What odd experiences have you encountered in which you developed a story idea from?

[KarlaErikaCal]

It doesn't necessarily have to be odd, but I think it would be interesting to learn what sorts of events in our lives inspire us to write.

I had one odd experience recently that developed into a story idea.

I was on the train one day, and there was this boy who kept looking at me. He started writing something in a notebook, tore it up, and folded it. I had an inkling it was for me. Before I got off, he gave me the little note. I just glanced at what he said, smiled when I read that he thought I was cute and had a nice voice (even though I was sick and I didn't have my normal voice...) then threw it out. That was just way too creepy for me....

This turned into a novel idea called Letters. It's an alternating POV novel. The girl receives anonymous letters from a boy, and with their frequency and mention of specific details in her life, she wonders if he is a stalker and should go to the police. But there is a certain quality to the words D.K. (the initials he signs with) writes to her. The other POV is in the boy's POV, in which he keeps trying to let her know it's been him all along, but he is concerned she won't feel the same way about him.

Other times, sometimes the lyrics to a song inspire me, or maybe a movie and I try to morph these into my own original ideas.

The lyrics to "Dollhouse" by Priscilla Renea talked about a guy "controlling" her like she was a doll. So I thought . . . hmm, what if the girl can't escape from her controlling boyfriend? I'm still trying to figure out more to this story idea.

How about for you all?

[amlptj]

i was pissed off at the boardwalk that i couldnt win this one thing and while i was sitting in a beach chair at the waterpark me in my jealious rage wished there was no one on the boardwalk so i could just take the thing i wanted and so there would be no lines for the slides. That kind of started my whole series.

My next one started by having to do an assignment for school, write a short story. It was near halloween and i had just went to eastern state pen that's a few blocks from my house and while walking past it the next day on my way to school i thought i saw a face in the window of one of the towers... so i thought wouldnt it be weird if someone was still locked up there. That's how my second was born.

And it goes one and one like that...

[yttar]

I've taken bits and pieces of my life and worked them into stories.

In my young adult Esper series, my main character has a dream that seems so real, she sleepwalks to get away from what's happening. Her dream is based off one I had when I was 15. When I was 17 (the same age as my character), I went camping with some friends from my church and we picked up a hitch-hiker. So my character and a couple of her friends take a road trip and pick up a hitch-hiker.

When I was in first grade, my grandparents' house burnt to the ground. So that main character's older sister lost control of her powers when she was in first grade and burnt her house to the ground.

That character(the one who lost control of her powers)'s boyfriend's parents died while they were vacationing in Brazil. The opening scene I have for that story is based around one of my favorite nights there (minus the werewolf slaughtering my family part).

For the vampire novel I'm revising, my main character takes the Amtrak to Chicago and gets caught in a freak March snowstorm during spring break, much like what happened to me (minus the vampires).

One thing I like to do is take events that have happened to me and put a supernatural twist on them. (So naturally, the hitch-hiker they pick up is some sort of supernatural.)

I keep wanting to write about my experiences in South Korea and Japan, I just can't seem to figure out which stories they fit best in yet.

A non-supernatural example I have was when I was in Rio de Janiero, I went to buy some postcards and this really cute Brazilian said, "Bom dia," to me. That was on of the few phrases I knew, but of course my mind totally blanked on it right then. So for my senior comp class we had to write a How-To piece and mine was titled "How to Flirt in a Foreign Language" or something like that. Though I still want to come up with some supernatural thing with that too.

Yttar

[Kaiser-Kun]

I had a nightmare as a child. I was in my bedroom, very scared. I looked out of the window and saw that the moon had divided in two, and the halves looked like evil eyes. Somehow I knew that meant the end of the world.

As an adult, I had the same nightmare. It became a real sign for the end of the world in my WiP.

[amlptj]

I had a nightmare as a child. I was in my bedroom, very scared. I looked out of the window and saw that the moon had divided in two, and the halves looked like evil eyes. Somehow I knew that meant the end of the world.

As an adult, I had the same nightmare. It became a real sign for the end of the world in my WiP.

that sounds actually like a really creepy dream! Cool thing for a book too!

[KimJo]

When I was in college, my best (male) friend warned me to stay away from an old railroad bridge in our town. He said there was "something dark" there and had been a number of unexplained deaths over the years since the bridge had been built. I'd always had a creepy feeling about the bridge anyway.

About 5 years ago, with that idea playing around in my brain even though it was over fifteen years after my friend had told me about it, I sat down and wrote a novel about a boy with psychic abilities who discovers just what force of darkness is at that railroad bridge. That story gave birth to a ten-book series, which in turn gave birth to two additional 10-book series.

Yeah, I have too much time on my hands...

[jasonleeward]

Sometimes I'll add content in a story that's inspired by something, but it still remains fiction. One time I was visiting a relative and told there were several dogs next door, but didn't know that they were always kept inside, or in a pen. Later, outside, I heard these bushes rustling followed by barking. I ran, not looking back and used all my focus to get away from the 'rottweiler' wanting to shred me. I finally turned around, while still running, and saw that it was a labrador playing chase. It also was from next door. There's always something to write about, though I make sure it's well written and the scene says what I need it to.

[Kitty27]

I based a character on my brother. He's very thuggish in appearance but underneath all of that is a heart of gold,which he tries very hard to hide.

I get ideas for characters from people I see. I stared at girl on the train one night. She had the greenest eyes that I have ever seen,along with black hair and porcelain skin. She was so striking that she stayed on my mind. I had to write about her and a new vampire for my series was born.

[Kathleen42]

Various things which have given me big ideas:

A note someone left in a book.
A schizophrenic on the bus.
A gopher in a graveyard.

[Sage]

I misread a license plate.

[KarlaErikaCal]

Whoa! I thought this thread was dead for some time! I posted it 3 weeks ago! LOL

[Leah_Michelle]

My first completed manuscript was based off a World of Warcraft fanfiction I was writing lol. I know, huge nerd. I modernized it and added in other subplots. It didn't work out, so I pulled my characters out and stuck them in another one with a better idea.

[Rebecca_Rogers]

My first completed manuscript was based off a World of Warcraft fanfiction I was writing lol. I know, huge nerd. I modernized it and added in other subplots. It didn't work out, so I pulled my characters out and stuck them in another one with a better idea.


I love you. Srsly. I <3 WoW. :)

[Rebecca_Rogers]

Most of my ideas come from really weird dreams. :D

ME sprouted as an idea when I asked myself what it'd be like to go anywhere my imagination could take me.

SM was just one of those that wouldn't leave me alone.

TC came from seeing "The Cottage" painted on one of my mom's birdhouses.

:Shrug: