STORY IDEAS

ALL CLASSES: We worked on creating a well of story ideas for your next big assignment.  If you are a Senior, that assignment is writing a novel for Nanowrimo; if you are a Sophomore, that assignment is writing a short story.  Ideas can come from anywhere; they can come from your experiences, your interests, your triumphs, your sadnesses--or they could come from something you learned about/from someone else. They can be based on fact or fly out of your imagination.  Most everyone will have a different starting point, so don't worry about comparing yourself to what others are doing; each of you will have your own process.
     In your notebook, under the title Your Turn (Seniors) or Ideas (Sophomores), "Write down 10 things that might possibly serve as story ideas, drawing from things that happened to you over the past week--people, emotions, thoughts, situations.  Nothing is too big or small, cosmic or microscopic.  Then, review your list and pick the idea that looks the most promising for a story.  The right idea will probably give you a buzz when you see it.  Then list several ways in which this idea might be turned into a fictional story.  Will your idea result in a brilliant story?  Maybe, maybe not.  But you'll probably discover how plentiful ideas can be." (Writing Fiction, Gotham Writers' Workshop Faculty, 12).