Writers Can Find Story Ideas Everywhere

 Have you ever run out of story ideas, not just fiction but nonfiction, children's stories, articles, and poetry? You're not alone. This situation is not Writer's Block. It is something that happens to writers. They can write, but they need more ideas on what to write. Throughout this post, I will use 'story ideas' to mean all kinds of writing as stated earlier in this paragraph. 

Many things trigger story ideas, but it's up to the writer to act upon them. 

There were lots of family gatherings over the recent holidays. Lots of conversation, and many times people saying, "Do you remember when...?" Fuel for the writer's furnace!

Take a walk on a summer evening. You'll most likely pass others doing the same. Which ones intrigue you? Which yards have kids playing games? Who is walking a dog? Who is dressed in a weird get-up? These can all be triggers to help you find a topic for your next writing project.

Go to a concert and look around you. Or at church, a play, a board meeting, or a parade. These places are rife with story ideas. Airports or commuter trains or buses. Almost anywhere there are groups of people.

Are the stories going to jump up and holler "Here I am!" Of course not. Instead, work on training your writer's eye. Practice by asking yourself what that mother and child that are having an argument might mean for a story to write. How about the altercation between the bus driver and a homeless person who wants to ride for free? Or the group of dogs traveling together down the middle of the road. 

Work on thinking about story ideas wherever you are. In time, you'll do it automatically. Your writer's eye will be experienced and able to find story ideas wherever you go. 

Our poster today says: Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don't see any.

Those writers who see five or six story ideas are the ones who have worked at training their writer's eye. The stories are there, and it's up to you and me to find them. 

Looking For Stories to Write

 

I spent my day in a hospital waiting room yesterday. My husband was in for a diagnostic test, scheduled at 1 p.m. We were to be there at 11:30 a.m. His test was delayed until almost 4 p.m. due to an emergency situation and other peoples' tests taking longer than usual. Thus, a very long wait for me and my daughter. 

We watched people come and go through the day. The hospital allowed 2 family members, but there were at least two larger family groups. Rules? Those must be for other people, they must have thought. 

Watching people and overhearing bits and pieces of their conversations was a glorious field of stories waiting to be told. I didn't have a notebook with me to jot down some ideas of what I saw in these people. They're all still in my memory bank this morning, and I can make those notes today.

Chatting with the nurses after the procedure while my husband was being monitored made me realize that each of them also had a story. In visiting with them, I learned a lot about each one. 

Wherever you go, there are people who have a story. The writer is the one to unearth that story through observation and conversation. In addition, you see people you can use as the basis for a character. 

The important thing is to be observant and to make notes when you can. Train yourself to be watchful.

The poster for today tells us we walk past myriad stories every day, but only the good writers will see a handful. Most see none at all. 

Watch for the interaction of two or a group of people. There could be a story unfolding right before your eyes. When you feel like there is nothing left to write about, take a good look around you. You should be able to find a story, a basis for an essay, or article, or even a poem. 

My husband's tests came out alright for which we are grateful. 

Story Ideas Abound

 

Our poster tells us that we walk past myriad story ideas every day. It's only the good writers who actually see five or six of them. Maybe the quote should have added...and write the story. Seeing the stories around us and acting upon it are two distinct things.

Only recently, I happened onto possible story ideas, or essay topics. A few of them are still swirling in my mind off and on. 

We happened to talk to a Lutheran pastor at a funeral. He was a black man who told us he had been a Muslim until 8 years ago. If only we had had time to listen to his whole story of how that came to be. But a good writer could take the bit and expand it into a piece of fiction. 

Only yesterday at lunchtime, I waited just outside a restaurant door for Ken, who was parking the car. A man in his 40s walked up, noticed me and then Ken approaching. He said, "Are you guys on a date?" I said, "We are, and it's not even Friday night." As he held the door for us, he smiled and replied, "I think that is soooo sweet." Could it be the base of a story? Of course.

Ken needed to purchase a new suit, so we went to a favorite men's store in a Kansas City suburb yesterday. The salesman was most helpful and congenial. In the space of the time it took to try on a suit, have alterations marked and ties purchased, we learned a great deal about the salesman, and, in turn, he found out a lot about the two of us. There were a few things within the conversation that could be used in writing a story. 

