All books start with a simple concept before they’re written. Coming up with the idea is probably the most important step in writing since the concept is basically the skeleton of the story. Everything else that you write for the story is built off the very first concept.
While coming up with a good concept may seem easy at first, it can be tough to come up with an original idea. After all, it seems like all the professional authors have taken all of the good ideas.
But, it may come as a surprise to you that most stories were inspired by works that were already created by other authors! This may seem like plagiarism, but if the story is changed to where it’s your own, you can’t be accused of plagiarising!
So, how do you get inspired by other works of fiction and change it to where it’s your own? Or if you want to come up with your very own idea, then how do you accomplish this? Well, when it comes to creating a concept, I have three methods I typically use: The Critic Method, The “What If” Method, and The Fusion Method, which I’ll explain below.
(Just be aware that not all of these will work for everyone in the same way. Stick with the way that you find the most efficient.)
The Critic Method
This is the method I used to create my popular trilogy, Hero Academy. I came up with the idea after watching The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and wondered: “If Peter Parker was getting shoved around a day ago, how did he learn to use his superpowers so well without a guide within the timespan of a couple days?”
This was my biggest disappointment in the movie. So, I jokingly thought to myself, “It would be cool if superheroes learned to use their powers at a school. That would make an interesting story.”
That’s when I realized that I could write about this, and Hero Academy was born.
To use this method, look for something unrealistic or overused in a specific genre of fiction and expose it. Once you have a topic that’s unrealistic or overused, completely change it to where readers can relate to it or to where it’s something that no one has ever seen before! This may take a bit of time, but they make great stories in the end.
The “What If” Method
This method is used a lot and is probably one of the easiest ones out there.
All you have to do is ask: “What if ______.”
This method could be used in multiple ways for any genre. You could ask questions about the real world (Ex. “What if I was an alien?”), ask questions about stories that have already been created (Ex. “What if all the Disney princesses went to high school together?”), or ask questions about your own stories (Ex. “What if The United League of Heroes were cloned?”).
This method is great for not only coming up with a concept, but it’s also great for coming up with important plot points!
The Fusion Method
This last method is probably the most intricate of all the methods. In this method, take three works of fiction that you like and write down some topics that you’d like to explore in this form of planning. This could be books, movies, video games, music, art, or anything that falls into the creative arts category (For this example, I’m going to fuse The Hunger Games, Tangled, and The Legend of Zelda together.)!
Once you have a couple works together, write down aspects of the stories. It doesn’t matter how many you write down, but you need at least one or two aspects from each story that you want to include in your story (Some aspects I could include from The Hunger Games are: dystopian society and boyfriend drama. Some aspects I could include from Tangled are magical plants and getting introduced to the real world. An aspect I could include from The Legend of Zelda is elves.).
After you have these aspects of a story together, jot down some of your own ideas (For this example, I could include an alien invasion and someone experiencing memory failure.)
Once all your favorite aspects are together, try to combine a couple of them to create your story idea! (The fusion I’ve been creating would probably make a story about an amnesiac girl who lives in a dystopian society when dark elves suddenly invade, who seek a magical plant. Along the way, the main character is introduced to the real world and experiences drama between her boyfriend her and her boyfriend.)
This method is tough and messy, but if the fused concept is edited in the right way, an original story may result from it!
Feel Free to do Anything
Ideas for stories come from many different places, most of which come from other pieces of fiction. The methods I described were only a few of the many ways stories can be first thought of! If none of these work for you, that’s fine. Try to find your own way to create a concept of a story!
Once you do come up with a concept you like, that’s when you start to expand on the characters and the plot lines, which can be just as tricky.
So, come back soon to see how to create original characters and fun plot lines! That’s what I’ll be touching on next!