More Short Story Starters
Sometimes writers want to write but they just don’t know what to write about. Sometimes the brain goes into neutral and you just can’t think up a topic. Over the last year or so I’ve written a series of articles listing some short story starters. These are designed to help other writers get going again with their writing. Feel free to use these ideas in your own writing.
Short Story Starters:
- Mary stopped suddenly. On the path not five metres from he was a curled up snake. She stifled a scream. Her first impulse was to….
- Neville strode confidently on to the stage. He was ready for anything. Just as he was about to open his mouth, a…..
- Olivia never like James. His habit of….
- Peter came unexpectedly around the corner. Both Amy and Bob stared in disbelief. Where….
- Roberta knew she was going to be late for the meeting. She hurried from the lift, down the corridor and then paused at the door. She took a deep breath, composed her thoughts and opened the door. She…
- Sam was at it again. Steve never quite knew what to do but it annoyed him intensely. Sam’s habit of…
- Teresa felt fear creeping through her body. This could not be happening. She took a hesitant step towards…
Conditions of use:
- Feel free to use any of the story starters listed above. Change anything to suit your needs.
- Give it your best shot.
- Edit your work carefully before sending it off to a publisher or posting it on your blog.
- Let me know in the comments section how it went.
- If you publish your story on your web site or on your blog let me know so I can make a link to it for others to read.
More story ideas:
There are many more ideas in my archives similar to these. Click here to read them.
Writing Hint #27: Use your memories
I went to a funeral last Monday. It was in my old home town of Loxton, South Australia. I grew up on a farm and went to a one teacher school about twenty miles from Loxton.
The funeral was for an dear old lady who ran a combined store, post office and telephone exchange in the small town where I grew up. She had reached the wonderful age of 102 and was very active until a few weeks ago. Her funeral was a celebration of a full and interesting life. Her daughter and I went through school together always in the same class. She now lives only a short distance away from us.
After the funeral most of the family and friends gathered in the church hall for lunch. It was a wonderful time of renewing friendships and acquaintances from fifty years ago. A group of us started reminiscing about our school days together. I had forgotten some of the stories of what we all got up to during those carefree days. The memories came flooding back. It was a special time.
Using your memories:
Memories can be a goldmine of resource materials for writing, whether that be in articles, stories or novels. Here are just a few hints for writing activities from memories:
- Write a series of articles about your school days. Compare your school experiences with school of today.
- Describe the community you lived in as a child.
- Interview an elderly person you first met when you were very young. Write down their memories of days when you were young.
- Write an account of how one person influenced your early life. (For example, one of my primary school teachers inspired me to become a teacher.)
- Make a list of the schoolyard games you played at primary (elementary) school.
- Describe what you liked (or disliked) about school days.
- Think about the home where you grew up. Write a story imagining you lived there all of your life.
- I grew up on a farm near a small country town. Write about growing up in a small town – or visits to a farm or small town when you were young.
- Write about someone from your childhood who scared you – or made you laugh.
- Think back to when you were young. Write about a person who took a special interest in you, looked after you, took you to special places or taught you special skills.
From this list I hope you can see that the scope for using memories from earlier days and childhood are a rich source of writing ideas. They are limited only by your own memory and imagination. If your memory is failing, get together with former classmates and reminisce. You never know what gem stones they will come up with!
Related articles:
- Use your inbuilt story antenna
- Writing opportunities
- Short story Starters – links to articles listing over sixty ideas for writing short stories.
Use your inbuilt story antenna
“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the one who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” Orson Scott Card
Where do you get your story ideas from?
Do you have your eyes and ears open ready to receive story ideas, like some invisible antenna ready to receive the incoming messages?
Be on the lookout for story ideas everywhere you go, every person you see or listen to, snatches of conversation in the mall, the train, the television – if fact, wherever you are. Take a notebook with you and jot down those ideas, those words, the images you see. Record the sights, the smells, the sounds all around you and file them away for future use. Some of these jottings will never be used, others will be very useful and still others will be the gems that turn a good story into a great story.
Here are some examples:
- A white lily: I saw a white lily in the garden of a neighbour on my early morning walk. Write about what the memory of white lilies means to you about someone (friend or family) who recently died.
- A raven: A black raven flew over the house at sunset. Write a story about your cold feelings of impending disaster (death?).
- A rusty truck: Write about the joyful times you had on a favourite old truck on your uncle’s farm, and your sadness now that it is on the scrap heap.
- A singing bird: Write about the feelings you have when you hear a beautiful singing bird. What memories does it bring to mind? Who does it make you think of?
- The aroma of freshly baked bread or cake: Write about your favourite food, how it makes you feel and the memories it brings to mind.
Can you see the gem of an idea in any of these suggestions? If you can – start writing.
Make a list of twenty things you see on a walk around the block, or on your drive home from work or from the window of the train. Try to use as many of these things as you can in a story.
Remember: story ideas are all around you.
Good writing.