Story Leads

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about story leads and the advice everyone dishes out, "write what you know." Except, you might ask how someone could possibly know about space invasions and after death experiences since today's writer couldn't possibly have those experiences.

Here's the scoop: any story, whether it's set on earth or another planet, in the past or the present, or in your own home town has something that relates to the human experience. A good story pulls on the heart strings, tantalizes the senses, and pulls from core human emotion. Basically, if you can find something from your life that another person could relate to (whether he experienced it or not), you can use it to build the foundation for a story.

Great places to get ideas for stories:

1. the news
2. conversations you may overhear
3. life experiences
4. dreams

Now go plant a story seed and see what sprouts.