From Starbucks to the Ocean: How Authors Find Story Ideas Everywhere
“Good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Stephen King
The Unpredictable Spark of Inspiration
As an author, inspiration rarely arrives on command. It isn’t something you can sit at a desk and demand like a late pizza delivery. It’s sneaky, unpredictable, and often disguised in the ordinary rhythms of everyday life.
I can overhear a half-finished conversation at Starbucks two strangers debating something silly, and suddenly my brain twists it into a murder mystery. I can be standing on the edge of the ocean during vacation, watching the tide creep toward me, when a fresh idea surges out of the waves like a mythic sea creature. Even the woods behind my house, quiet and familiar, can transform into an eerie backdrop for something supernatural when my imagination decides to play.
The mind of an author is like an antenna always searching for a signal. What looks like random noise to most people, snippets of conversation, an odd sight, or even a strange dream, becomes raw material. The building blocks of a story are everywhere if you learn how to connect them
The Flow of Unrelated Ideas
One of the strangest and most exciting things about writing is how unrelated ideas collide. You see a kid riding a Big Wheel. You notice a creepy old man at the grocery store. Alone, they mean nothing. Put them together, though, and suddenly you’re sketching out a short story about a child who rides too far down the street and crosses paths with someone who shouldn’t be trusted.
Stephen King once said, “Good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.”
That line sums up the secret job of an author, we are less “inventors” and more “collectors.” The ideas are already floating out there, waiting to be recognized.
Changing the Mood, Changing the Flow
But what happens when the signal goes silent? Every writer knows the frustration of staring at the blank page, waiting for something to appear.
One writer I know has a strange but effective trick: he changes his clothes. If the story feels stuck, he’ll swap his jeans for a suit jacket or move his laptop to a café across town. A shift in environment often creates a shift in perspective. Suddenly, the story flows again.
It may sound odd, but it works. Changing the mood, whether through location, music, lighting, or even wardrobe, can crack open the creative dam. Writing isn’t only about discipline; it’s also about finding the right emotional state to channel ideas.
Priming the Pump With Stories
For me, reading what others have written often jump-starts my own process. Picking up a great novel, a screenplay, or even a short story can light up dormant parts of the imagination. It’s not about copying another writer, it’s about being reminded of the endless possibilities of storytelling.
Every sentence you read can spark a “what if” question: What if this character had made a different choice? What if this setting were darker? What if I twisted this concept into horror? Before you know it, your own story begins to emerge.
Writing as a Lifelong Conversation
Being an author means being in constant dialogue, with yourself, with the world, and with every piece of art you encounter. A child’s laughter, an awkward silence at the grocery store, an unsettling nightmare, all of it becomes part of the conversation.
Inspiration doesn’t care if you’re ready. It just arrives. The real discipline of an author is staying open to it and recognizing its arrival before it slips away.
So I’ll turn the question back to you: If you’re a writer, what are some of the things you do to prime the pump and get the stories flowing?
Looking Beyond Inspiration: Stories That Shape Culture
Inspiration is just the first step. What you choose to do with those sparks is what defines you as a writer. Every generation has its stories that shape the culture—tales that don’t just entertain but shift the way people see the world.
That’s exactly what I explore in The New Myths Course. It’s a deep dive into the kind of storytelling that will matter most over the next twenty years—stories that speak to the anxieties, hopes, and imagination of our time. If you’ve ever wondered how to take your inspiration and shape it into something lasting, this course is for you.
👉 Check out The New Myths Course here and learn how to build stories that don’t just get written—they get remembered.
Writers have imaginations like no one else . They can look at a bug and write a story . If it wasn’t for writers or authors there would not be any movies to watch or books to read . I don’t know that some people get that .