Finding story ideas is the first and most challenging hurdle for writers at all levels. According to The New York Times, even bestselling author Stephen King faces the same question at every public appearance: “Where do you get your ideas?” The creative spark that ignites a compelling narrative can appear in countless forms, but requires active engagement with specific techniques rather than passive waiting for inspiration. Stories begin before words hit the page—for some authors, ideas arrive as complete scenes demanding transcription; for others, a question lingers until characters appear to answer it.
Richard French began his publishing career writing non-fiction under his own name while creating fiction as Raven Fontaine, before eventually writing fiction under both identities, starting with “The Convergence: Broken Magic.” This post offers a behind-the-scenes look at finding story ideas for different types of writing, providing practical approaches for writers seeking their own creative sparks. These aren’t theoretical concepts but actual methods a working author uses daily.
The Question Method for Finding Story Ideas
Richard French approaches his non-fiction work with what he calls “the persistent question” technique. Rather than waiting for complete concepts to materialize, he begins by identifying questions that intrigue him enough to pursue answers. These aren’t simple yes/no questions but expansive inquiries that demand exploration across multiple angles.
“Every significant piece I’ve written started with a question I couldn’t shake,” French explains. “The question becomes both compass and fuel—directing where to go while providing the energy to get there.”
Techniques for Developing Question-Based Exploration
French recommends several approaches to generate productive questions:
- Start with “What if” scenarios to push beyond conventional thinking
- Focus on contradictions or paradoxes within your field of interest
- Identify assumptions and question their validity
- Look for connections between seemingly unrelated topics
- Pay attention to personal frustrations—they often signal underlying questions
The key lies in developing questions with depth. Surface-level queries produce surface-level writing. French deliberately crafts questions with multiple layers that can sustain extended investigation.
Works Born from Persistent Questions
French’s essay series “Boundaries of Belief” emerged from his question: “How do people maintain conviction in the face of contradictory evidence?” This single inquiry spawned dozens of related questions, each becoming an essay exploring different aspects of cognitive dissonance and belief formation.
Similarly, his work on “Ethical Frameworks in Digital Spaces” began with the question: “Do our moral instincts change when we interact through screens rather than in person?” The question’s richness allowed him to explore moral complexity across various digital contexts.
Exercise: Creating a Topic-Worthy Question Bank
To apply this method yourself:
- Set a timer for 15 minutes
- Write down every question that interests you without filtering
- After the timer ends, review your questions and highlight those that create an immediate sense of curiosity
- For each highlighted question, write three related sub-questions
- Select one question that you find yourself thinking about even after the exercise ends
This exercise creates not just a single story idea but a renewable resource of potential topics. French revisits his question bank weekly, adding new entries and noting which questions continue to provoke thought.
The Collision Technique for Finding Story Ideas
When writing fiction as Raven Fontaine, French employs what he calls “the collision technique”—deliberately bringing together disparate elements to create narrative friction. This approach differs significantly from his question-based non-fiction method.
“Fiction thrives on unexpected combinations,” French notes. “When you force elements together that don’t naturally align, the mind works to create connections, and those connections become story.”
Practical Approaches to Deliberate Idea Collision
French recommends several specific collision exercises:
- Combine two unrelated genres (Western + Science Fiction)
- Place familiar characters in unfamiliar settings
- Merge contradictory emotional states in a single character
- Transpose historical events into contemporary or futuristic settings
- Introduce magical elements into mundane situations (or vice versa)
The key is intentional misalignment. Rather than looking for obvious connections, seek elements that create cognitive dissonance. The resolution of that dissonance becomes the heart of your story.
Stories Born from Unlikely Combinations
French’s fantasy novel “Elemental Boundaries” emerged from combining quantum physics concepts with medieval folklore. “I forced together scientific principles and ancient superstitions, then watched what happened when they occupied the same narrative space,” he explains.
His thriller series “Silent Observers” began by colliding surveillance technology with ancient guardian mythology. The tension between watching and protecting created the central conflict that drives the series.
