remember to find a place and a time. If you set aside a consistent time and place to be creative, then eventually you will automatically go into creative mode every time you sit down to work. Control this time. Get up earlier and stay up later. Disconnect.

But most importantly, use the time to shift gears into being a creator of entertainment.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Ines de los Santos

Creating a story - Ines

Dominican Producer, Screenwriter, and journalist, with a Masters degree in Screenwriting.

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