Story ideas: Where do they come from?

I did just that during my college days! I wrote two short stories and one was quite true because half of it is about my life as the eldest daughter of a poor couple trying to make a living from scratch and still able to send me to college through a government aid. The other story is about my being an active sorority member (while fraternities and sororities were yet unrecognized in my school) and the story was about trying to do good and excel both in academics and extra-curricular activities (only one-fourth of that was true while the rest and up to the happy ending was fiction!) Well, they were both published in our school paper - author unknown - because the rolled-up sheets of papers found their way to the editor's desk. (Oh, i actually did that on purpose, not putting my name on those stories and secretly leaving those papers on the editor's office because i was not sure if my stories will be accepted! Had not tried writing since then...i found another interest - reading, and i think i am more of a reader than a writer. Hi pat!

Write what you know is absolutely the best advicewhn it comes to writing. Whether it's a person or a feeling something can always be created by them. It also helps to open doors for more creative ideas. I usually write poetry or fiction but all of my characters have some inspiration in them. It helps develope the depth and personality behind the story line.

I will agree that you can write what you know about better than anything. I believe that all writers can share many things about themselves by doing exactly what you have said. I also think that you have to have a little bit of imagination in order to keep the stories interesting. I have written about personal experiences before, but I also like to write about things that I have read and learned about.

I put an article up on Bukisa just the other day about finding story ideas. I have used bits and pieces of real life in stories before, but alot of my stories are very dark, and my life is not at all, so those are just strictly off the cuff writing.

where there are human beings,there are stories

Almost stories in mylot, i would use my experience and remarkable myself.I could say from my heart really.I think i will do good comments.

I don't tend to write about my life. I have a hard time with nonfiction...unless I'm blogging or discussing current events. My fiction reflects my current state of mind, and occasionally what sorts of issues I'm working for, but it's never so similiar that I could claim that it has its roots in the real world. I take my mind and my feelings and other small things, and that's it. My stories. They come from my dreams, usually. My brain is very over-active. Even in my sleep, I'm doing things....like painting out a new story. Sometimes it'll just be a single page, one chapter, other times it'll be the whole book or whole series just condensed and displayed visually to me in my sleep. In this way, my dreams rarely ever have ME in them. I don't tend to work things out much, in my sleep, I don't think. It's all my writing. The rest is from my figuring, considering, and discussions with friends on writing itself. With the occasional plot point or scene inspired by the writing style or visual style of another author or movie (never a copy, always just a style concept lifted up and tried out in my own way). And this is how I stay original. I rely on my bizarre subconscious for ideas...and maybe this is a mistake, but at least I'm never in shortage of ideas.

So far my writing has been true stories and a few informational articles. My latest inspiration came when a friend I hadn't seen for a year asked about how my writing was coming and went on to comment I hadn't writen anything in a while. He said he liked reading my stories. I came home realizing how much time had passed sine my last story... IDEA! What better topic then how fast time has been passing. It is a bit jumbled as far as a story goes but the tone of the story is how time has been making jumps so I left the jumbled flow as is. Read it and my other stuff here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/70143/mary_hicks.html

Some people get from boredom. I know I do.

Hi Patgalca, it is possible to write about something you do not know, provided you are willing to commit hours and hours of research. Not all mystery writers are from law enforcement lines. One such example is Ngaio Marsh. I love her stories. She has experienced in drama and stage, but not law enforcement, yet she can mingle and write fantastic stories. I stick to children's stories. Love to imagine those dragons, and fairies, and turn all the impossibles to reality in children's stories.

idea of story comes from many ways.. some time its comes from reality some time comes by mind in past when i was in school i also write many story some of them is here 1:alone man in desert of sayberia 2:car with big wheel 3:train without track 4:iron on head 5:tree with all fruit of world 6:walk in heaven 7:blank book for study and many more i writed story in my school days but i lost that notebook of my story but i remember everything...LOL its fun for me to write story