I visited a friend in the hospital one day last week. I stayed around 15 minutes, but what I learned about her and the reason she was hospitalized could have turned into a story. 

Tomorrow, we are having company for dinner. One of the Czech students we hosted several years ago when she studied at Kansas State University is in town for a visit. She is bringing her fiance with her. The situation itself is the basis for a story, and I'm sure there will be more in our conversation tomorrow evening. 

Make a trip to your local library, and I'm willing to bet that you'll see a story among the  others in the building, maybe even several. What you see and hear can trigger story ideas.

The key to all this is to be observant, to use your 'writer's eye.' Seeing the stories around you is not the end, however. You must turn what you saw and heard into a story, or perhaps an essay. Acting quickly is key, as memories fade with time. When you see a story, jot down the particulars in a small notebook to help you when you are ready to write. 

As an exercise today, keep track of the story possibilities you see and hear all day as you go about your usual activities. Home all day? Maybe something you see on tv will trigger a story thought. Those who are out and about have the opportunity to see many stories. 

Use Your Writer's Eye for Story Ideas

 

How often have you felt you had nothing to write about? You sat in front of your keyboard, hands in your lap and thought 'what next?' You're not alone. Many writers go through periods where inspiration is at a low level and the story ideas are flying off to others but not you.

One thing that helps is to be observant. To walk through life with a writer's eye. There are stories everywhere you go, but it's up to you to see them and harvest them.

Walk through a grocery store, aisle by aisle, and you'll see lots of people alone and others in a family group, or a couple of friends. Watch for interactions or reactions. Snippets of conversation. 

Waiting in a doctor's office, an airport, or train station provides the perfect opportunity to people watch. Everyone has a story, but it's your job to see it and perhaps use it in your writing. People watching can also help you create a character. 

Watch the news on tv. Stories there can sometimes inspire stories of your own, but you need to be alert and aware. And play the 'what if?' game.

The 'what if?' game is merely asking yourself questions. What if this happens or that happened? And then move on, what if this occurred next. Before you know it, a story idea is coming to light.

I once wrote a well-received children's story that was inspired by a tiny little article I read in the newspaper about libraries being used as after school daycare for working mothers, and the problems it created.  The next thing you know, I had created Wilhemina Higgins, a child whose mother sent her to the library after school every day. Boredom set in, and.... The point is to watch for story ideas when you read a newspaper or magazine. Not to copy what you read but to use it in some way as an idea for a new story, essay, or even a poem. 

There are story ideas in your neighborhood. Watch for them. Incorporate them into your writing. You needn't use a story with names and places exactly as they are where you live. But create a story of your own around what you observed in your neighborhood.  

You might hear an amazing conversation in a restaurant if the tables are close to one another. Jot notes when you leave for possible use at another time. Don't always trust your memory. Making notes is very helpful. 

Story ideas are everywhere, but it's up to you to find them and use them. Start working on using your writer's eye wherever you go. It soon becomes habit. 

Travel Offers Story Ideas to Writers

 

We have returned from our week of travel to visit my husband's two brothers and wives in IL. I would encourage all to make family visits more often. Lots of talk of old times, growing-up years, and what all our children and grandchildren are doing. Family time is to be treasured, and more so as we all get older. It had been four years since we had been together. The visit was short but the benefits were priceless. 

We stayed in hotels while traveling and while on the family visit. Story ideas were in great number. The people I observed gave me ideas for characters, and the places where we stayed or ate offered multiple story ideas. Watching my husband and his two brothers interact also offered story ideas. 

Wherever you go, story ideas abound. You have two choices. Either ignore them or take advantage of what is right before you and use them in your writing projects. If you choose the second option, a small notebook to jot notes would be helpful. 

As writer's we need to train ourselves to be observant and to develop a writer's eye. Not only of people, but places and scenery and situations. Overheard conversations in restaurants or airports or the grocery store can give you story ideas. Again, we must be tuned in to reap the benefit. 

