Looking for story ideas is a never-ending process for writers. Everywhere we go, we keep an observant eye open to what is happening around us. An overheard conversation in a restaurant can lead to a full story. It's not necessarily eavesdropping. In some places, the tables are so close, there is no way you can NOT hear what the people next to you are discussing.
We ate at a barbecue place in Texas once where the customers all sat at long tables together. A woman across and down one seat was talking to a few men across from her. It was the most fascinating conversation ever. I've never forgotten that woman who ran a ranch single-handedly, scared rustlers off with her shotgun, killed a rattler by the back step and more. She'd be the perfect protagonist in a novel.
But that turned out to be just an idea, not a full story. We find plenty around us to write short snippets that never do turn into a finished project. We have lots of unfinished pieces in our files. We have a great idea, start out with a bang, then hit a major snag and quit. Maybe we have the middle of a story but can't quite come up with a good beginning or a smashing ending. Or, we might have a super beginning that ends up going nowhere.
I mentioned in a post several days ago that I have the beginning of a short story for middle-grade kids. It's a good beginning, but every ending I've come up with is pretty lame. No one wants a story that starts with a bang and then fizzles out like a 4th of July sparkler.
What should you do with those ideas that come to you but aren't' a full story or essay or memoir piece? Don't get disgusted and toss them. Start a file for those bits and pieces. Some day, they could be very useful. One might end up as a chapter in a novel or the opening of a new short story. A description you wrote two months ago could be perfect for the memoir piece you are working on. All those small ideas or little bits of description might be very useful down the line. Save them! I've saved the story beginning I mentioned above. A good ending may come to somewhere in the future. I surely hope so!
One of my sisters-in-law is a writer. She writes supernatural/ghost stories for the YA group of readers. You may have noticed her blog title posted at the right side of my blog. It's called Ubiquitous Ghosts. Her posts are based on her writing life and the novels she's published. Earlier this week, we chatted via her Facebook page about the 'idea vs story' topic since she had written a post on the subject. Pondering on what she wrote and what we chatted about led to my post today. Do read her post regarding this topic here. Her name is Ophelia Julien, and while we write altogether different kinds of stories, we still have a lot in common as writers. Saving Jake was one of her earliest novels which received fine reviews. In this case, she had an idea that turned into a full story. Check it out at Amazon if you're looking for a book for your kids or grandkids to read on these hot summer days.
Keep watching for story ideas. Even if they don't pan out immediately, the day may come when they will inspire you to develop the idea into a full-fledged, publishable piece of writing.
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