9 Instant Ways To Generate Unlimited Story Ideas and Topics

Lessons from brainstorming with dozens of writers.

Having a free flow of ideas is helpful as a writer.

The most painful thing is sitting down and having nothing to say. The idea is to brainstorm and ideate in your non-writing time and become a writing machine when you sit down to write

After a good writing month on this platform, I decided to start a free writing mentorship group to support other writers. I thought if I had made a successful run on Medium and crossed the four-figure earnings mark in a year, I could help other writers do the same.

When I offered this free writing mentorship, I didn’t know how many people would show up. More than a 100 writers took me up on this offer and before I knew it, I had become a writing coach to dozens of writers on this platform.

As I started having 1-on-1 conversations with people, I heard other writers tell me that one of their main challenges was not knowing what to write about.

I couldn’t believe this because in the short email exchanges that I had with other writers, they were telling me the most compelling and interesting stories about their lives.

One writer told me how he started writing while homeless on the streets. Another writer shared with me her interesting stories living abroad. Yet another writer shared her experience of being a woman academician in a male-dominated field.

These writers had the most unique and interesting lives but were still finding it difficult to come up with ideas to write about.

I came to conclude that everyone has an interesting story to tell. The only challenge was to uncovering it.

Discovering Interesting Stories to Write About

I became so intrigued by this phenomenon of interesting writers telling me they didn’t have interesting stories to tell.

I wanted to help people see how many stories they carried around with so thought a 30 minute phone call would help them generate new ideas. I started having phone calls with my writing tribe with people all over the world to generate 30 ideas in 30 minutes.

As I prodded and interviewed writers, I furiously created headlines and story ideas while I was on the phone with them. Each new topic or question led to several story ideas for them.

How was it I was able to get each writer I mentored so many story ideas to write Medium posts on? I became curious and started asking lots of probing questions.

Before you know it, writers sang like canaries and spilt out the most interesting and fascinating stories about their lives.

I’ve since reflected on how I prompted the many story ideas and topics they came up with. Here are the questions that I tried to ask them below. If you’re in search of interesting topics and story ideas, consider asking yourself these nine questions.

These 9 questions will help prompt interesting topics and stories that you can then write your next story about.

9 Questions that Will Generate Unlimited Story Ideas and Topics

1. Write about your life’s biggest struggles.

If you’re human, you’ve experienced your fair share of struggles. What have been your biggest ones in your life been? Reflect on what challenges you’ve faced, what adversity you’ve overcome, and what struggles you’ve conquered. If you’ve struggled and gone through something soul-crushing, others likely have as well. Be a source of inspiration for others on life’s journey.

Write this: The biggest life struggle that I’ve overcome is…

2. Write about your life’s biggest lessons

If you’re alive, you’re a student of life. Life is the teacher that is constantly teaching us. We are constantly getting insights and realizations about life and the world around us. Every failure is a learning on what didn’t work, but a true lesson on what can work. Think about what your greatest life’s learnings and teachings are.

Write this: My 3 most important life lessons are….

3. Write about your most memorable stories

We are a collection of memories. Graduating from high school, getting sworn in as a lawyer, getting married and other incidences from my life have been the most memorable experiences in my life. There are stories, insights and wisdom that have been intertwined into each of these lifelong memories. Reflect on your life and think about the stories that shaped who you are.

Write this: If I was to write a memoir about my life, I would include these stories in it.

4. Write about the most critical events in your life

There are everyday events that occur to you and life-changing events that have happened to you. Immigrating to America, leaving law practice and getting a divorce have been some of the life-changing events in my life. Each of these events contains plenty of learnings, insights and wisdom. Each of us has had twists and turns that have appeared on our life path.

Write this: If I was to write an autobiography of my life, I must include these events in it.

5. Write your strongest opinions or beliefs

All day every day our mind is a judge, referee and evaluator of our lives. We have opinions about everything from the food we eat to the politicians we elect. We have opinions on news stories, on family stories or just the fiction stories we read. Often, we don’t tend to share these beliefs because we believe they are too personal or can rock the boat. That’s the exact reason you need to share your opinions or beliefs.

Write this: The strongest belief I have about my life is…. The strongest opinions I have about the world around me are…

6. Write the thing that you’re texting your best friend about

Hey, you’re not going to believe. Hey, guess what? I can’t wait to tell you this.

These are the conversations we are having all day long. We want to share tips, funny events and personal insights with our best friends and family. Interestingly, these are the very same stories that writers will come to appreciate, laugh about and read. If it’s interesting enough for one person, it’s interesting enough for your tribe of readers. Turn the personal into a public post.

Write this: The most interesting thing you told your best friend or family this month…

7. Write about something you disagree with

You may not like the world you live or the society you live. You may not like internet marketers, global nomads or side-hustles. You may not like corporate jobs, big business or income inequality. The thing that you can’t stand is the thing that you should be writing about. The thing that you disagree with is something worth sharing. It will likely be controversial, a fresh perspective and interesting point of view.

Write this: I absolute disagree with this point of view, this article, this person or this perspective and here’s why…

8. Write a blog post instead of a comment

This is one of my favorite writing hacks. You are reading a blog post or article online. You’re going along with the post until you stumble upon something that either resonates with you or absolutely offends you. You want to dig deep into the comments with agreement or to pick apart the premise of the post. You either loved or hate what the author was saying and would like to share a piece of your mind. Before you write a novel-like comment, consider crafting your own blog post instead.

Write this: I can turn this comment that I wrote today into a blog post…

9. Write about a current problem you’re facing in life

We never talk about the thing that’s right in front of us. You may be going through a breakup, a job change, or a life change of some sort. You may be questioning your faith, sexuality, politics or beliefs about something. This is the time to write what it is you’re going through. For some, writing about current events may be too personal or raw but if it also makes for great reading. People want to see how you’re grappling with the problems in your life.

Write this: I’m currently dealing with this problem, situation or issue…

Write about the thing you’re afraid to write about

You are swimming in stories but just may not realize it. You are a living story!

Your job as a writer is to reflect on your life and pick out the interesting parts of it to share with others.

I know this is hard to do and I would have never imagined doing something like this before. At one point in my life when I was going through the biggest pain and struggle, in the midst of a divorce, I felt like writing was my only outlet.

I stopped caring what people thought and started getting real. That’s when my writing started connecting with people and people started responding. I then went on to create an entire business around my writing, my self-published books, courses, etc.

The thing that I was most reluctant to talk about led to my best read articles and topics that resonated with readers.

Look around you for stories to write about but more importantly, go within and fish out the stories that near and dear to you.

Final caveat: Your stories are only entry-points. You are not journaling or simply sharing interesting stories. You are not writing to share your life or story because it’s interesting.

In the world of online writing, something is interesting when it can educate, enlighten or help the reader.

Always keep your reader in mind, even when you’re writing about your personal stories.

Where do you come up with story ideas? Please share your thoughts and comments below.