We stayed in a major city and also small towns on our trip. Both places offered story ideas. So did some of the many emails, photos, and texts i received on my phone during those six days. We drove in city traffic (Ken did, not me!) and in many rural areas. The first hour of the trip and the last brought us through the Flint Hills of Kansas, where beauty abounds everywhere the eye can see. Can you get a story idea from looking at prairie grass and rolling hills? Sure you can. Use your imagination and see a rancher on a horse out to check his cattle. What about the spot where a school bus stops and several children get on or off? Imagine the prairie on a stormy day, or one where the sun beats down makes life uncomfortable. 

Ideas for poems come to us when we see something beautiful, impressive, or heartrending. It's August, and summer flowers are still blooming profusely. They inspire many poems, as do those lazy days of summer when we go fishing or swimming or sit on the porch with a book.  

When I use the term 'story idea.' I am not only referring to fiction, but other kinds of writing, including personal essays and poetry. It's all there for us, but it's up to us to detect the ideas and make use of them. Not everything we observe will be the basis of a story, but a good deal can help us in our writing. 

Write About Holidays

 

Today is Labor Day which honors workers in our country. It's also become known as the last hurrah of summer which leads to family gatherings and outings with friends. 

Many writers say they can't find story ideas. I think one of the best sources for story ideas is the numerous holidays we celebrate in the USA. There's a history behind nearly every one. There are traditions, as well, ones that are nationwide, and others in individual families. 

What can you write? 

A fiction story with a holiday as either background or part of the plot

A history of the holiday

Your family traditions for the holiday

National celebrations

A personal essay involving a holiday

A memoir piece that includes a holiday

A photo essay of a holiday

A family story about a holiday

An article on holiday parades

A children's story or picture book about a holiday

A poem highlighting a holiday

What holidays can you write about?

New Year's Day

Martin Luther King's Birthday

President's Day

Groundhog Day

Valentine's Day

St. Patrick's Day

Passover

Easter

April Fool's Day

May Day

Mother's Day

Father's Day

Graduation Day

Fourth of July

Labor Day

Halloween

Veteran's Day

Thanksgiving

Hanukkah

Christmas

New Year's Eve

For those looking for story ideas, I've given you numerous choices. It's up to you to decide what holiday to write about and what type of writing it will be--fiction, essay, poem, or something else. Remember, if you hope to submit a holiday story for publication, you should send it to editors or publishers at least six months prior to the holiday. 

Story Ideas Are Everywhere

I have told other writers much the same thing as our quote today by the novelist, essayist and public speaker, Orson Scott Card. He is a man who must walk through life observing others and looking for a storyline. 

How many times have you heard a writer say I want to write but I just don't have an idea for a new story and you nod in agreement.? There are stories everywhere! What you need to do is train yourself to use your 'writer's eye' as you move through your daily activities, your travels and visits to family or friends. 

When you walk through your grocery store aisles, you pass many people. Do you look through them or at them? To develop your writer's eye, you must look at them. Then do a mental questioning to get a glimmer of what their story might be. Will you ever know for sure? Probably not. The important thing is to observe and see if there could possibly be a story there. 

When you see a mother interacting with three children trying to shop and keep control of the little ones at the same time, you might find a storyline. How is she handling the situation? With grace and style or as a harassed mother of three crying children? Does her frustration show or does she keep total control of herself? 

The mother is only one of many people you see on your grocery shopping expedition. You might pass a college student filling his basket with Ramen Noodles--cheap meals for a struggling student. How about the elderly couple moving slowly from aisle to aisle helping one another? You could pass an obese woman whose basket is filled with all the wrong kind of food. 

You might not find a full story but you can certainly catalog the people you see in your mental file as possible characters to use later. Conversely, you might witness a full story in a grocery store with two or more people involved. The next time you do your grocery shopping, look at the people you pass. 

Walk through the park or on a walking trail and you're bound to come up with an idea or two for a story or essay. Many years ago, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of nature that I witnessed on an early morning walk. As soon as I reached home, I sat down and wrote an essay on the same. 

There are stories to be found in your workplace, sporting events or shows you attend, even on Sunday morning at a church service. Consider a newspaper reporter. He/she is looking for stories wherever he/she goes. They become very keen at nosing out a story. Fiction writers and essayists and poets can do the same. One day, a few years ago, I was out walking and noticed an old man in baggy pants walking ahead of me with a companion/nurse. I knew there was a story in the making. Later in the day, I wrote a poem titled "Old Man In Baggy Pants." What else? I could have just walked by and not given him a thought but I used my writer's eye and my writer's mind to come up with a story about him.

