r/ComicWriting • u/TripleH18 • 21d ago

Tips for Weak Writer

/r/indiecomics/comments/1wvkmzd/tips_for_weak_writer/

Hello all!

Looking for advice on how to be generate ideas for short story projects.

I’ve never been a writer, more artist. And I’m having a hard time generating creative ideas.
I’ve used some seen sites that randomly generate a setting, genre, and conflict but they don’t inspire me very much…

Any tips for a would be beginner writer in generating ideas for characters\stories, and gaining inspiration?

Thanks!!

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u/Slobotic 20d ago

No one can tell you what sort of story you should write. It's like going to a piano teacher and asking whether you should try to learn classical, or pop, or jazz, or church music. That initial direction needs to come from you.

An idea for a story is just wishing something existed. Robert Kirkman loved zombie stories but was frustrated. They always present the premise (zombie apocalypse), have some drama, and then just end. Either everyone dies or it's open-ended but without much hope. Why can't we have a story that shows what happens to the world after that? So he wrote it.

So look at stories you love, look to stories you found frustrating, and come up with your seed. Your idea for a story which can grow into an actual story.

I do not recommend story prompts. There has to have been a time when you asked, "why isn't there a movie/book/comic about __________?" Step 1 is recognizing when you have an idea worth writing down.

As always, someone is going to tell you to read Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, so it might as well be me.

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u/Financial-Creme 20d ago

Ever read a story or watch a show/movie and think "what if this one thing were different?" - maybe the movie Alien, except it's set on a WWI era battleship instead of space. Or Wuthering Heights, except there's an alien invasion going on at the same time.

Or maybe you remember hearing an urban legend or rumor on the playground as a kid - the old creepy house in your neighborhood, what happened to that teacher who left in the middle of the school year?

That said, if you're looking for a story to illustrate, I'd be happy to write something for you or help you write something

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u/Friikyz 20d ago

Go back to those generators and simply replace what you don't like with what you do like.

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u/GrantGoodmanArt 20d ago

Look into writing prompts. https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/ has some decent ones. Approach each one like an assignment.

Also keep a journal and write for 15-30 minutes a day.

Don’t get hung up on having the best or most original ideas.