By Moriah Richard 

When it comes to generating writing ideas, much like the rest of the craft, there’s no one surefire way to get it done. In an article written for WD in 1920, J.J. Hoffmann noted that “Ideas come and go at all times and to all persons. They call upon us while we work; while we play; while we rest. To the writer, ideas represent dollars—if he can catch and hold them until they are properly developed. Ideas form the foundation upon which he is to build his success.” 

So, how does a writer, especially a novice writer, go about generating writing ideas?  

“When you don't know where else to turn, explore L.I.F.E., an acronym for Literature, Imagination, Folklore, and Experience. L.I.F.E. is a limitless well of ideas waiting to be tapped,” says Steven James in a 2008 article about generating writing ideas. “Some memories inspire us, others haunt us. Some memories cling to things we own, others hover around places we've been. Start with what you have, then nurture that fragment of memory: your teacher's face, the smell of your grandmother's cookies, the charming way your father used to whistle, the chill in your soul as you rushed to the hospital, the taste of salt spray that summer at the ocean, how it felt to hold your daughter's hand for the first time. Turn those memories over in your mind, flesh them out, allow them to breathe.” 

“Role-play the lives of people with viewpoints different from yours or your readers’,” says writing coach Don Fry in a 2012 article about how to generate writing ideas. “I once spent half a day in a wheelchair and learned about hazards I never imagined. Bob Graham, the former governor of Florida, did manual labor one day a month to understand the public.” 

Meanwhile, lyricist and poet Pat Pattison shared in a 2009 article that object writing is a great way to generate writing ideas. “Pick an object at random and write about it. Dive into your sense memories and associations surrounding the object. Anything goes, as long as it is sense-bound. Write freely. No rhythm, no rhyme. No need for complete sentences.” 

Former WD editor Brian Klems responded to a reader question in 2007, stating that burnout isn’t an excuse to quit looking for writing ideas. “Try doing a weekly writing prompt. After ‘too busy’ and ‘too lazy,’ the top reason people stall is that they don’t have a place to start. Writing prompts give you a starting point, but allow you the complete freedom in taking any direction you want. Even small bursts of creativity can help push you in the right direction.” 

Along these lines, the WD editors have a few weekly writing prompt series: the Tuesday Writing Prompt for fiction writers and Wednesday Poetry Prompts. 

Not all genres are created equal. Romance author Catriona Silvey recently wrote on the WD blog that tropes could be the key to generate writing ideas for romance writers. “Tropes get a bad rap. Books get criticized as ‘tropey,’ or dismissed as being ‘three tropes in a trench coat.’ Like any element of fiction, tropes can fall flat if overused or used poorly. But tropes become tropes for a reason: They are elements of premise, plot, character, or setting that have an enduring appeal to readers because, quite simply, they’re fun.” 

Mystery writers need to be able to take an initial idea and develop it into something intriguing. In a 2016 article, bestselling author Hallie Ephron shares, “The words suppose and what if anchor a well-articulated premise. A premise written in this format shows you where you’re going. It keeps you on track throughout the writing process, and it can be useful when you’re pitching your book to agents, editors, and, ultimately, booksellers and readers. … Practice turning an idea into a premise. Clip articles from the newspaper that appeal to you and contain the germ of an idea for a mystery novel. Jot down each idea in the left column below. In the right column, transform it into a premise using suppose and what if.” 

Sci-fi author Lauren Stienstra not only explores how to generate a writing idea in her 2025 article, but how to deepen it: “When you sit down to write a book, everyone will tell you that ‘you just need a novel idea!’ They will talk about this idea as if you can just stumble upon it, like a heads-up penny. As a science-minded person, I figured there must be some kind of underlying process for creativity that went beyond simple serendipity, and fortunately, I was right. The academics who study innovation often suggest that the creative process begins with combination: existing concepts, smashed together to beget something new. And the tool for this smashing? A laboratory. Not the Large Hadron Collider, but an acronym. 

“SCAMPER: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify (also Magnify and Minify), Put to another use, Eliminate, and Rearrange (or Reverse.) 

“While I didn’t want to write about murder hornets, they were sticking with me. How could I SCAMPER them? I could substitute—murder hornets, out; Brood X cicadas in.

“The next change? Elimination. 

“And not just extermination. 

“Extinction. (See how I magnified it too?)” 

I hope that you found some nuggets of inspiration for generating writing ideas of your own. But if you’re still finding the creative well running dry, check out this post on WD’s blog where we guarantee that you’ll be generating writing ideas ASAP.