The point here is that you can train yourself to find story ideas wherever you go. When you see people or a situation, play the What if...? game to help you get started. There will be times that you see a full story in front of you but sometimes it might be just the start of a story and you'll have to finish it with your creativity. 

Remember to look "at" people, not "through" them. 

New Month, New Story Ideas Needed, So...

We greet our third month of the year today. Not spring yet but getting close. In my part of the world--central Kansas--we'll see daffodils like the ones above before the end of the month. 

Do you need story ideas? Looking at a new month and pondering on what you did as a child when the third month arrived can help you come with with an idea. You Can do one of two activities to spark your imagination or to find some inspiration.

1.  Use these questions to trigger your memory. Use them in a memoir piece or base a fiction story on any one of them:

• What kind of climate changes did you see in March where you grew up?
• Did the bulletin boards and decorations change in your classroom on March 1st?
• Did your family celebrate St. Patrick's Day? If so, how? If not, why? 
• Did you still wear winter clothing or switch to lighter jackets etc?
• Did you ever fly a kite? Where?
• Did you ever make your own kite? 
• Did you have any religious holidays in March?
• What kind of flowers bloomed in your part of the country in March?
• What does the Ides of March mean to you?
• Do you remember when your parents worked on taxes in March?
• Did you celebrate the first day of Spring in March?
• Any special foods you ate in March? 

2.  Another activity is to free write about March for 10, 15, or 20 minutes. Write about this new month now and in the past, what it means to you, what you can expect to see--whatever comes to mind. Start writing and keep going until you run out of ideas. 

I did this exercise a few years ago and this is what came of it:

Musing On March

Most people know that old saying "If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb." And it works in reverse, as well.

Today in Kansas, March slipped in like a sweet little lamb. She brought clear skies, sunshine and a temperature to reach 68 by mid-afternoon. What bliss after one of the worst winters Kansas has had in a long, long time.

Along with all those good things, March winds are going to blow today. They'll whip through the trees, which are still recovering from the devastation of the December ice storm. The wind will roll across the Flint Hills with glee, bending the prairie grasses like pieces of cooked pasta. The wind will skip across rivers, stir up the sand traps on golf courses, create havoc with hairdos and swirl dirt piles when found. It doesn't matter a bit, however, because those south winds bring warm air from the gulf to our state. So, blow wind, blow. Send kites dipping and dancing through the sky.

Our town has a St. Patrick's Day celebration that grows larger every year. A Blarney Breakfast, races for runners and walkers, and plenty of green beer highlight the day in an area near the Kansas State University campus. Irish music blares through loudspeakers, and on that particular Saturday, everybody is Irish! As for me, I'm Irish every day--at least half my heritage is from that green, green land.

This year, we also celebrate Easter in March, a holiday that is both religious and commercial. Whether you celebrate one part of both, it's an important part of the year. For me, Holy Week reigns, and I plan the rest of my activities around church services on Thursday, Friday and Sunday of that week. But I love the commercial part, too, the many decorations and early spring flowers, trees budding, lambs’ births--all those things that tell of rebirth and awakening. But don't all those things stem from the Easter story of the Resurrection? For me, they do.

One more thing March may bring is another snowstorm or possibly another ice storm. Kansas almost always gets snow at least once in this third month of the year. I remember one bad ice storm that frosted trees and shrubs in the middle of March one year. The best part about March snow or ice is that it rarely lasts more than one day.

Welcome March!

A Traveler's Observations

We're traveling this week from our home in Manhattan, KS to the Carolinas. Yes, both of them. We'll visit one of my brothers for a couple of days near Raleigh, NC, then move on to Bluffton, SC to attend a wedding. 

We left home at 8 this morning and drove through Missouri most of the day. The views in the Mark Twain National Forest were lovely. Curving, roller coaster roads in some areas with spectacular views. 

