I found some online resources for finding your main idea, your plan of action, your plot. Everything else is an accessory to your main inspiration for your story. You may have thought of a character or even a characteristic first, but the plot is the action, the what-happened part. It's what drives your story---so pick a good vehicle!!!
A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is - full of surprises. ~Isaac Bashevis
Big Huge Thesaurus - Synonyms, antonyms, and rhymes (oh my!) Along with story plots, this site also has blog post ideas. Big Huge Thesaurus boasts millions of story plots!
Hatch's Plot Bank - Several pages of almost 1000 plot ideas each. These are very short sentences to get you started. The first few I read I didn't like too much but going down the list kinda hit and miss, they do get better and get your mind going to make up your own plots.
Plot Twist Generator - Generate up to 50 plot twists at a time.
Romance Story Generator - Complete with extra details.
Scriptboiler - Free plot and character ideas. This blog has posts full of ideas.
Keep your eyes and ears open!! and let your own story ideas pop into your mind.
* Play the "what if?" game - With any thought that comes by, put what if? ........ this happened in front of it. Keep asking what if? again and again to see what else pops up.
* Read obituaries to get ideas from a real person's life. What different things did they do in life, which of their family and friends are listed, etc. Read between the lines of what isn't listed and think of reasons why. What secrets did they keep and were they taken to the grave or not?
* Use newspaper and magazine headlines. Don't go any further into the article, just write the headline down and then write up a different story based on just those few words.
* Keep a notebook and write down any odd fragments of thoughts throughout the day. Make a story from one or combine two or more.
* Write down the synopsis of a tv show from an online guide or the guide on your tv. Don't watch the show, make up your own story.
* Cut out words in different fonts and colors from magazines. Put them on magnet tape (a strip of magnet with sticky on one side). Put the seperate words on your fridge and then move them around every once in a while. Pick out a certain number of those words or make a sentence out of them and write a story.
* Cut out pictures from magazines that inspire some type of emotion in you. Tape/glue them on index cards. Then use them to spark story ideas. Pick one or pick a certain number and then include them in your story.
* Watch the news, especially the personal stories.
* Listen to children talk. Their view of the world and how things work can spark some great stories.
* Watch people. Airports are great for this. But anywhere there are people will work. Grocery stores, school, waiting rooms, church, sporting events, etc. Try to figure out why they look or act the way they do. Eavesdrop....take those bits of conversation and turn them into something other than what they seem to be about. Be nosy about your neighbors and make up some fantastic story about why they always get home at 11:00pm or what is really in their trash cans or who is in that white car that always comes around every Wednesday.
* Write down who, what and why and then twist it into whatever genre you are writing or make yourself stretch and try out another genre.
