- What turns an idea into a story
- Story ideas that start with a flaw
- Story ideas that start with an object
- Story ideas that start with a place
- Story ideas that start with a 'what if'
- Story ideas that start with a hard choice
- How to get better stories from these ideas
- Keeping your own story idea file
- My advice for using story ideas
- Frequently asked questions
Here are 25 story ideas, written as one- or two-sentence premises you can copy and develop, grouped by where good stories come from: a character's flaw, an object, an unusual place, a 'what if' and a choice with no easy answer. Each premise contains a person, a problem and a hint of what's at stake, which is what turns an idea into a story.
A story idea isn't the same as a topic. 'Friendship' is a topic; 'two best friends discover they've both applied for the only job in town' is a story idea, because it has people, a problem and something at stake. Every premise below has those three ingredients. Use them for fiction of any length, from a page-long scene to a novel, and change any detail that doesn't suit you; they're starting points, not rules.
What turns an idea into a story
| Ingredient | Question to ask | Example from the list below |
|---|---|---|
| A character | Who is this about? | A night-bus driver |
| A problem | What gets in their way? | A passenger who rides every night but never gets off |
| Stakes | What happens if they fail? | The driver risks losing the job, or something stranger |
Once you've chosen an idea, decide how big the story should be. The Hugo Awards treat anything under 7,500 words as a short story and 40,000 words or more as a novel; most of these premises can be either, depending on how many complications you add. And when you write it, the toolkit's the same one writing standards teach: dialogue, pacing, description and reflection.
Story ideas that start with a flaw
A character's weakness drives the plot. These work well for character-led fiction.
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A chef who's lost her sense of taste must cook the most important meal of her career.
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A man who can't say no agrees to look after his neighbour's house, dog, plants and secret.
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A teenager who lies to fit in is caught in a lie that suddenly becomes true.
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A famous detective who's terrified of being wrong must solve a case where every clue points at her best friend.
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A perfectionist architect inherits a house that's falling apart and can't be changed.
Story ideas that start with an object
An ordinary thing with an unusual story attached. Ask who owned it before.
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A second-hand coat contains a train ticket for a journey that hasn't happened yet.
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A girl finds a camera whose photos show the same street a hundred years earlier.
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A wedding ring is returned to a jeweller with a note: 'It belongs to someone else.'
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An old radio picks up only one station, and it seems to be broadcasting from next door.
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A library book is due back on a date fifty years in the past.
Story ideas that start with a place
Settings with a built-in problem.
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A night-bus driver notices the same passenger rides every night but never gets off.
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An island where nobody is allowed to leave on their birthday.
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A hotel where every room is booked by the same name.
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A small town that votes every year on which of its residents must move away.
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A lighthouse on a coast where ships stopped sailing decades ago, still lit every night.
Story ideas that start with a 'what if'
Change one rule of the world and follow the consequences.
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What if everyone received one letter from their future self on their thirtieth birthday?
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What if memories could be traded at a market like fruit and vegetables?
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What if dreams were shared with whoever slept closest to you?
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What if a city's power went out and never came back, but nobody would talk about why?
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What if a child could see the lies people told, floating above their heads?
Story ideas that start with a hard choice
A dilemma with no clean answer gives a story tension from the first page.
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A doctor must choose between keeping a patient's secret and protecting their family.
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Two siblings inherit a family business; only one of them can run it, and only one of them wants to.
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A whistleblower discovers the wrongdoing she's about to expose was started by her mentor.
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A climber must decide whether to abandon a summit attempt to help a stranger.
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A teacher finds out a student has cheated to save their place at school, for a reason she understands.
How to get better stories from these ideas
- Ask 'and then what?' three times before you start writing; it gives you a rough plot.
- Decide what your main character wants and what they need; they're often different.
- Make the problem worse in the middle. Stories sag when things get easier.
- Choose an ending first if you can; it makes the middle easier to write.
- Swap one element of the premise, such as the age or setting, to make it yours.
If you're writing for younger readers, my guide to writing a children's story with AI can help you illustrate the result, and my story swipe file shows story structures used in real life as well as fiction.
Keeping your own story idea file
Writers who never run out of ideas aren't more imaginative; they're better at writing ideas down. Keep a running list in your phone or notebook. When you overhear a strange line, see an odd sign or read a surprising news story, add it as a one-line premise with a character and a problem. After a few months, you'll have a list like this one that's entirely your own.
My advice for using story ideas
Pick the idea that makes you want to know what happens next. That curiosity is what carries you through a draft. Write a rough version quickly, then come back and deepen the character, sharpen the problem and raise the stakes. Every strong story starts as a simple premise like these, and yours can start tonight with whichever one you keep thinking about.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a good story idea?
A character, a problem and something at stake. A topic alone, such as friendship or courage, isn't enough to start a story.
How do I turn a story idea into a plot?
Ask 'and then what?' several times, make the problem worse in the middle, and decide how it ends.
Are these story ideas for short stories or novels?
Either. The Hugo Awards treat under 7,500 words as a short story and 40,000 or more as a novel; it depends how far you develop the premise.
Where do writers get story ideas?
From character flaws, objects, places, 'what if' questions and difficult choices, which is how this list is grouped.
Can I change these story ideas?
Yes. Changing one element, such as the setting or the character's age, is a good way to make an idea your own.