Exercise: Creating Forced Connections
To generate your own collision-based story ideas:
- Create three columns on a page labeled: Characters, Settings, Problems
- Under each column, list 5-7 entries from widely different sources
- Randomly select one item from each column
- Write a one-paragraph scenario that incorporates all three elements
- Repeat three times, then develop the scenario that most intrigues you
This exercise forces your mind to create connections where none naturally exist. The resulting narrative bridges will often surprise you with their creative potential.
The Cross-Pollination Effect in Finding Story Ideas
After years of maintaining separate approaches for fiction and non-fiction, French noticed an interesting phenomenon—techniques from each discipline began influencing the other. This cross-pollination eventually led him to write fiction under his own name, beginning with “The Convergence: Broken Magic.”
“I realized I was artificially separating creative processes that naturally wanted to merge,” French explains. “When I stopped enforcing that boundary, my work in both areas became richer.”
The Evolution Leading to Unified Writing
French describes the transition as gradual but inevitable. His fiction writing as Raven Fontaine began incorporating more research-based elements, while his non-fiction acquired narrative techniques that made complex ideas more accessible.
“I started asking ‘what if’ questions about factual situations in my research, which led to speculative fiction based on actual events,” he notes. “Meanwhile, my non-fiction was becoming more story-driven, using character and conflict to illustrate abstract concepts.”
This creative convergence culminated in “The Convergence: Broken Magic,” a novel that blends French’s fascination with ethical questions and his talent for world-building.
Examples of Cross-Disciplinary Enrichment
French points to specific ways his different writing modes inform each other:
- His fiction characters now engage with philosophical questions that previously appeared only in his essays
- His non-fiction incorporates sensory details and setting descriptions that create immersive reading experiences
- Plot structures from his fiction appear as organizational frameworks in his analytical pieces
- Research techniques from non-fiction enrich the authenticity of his fictional worlds
This cross-pollination allows him to weave multiple story threads in ways that wouldn’t be possible with a single approach.
Exercise: Identifying Creative Cross-Pollination
To apply this concept to your own work:
- List all your creative pursuits (writing, music, visual arts, etc.)
- For each pursuit, identify three distinctive techniques or approaches you use
- Select one technique from each list and brainstorm how it could be applied to a different creative area
- Create a small project that deliberately applies techniques from one discipline to another
- Reflect on how the cross-pollination changed your typical creative process
This exercise helps break down artificial barriers between different types of creativity, allowing for richer idea generation across all your work.
The Cultivation System for Finding Story Ideas
Beyond specific techniques for generating ideas, French maintains what he calls an “idea cultivation system”—a set of practices designed to create conditions where inspiration thrives. This system differs slightly between his fiction and non-fiction work but shares common principles.
“Ideas are living things that respond to their environment,” French explains. “Create the right conditions, and they appear reliably without the drama of waiting for inspiration to strike.”
Creating Idea-Friendly Conditions
French’s system includes several key practices:
- Input curation: Deliberately varying his reading material across genres and subjects
- Idea capture: Maintaining multiple collection points for ideas (digital and physical notebooks)
- Scheduled incubation: Setting aside specific times for idea development without immediate production pressure
- Exploratory walks: Using physical movement in changing environments to stimulate mental connections
- Conversation partners: Regular discussions with people who think differently than he does
The system works by creating both structure and freedom—disciplined practices that allow for unexpected connections.
The Connection Between Habits and Inspiration
French emphasizes that reliable idea generation comes from habits rather than moments of genius. “My most successful works came from consistent application of these practices, not from dramatic flashes of inspiration,” he notes.
He points to his “Threshold Chronicles” series, which emerged from notes collected during six months of daily idea capture. “Each day’s small observation, when combined with the others, created something far beyond what a single moment of inspiration could provide.”
His psychological worldbuilding similarly relies on sustained practices rather than sudden insights.
