Where Do You Get Your Story Ideas?

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One of the questions authors are frequently asked is, “Where do you get your story ideas?” I tell people, from all around. I see something interesting, hear an anecdote, meet a colorful individual, or read about a real-life event in the news or online. “You just have to pay attention,” I’m fond of saying to them.

For example, I went to a journalism event last week and met the most interesting gentleman. About five years ago, he returned to the small town in Colorado where he was raised and purchased the local newspaper which was on the brink of bankruptcy. The first thing he did was to hire his daughter as his head and only reporter. Within six months, he proceeded to turn the newspaper around and get it operating in the black again. I was very impressed and quite entertained by his many charming small town newspaper tales, especially when he talked about the 67 letters he found in an old file and that were written by the original owner from the 1880s. What a treasure! Those are probably a book all by themselves.

Immediately, my writer’s brain started to spin. I told myself, “There’s a story in there somewhere.” Does anyone remember the movie We Bought a Zoo? I think it was a book first. Anyway, We Bought a Zoo is the story of a heartbroken widower and father who buys a small, down on its luck zoo. I loved it the movie, by the way, and began to picturing something similar  — like, I Bought a Newspaper. Of course, in my story, the hero would be young and hire his sister rather than his daughter as head reporter.

No, wait! Better yet, my heroine would buy the newspaper and hire her brother as the reporter. And, of course, she would have to be at odds with the hero. Maybe he’s a developer who has plans of buying the building that houses the newspaper and turning it into a manufacturing plant. Only that would make him a bad guy, and he has to be good, right? I know. He wants to turn it into a state-of-the-art Urgent Care facility to service the town which only has an outdated clinic.

But how to make that a western? I got it! His family is wealthy, having made their money in the cattle business. They have the biggest ranch in the area. And my heroine could dig up some dirt on his family when she finds these old letters in a storage box. The kind of dirt that could ruin them.

Except what if I want to make this into a historical western? That would add all kinds of conflict for my heroine. As a woman business owner back in the old days, especially a newspaper publisher, she’d have a hard time being accepted by both men and woman. Probably no one would want to talk to her, which would make investigating stories and getting witnesses to talk hard.

Hmm…this might be something I need to print out and put in my idea file, which, no joke, is at least an inch thick. Yeah, the story idea needs a little work and polishing, for sure, but it could make for a good book, I think. And I do have the business card of the gentleman I met should I have research questions.

If nothing else, I have a really good answer when people ask me where I get my story ideas.

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Cathy McDavid has been penning Westerns for Harlequin since 2005. With over 55 titles in print and 1.6 million-plus books sold, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll. This “almost” Arizona native and mother of grown twins is married to her own real-life sweetheart. After leaving the corporate world seven years ago, she now spends her days penning stories about good looking cowboys riding the range, busting broncs, and sweeping gals off their feet — oops, no. Make that winning the hearts of feisty, independent women who give the cowboys a run for their money. It a tough job, but she’s willing to make the sacrifice.

41 thoughts on “Where Do You Get Your Story Ideas?”

  1. I, like you, have more story ideas than I’ll ever get written. They come faster than I can write them. I always write the ones that stay intense and never fade away or remain vague.

  2. As a young reader, I never gave much thought as to how the author came up with a story. But as an older reader, I now realize how much research is done for some of the books and how some books are written by stories authors hear themselves.

  3. Good morning Cathy! I see just how those ideas turn into a roller coaster ride! LOL Imagination is a wonderful thing! Although it’s different, I feel that in my art ideas!

    Best wishes to you!

  4. Great post, Cathy. Isn’t it fun when ideas take on a life of their own?
    I don’t have a lot of trouble coming up with ideas because I usually write series, and by the end of a book, one of the secondary characters is clamoring for a book of their own. Not sure I could write a stand-alone to save my life.
    Thanks for sharing.

    • Some of my books begin as part of a series, some of them turn into a series as secondary characters demand their stories be told, and some remain standalones. It all depends on the book and how I’m inspired.

  5. I love how your mind works, Cathy. Ha! There’s many things I’ve enjoyed during my writing career, but brainstorming is at the top of my list. Especially with treasured friends around my table who love to brainstorm and exchange inspiration like I do.

    Great blog, my sister filly!

  7. Wow,interesting.
    Buying a newspaper about to close, hiring your family member as a reporter. What story will they find? Will it turn the paper around?
    So many ideas for stories begin to take sees.

  12. Everyone has at least 1 muse. Authors need many more in my opinion so that they can keep weaving their magical books!!!!!

  13. I like your ideas but just once I would like to see the story start out with a hero having an easy time of it so to speak then halfway through the story plot twist the heroine who’s a powerhouse in her own right overcomes many obstacles and in the end the heroine ends up helping the hero or heroes of the story and and becomes a self made Billionaire

    • Hey Crystal. I see why you like that, and I do think there are stories out there with the heroine helping the hero. Though it may be less common in the western genre 🙂 For me, I see the trend leaning more towards the heroine and hero being equal partners. That seems to be what a lot of readers like.

  14. I like your ideas but just once I would like to see the story start out with a hero having an easy time of it so to speak then halfway through the story plot twist the heroine who’s a powerhouse in her own right overcomes many obstacles and in the end the heroine ends up helping the hero or heroes of the story and and becomes a self made Billionaire then after proving to all the men yes she can do it and quicker because she is a woman who thinks logically and proves men don’t always do things better and she is eventually accepted

  15. This is a great idea for a book. Since a woman wouldn’t be accepted as a reporter asking questions around town. She would have to hire a male to be the reporter and at the same time keep a low profile as the owner of the paper, hard to do in a small town. She should pick someone she trusts. It could be a relative, brother or cousin, or maybe a friend she has known for years. Maybe the husband of a best friend. Or maybe the brother of that husband, which could open up the possibility of a romance. There are certainly lots of good possibilities for you to develop the story.

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