I'd like to tell you that the brilliant colors above were what we saw today, but that would be a big, fat lie! Instead, we saw faded colors and some trees already bare. We are probably a week or two late for the best colors.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that I like to look for story ideas wherever I go. Today, one of the best came at our lunch break. We usually do fast food when on the road, mostly for the sake of time. So, today. we pulled into a Wendy's in a small Missouri town. The parking lot was almost completely full. When we walked inside, I did a double take. Had the senior living place nearby sent all their residents to Wendy's today?  About 90% of the people eating and ordering at the counter were seniors. Some were very senior! As we were eating, I heard the woman taking orders say "What will you have today, Grandma?" and then "How  about you, Grandpa?" It seems they actually were this middle-aged woman's grandparents. 

As I nibbled at my burger, I started thinking about what a great story could come of this. Consider a senior living place or even a nursing home down the road who took all their residents out for lunch one day to the local Wendy's. An argument could start and the old folks taking sides, two old guys with fists doubled up, going at it. Each side cheering for its own fighter. Would have to think of some reason they were fighting.

Actually, the people we saw today were all having a good time. Lots of chatter and laughter. Who said old people are bitter and sour? Think of the combined experiences of these people? 

As we left, I was smiling. Just thinking of the stories that might be gleaned from visiting with the people at each table made me wish I'd had time to do exactly that. 

Yes, there are stories everywhere you go. Like tonight at the Ruby Tuesday's where we had dinner. A table of four interesting looking older men caught my attention. They finished their dinner and then ordered more beer. Animated conversation, laughter, and back of hands wiping the foam from their lips. Definitely a story there. 

we stayed in Sikeston last night, which is the home of Lambert's Cafe, famed for 'throwed rolls.' Yes, they really do throw the rolls at you. I think we'll eat at the hotel this morning. I'm not one for 'catching' my breakfast. We're moving on Tuesday to Newport, TN, just west of Asheville, NC. 

Today's Story: Squeals and Squeezes

Today's story is one of the earliest I had published in Chicken Soup for the Soul books. This one appeared in a book that had Dads as the theme. It evolved from an incident that I witnessed--one that took hardly any time at all. Yet, as a bystander, what I saw touched my heart. Perhaps it will yours, too. 

When you are stuck for story ideas, don't bypass the little incidents in life that you see. Many make really fine stories. 

Squeals and Squeezes

 By Nancy Julien Kopp

I watched a toddler run on sturdy, chubby legs squealing as he traversed the length of the country club lounge. A tall, good-looking man strode purposefully behind him, closing in on his prey. He reached for the runaway boy with a large hand and grasped nothing but air. The child had spied a banquet table draped in a white linen skirt, and with lightning speed, he’d lifted the cloth and scooted underneath, then turned eerily silent. He knew this Hide-and-Seek game well, despite his young age.

The dad circled the table with one ear cocked, waiting for his son to reveal his whereabouts. After two full circles, he leaned down, picked up the cloth and peered underneath. The little boy giggled and squealed as his daddy grabbed hold of him, scooped him into his arms and held him close. The little boy pulled back and gazed straight into his daddy’s eyes. Not a word was said but the child wound both arms around his daddy’s neck and squeezed, then lay his blond head on the man’s broad shoulder.

The dad held the child close to his heart, kissed his cheek, then stroked his hair as he carried him back to the gathering of families nearby.  

I felt privileged to watch these two, for I’d witnessed not only a simple moment of a father and son at play. Instead, it proved to be a scene that etched itself onto my heart, a forever memory. The daddy was a member of an army attack battalion stationed at an army post near our town. He’d served a tour in Iraq and in a matter of weeks, he’d board a transport plane with his battalion and return to the battlefield once again. But now, he and his family were attending a recognition dinner at our country club. On this night, he wasn’t a soldier wearing full body armor, clutching his rifle—on the alert for any strange movements or sounds. Tonight he could be a daddy playing with a child he loved. He’d already missed a full year of the boy’s growing up, and all too soon, he’d be gone again. How much more would he miss? Who would play “Catch Me” with the boy while he was gone?

Once he’s back in Iraq, the young soldier may lie in his bunk at night, too weary to sleep. His thoughts will no doubt turn to home, his wife, and his energetic, playful son. The boy will be talking in sentences by the time this tour ends. And pretty soon he’ll be old enough to play catch in the backyard. A boy needs a dad to get him ready for his first baseball team.