Exercise: Designing Your Personal Idea Cultivation System
To create your own idea cultivation system:
- Identify when and where you’ve had your best ideas in the past
- Design three simple practices that recreate those conditions
- Create a physical or digital “idea garden” where concepts can be collected without immediate judgment
- Schedule both collection time (gathering potential ideas) and cultivation time (developing promising concepts)
- Implement your system for two weeks, then adjust based on results
The goal is not perfection but persistence. A simple system you’ll actually use consistently yields better results than an elaborate one you abandon.
From Spark to Structure in Finding Story Ideas
The final crucial step in French’s process involves transforming raw ideas into workable story concepts with enough substance to sustain a complete work. Without this developmental stage, even the most promising ideas often fade before completion.
“The initial spark is exciting but rarely contains enough fuel for a full project,” French explains. “The development phase is where I determine if an idea has the necessary potential.”
Techniques for Evaluating and Expanding Promising Sparks
French uses several specific approaches to develop raw ideas:
- The expansion test: Can the idea generate at least ten related questions or directions?
- The resonance check: Does the concept continue to interest me after the initial excitement fades?
- The conflict examination: What inherent tensions or opposing forces exist within the idea?
- The character potential: Can I envision distinct personalities engaging with this concept?
- The structural inventory: What natural sections or divisions emerge from this topic?
Ideas that pass these tests move to more formal development, while others return to the idea garden for further maturation.
Tracking Ideas from Inception to Completion
French’s historical fantasy “Veiled Influences” began as a single question about how magic might function in a world where its existence remained controversial. This initial spark expanded through his development process:
- The question generated twenty related inquiries about magic’s social implications
- These questions revealed natural character positions representing different views
- The character positions suggested inherent conflicts that could drive a plot
- Research into historical debates about other controversial phenomena provided structural models
- The resulting framework contained enough substance for a complete novel
Similar development paths appear in his non-fiction, where initial observations expand into full analytical frameworks.
Exercise: Developing Raw Ideas into Story Seeds
To apply this approach to your own ideas:
- Select three raw concepts from your idea collection
- For each concept, write a one-sentence description of its core essence
- Expand each sentence into a paragraph that addresses who, what, where, when, why, and how
- Identify at least three conflicts or tensions inherent in each expanded concept
- Choose the concept with the most natural development potential and create a simple outline
This progressive expansion process helps determine which ideas have sufficient substance for full development while enriching promising concepts with necessary detail.
Conclusion
Creativity thrives through deliberate practice rather than passive waiting. Richard French actively pursues inspiration through specific methods that consistently yield results. By adopting similar approaches—asking generative questions, creating conceptual collisions, practicing cross-pollination, and cultivating idea-friendly environments—you’ll develop reliable sources for your own creative work.
The myth of the author waiting for inspiration disappears when replaced with the reality of the working writer actively mining life for material. The techniques shared here provide a practical foundation for consistent idea generation, whether you’re writing fiction, non-fiction, or both. Next month, we’ll explore how these initial sparks develop into fully-realized characters that captivate readers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I develop an idea before deciding if it’s worth pursuing?
Give each promising idea at least three separate development sessions spaced days apart. If your interest increases with each session and you continue generating related thoughts between sessions, the idea likely has staying power. If your enthusiasm diminishes after the initial excitement, it may need more time to mature.
Can these techniques work for genres like poetry or screenplay writing?
Absolutely. While the specific applications may differ, the fundamental principles apply across all creative writing forms. The question method works especially well for poetry, while the collision technique often yields compelling visual scenarios perfect for screenplays.
What if I have too many ideas and can’t decide which to pursue?
Create a simple scoring system based on your criteria (passion for the topic, commercial potential, available research, etc.). Rate each idea, then commit to fully developing your top-scoring concept before revisiting others.
Do professional writers really use structured systems like these, or do ideas just come naturally to them?
Most professional writers rely on systematic approaches rather than waiting for inspiration. The difference between professionals and beginners often isn’t natural ability but rather the development of reliable processes that generate ideas consistently regardless of mood or motivation.