 I have a feeling this father will replay the evening’s chase in his mind myriad times. More than a game; it was yet another link in the bonding between father and son. The squeals and squeezes of both translate easily into love a father has for a son in its purest form. I pray that love survives the separation and renews itself with more squeals and squeezes when the soldier daddy comes home again.

Stories At My Door

Last night, two stories appeared at our door. No, the picture above is not the door on my house--just a lovely looking door. The point is that when you open the door, you never know what kind of story might be on the other side.

Our doorbell rang as I was getting ready to fix dinner. Ken answered and a neighbor across the street asked if he could still buy something from our sale. He and his wife had been over the day before and purchased a few things. He'd been thinking about a lightweight vacuum cleaner we had and decided to buy it. Ken invited him in and the two men went out to the garage to get the vacuum. cleaner. When they returned to the kitchen, our neighbor, who is originally from the country of Colombia, stayed and talked. He told us he loved our house and wished his daughter had seen it before she purchased a new home a month earlier. "I could have her across the street if she'd bought this one," he said. Then he chuckled. "Maybe she wouldn't want to live so close to her parents." In his short visit, we learned a lot about his family.

Only ten minutes after our neighbor left, the doorbell rang again. I answered it this time. A man I'd never seen before said, "I just wanted you to know that I'm the one who took the Nordic Track you put out on the curb." "That's fine,"I told him, "it was there with a Free sign on it." He said he'd like to explain. "I work with the Wounded Warriors program and that exercise machine would be a godsend to a young man I'm helping." By this time, Ken came to the door and the two greeted each other like old friends. 

After the man had left, Ken told me he lived down the street and often stopped to talk when Ken was outside doing yard work. "The guy is a retired Army Colonel and he spends a lot of his time working with the Wounded Warrior group." 

In the space of less than half an hour, two stories showed up at our door. I could write full creative nonfiction essays about each visitor if I had the time. The point is that you run head-on into stories every day of the week. Writers bemoan the fact that finding story ideas is so hard. It's not hard at all. You can actually trip over story ideas as you go about your daily tasks, answer a phone call, do your shopping or attend a sporting event. The story ideas are there but it's your job to observe with the eyes of a writer. That's key!

Even fiction writers can use an encounter of some kind in a novel or short story. A character in your story can be based on a real person. They're all around you. Listen with a good ear for conversation that intrigues you. Watch for people who have an unusual appearance or a scintillating smile, maybe even a formidable scowl.

The longer you practice being more observant to your surroundings, the easier it becomes. With me, it's now second nature. If you run into a particularly appealing character, write a few paragraphs about him/her and keep in a file on your computer. When you're working on a new story or novel, you'll have a treasure trove of characters to use. 

Take A Small Bit of Imagination And....

One of my facebook friends posted the terrific quote and picture above. The picture drew me in and the quote grabbed me. Albert Einstein, mostly connected with math, hit a gem for writers. 

Think of it! Logic is for math scholars but imagination leads to the creativity that writers possess. Take a small bit of imagination and it can lead down many paths. The writer doesn't say 10 plus 10 equals twenty. The writer says, what if I put 10 boys and 10 girls into the bottom of a canyon filled with wild horses? What if there were 10 puppies sent out to 10 different homes with the stipulation that the new owners keep a journal on each pup's life for one year. What if 10 little girls from Afghanistan were sentenced 10 lashes as punishment for going to school? 

On and on you can go. The possibilities are endless. Ask yourself what if for many different subjects and see what you come up with. Use some of that imagination and be creative. Before you know it, you're on to a brand new story.

There's A Story Here---Someday

You can find a story idea almost anywhere. I found one early this morning.

I staggered down the hall to the kitchen at 7 a.m., still not fully awake. Strange, since I'd been lying in bed since 5:30 wondering why I couldn't sleep. Too many things on my mind. The day before Thanksgiving is cooking day and I have a list of things that needed my attention. I decided to make the Sour Cream Muffins right away. We could each have one with our cereal later in the morning. Brilliant idea? Maybe not.

I gathered the ingredients on the counter, except for the cinnamon/sugar topping I'd need. The half-pint jar was on the top shelf of the lazy susan in an upper cabinet. I reached up and behind a few other items. The sleeve of my robe caught on a bottle of soy sauce. It started to tumble and I caught it with my free hand, still holding onto the sugar jar. All was fine until the worcestershire sauce bottle got into the act. It did a flip, knocking over all the flavoring bottles next to it, and as I reached to grab it, the sugar jar slipped out of my hand, hit the granite countertop and broke into a gazillion pieces. Cinnamon-laced sugar landed on the counter and floor.

I didn't say a word, possibly because of my still groggy condition. Instead, I looked at the mess on counter and floor. Glass everywhere and most of the sugar on the floor. I decided I'd sweep up the glass with a broom and dustpan, then vacuum the rest. To get the broom, I had to walk across the sugar. Trust me, you do not ever want to walk on sugar! Crunch, slippery, nasty stuff.

I swept up the glass and part of the sugar, dumped it in the trash and then vacuumed the entire kitchen floor to make sure no errant piece of glass had been missed.

Story Ideas

I don't know what to write about.  Those are words lots of writers have said, probably more than once. They sit at the computer and say them, mentally or out loud. They say them in a whine or in a slightly desparate voice. I'd rather not call this Writer's Block, which seems to me like a very overused excuse at times and is made up of more than just not having anythng to write about.

Instead, let's call it a lack of story ideas. So how do you solve this problem? Walk away from the computer. Go to the mall. Go outside and take a long walk. Sit down and watch TV for awhile. Anything but sit at the computer and brood. And then take a good look around you. I know I've said this before, but there are story ideas all around you.

As you're walking through the mall, you might come upon a mother/child conflict taking place in front of a fast food counter. How does each one of them react? What kind of body language? How about others who see this little scene? Turn it into a story! Or topic for a parenting article.

Perhaps you hear birdsong as you're taking a walk. Think about the different kinds, what birds sing loudest, longest, most often, and any other aspect. Go home, do a little research and you've got another topic for an article.

Something you see on TV can trigger a memory perhaps. Or an opinion. Or a rant. Use it!

Last night, many Americans, including me, watched the Super Bowl. Listening to the announcers, watching the game and the ceremony and celebration of the Saints afterward left me thinking about the many, many stories that were there. You, the writer, could write numerous stories from what you saw in those few hours.

There are story ideas all around you every day of the week. It's up to you to open your eyes wide and 'see' them.

An Abundance Of Story Ideas

I so often hear writers say they get stuck for story ideas, both fiction and nonfiction writers. It puzzles me as I seem to find ideas everywhere. Sometimes in great abundance.

Like today for instance. Ken and I ran over to a very nice, upscale outdoor mall in Highland Village, a northern suburb of Dallas. We parked near a Jos. A. Banks store, walked down to a shop where I bought a gift card, the final Christmas gift I had to buy.

Ken said he wanted to take a look in the Banks shop since we were so close.

He found a bargain too good to pass up—a beautiful sport coat for a mere fraction of its regular price. We walked around the store, selected a shirt and tie to go with the coat and wandered over to the check-out counter. We spent about half an hour in the shop, and in that time I witnessed an abundance of stories waiting to be written.

1. The little girl who sat huddled in a corner, playing with a handheld game while her dad stood impatiently in line to pay for the blue and white shirt he held. Dad kept checking on her and asking if she was hungry. He finally tossed the shirt on the counter and said to me, “She’s hungry and I’m starving. I can’t wait any longer.”

2. The short Indian man who had a pile of clothes on the counter and waited patiently as the clerk scanned the prices while the computer had a temper tantrum when he tried to bring up the sale prices. The young man tried again and again, becoming more and more frustrated. The customer never said a word, just watched. When the total came to over $2,800, the man slid one pair of pants out of the pile and softly said, “I don’t need these.” The young clerk threw up his hands and turned for help to the older woman working at another computer.

“Abort the whole thing!” she said to him.

3. The young, blonde woman who was returning a topcoat and getting 2 belts, 2 shirts and 3 sweaters instead. The woman checking her out was also having computer problems, too high a tax and no way to change it. She appeared calm on the outside, but I sensed a great churning on the inside.

4. The two thirty-something women behind us who were aghast at the terrific deal Ken had gotten on his sport coat. Envy is the only word that might describe their faces and actions.

So, look around you. There are story possibilities everywhere!We're rraveling home to Kansas today, We usually make around three short stops along the way, and I've no doubt that I'll run into a few story ideas.