I prefer paper too but I don’t usually write much down, just short points 
I have a very vivid imagination (both a good and a bad thing) so I don’t really struggle with story inspiration… I could probably write a list of prompts for people to use 
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Make sure you read widely outside of the genre that you’re writing in.
Sure, it’s important to familiarise yourself with your particular genre, but if a plot has been done once in a particular genre, it’s been done one hundred times. Broadening your horizons by reading fantasy if you’re into action or drama if you like thriller can help you to include things in your story that are new and innovative for that particular genre. -
Try story cubes.
Rory’s Story Cubes have been a lifesaver for me recently. If you have a little spare money, get yourself a pack of them, because they’re pictures on dice that can be used to create scenes, characters or even whole story plots! As well as the original interpretations of the dice that are listed on their website, you’re free to interpret the cubes in any way you want to! A snake could be a snake… or you could change it to symbolise deception. A smiley face could be a smiley face… or a mask that hides true emotions! Pluck out a few and roll! Then write down the plots, scenes and characters that you make up. The more unique, bizarre and wonderful story points you come up with, the more ammo you have for a genuine story! Just because the story as a whole was ridiculous thanks to the random nature of the cubes, it doesn’t mean everything about your idea was! -
Remember that there are very few original ideas.
When you’re starting out, it can be really difficult to be able to tell the difference between plagiarism and an acceptable number of similarities between a book and your idea. However, having general premises that apply to other stories too is fine. You can’t avoid that! I mean, there are only a limited number of story structures (all of which can be found in the Bible, interestingly. You can find every story structure in a single book) in the world, so just write your idea. Don’t think too much about other works. Just let things flow and then see if the people around you say if there are too many similarities after you’ve come up with your plan. Then you can change a few details here and there! -
Ground your stories in real life.
You’ll find that some things that happen in real life really can’t have been thought up in a story. By that, I mean that they’re so strange that very few writers would have the imagination to come up with that kind of thing! Stories are always better when they’re grounded in reality anyway, so read some history books, news articles and autobiographies. Get inspired by real-life people! They’ll never fail to disappoint when it comes to new ideas. Just make sure that you only add aspects of each one. You don’t want to create something that’s basically just a copy of history. To paraphrase George RR Martin, who created Game of Thrones, take real people, file off the serial numbers (change their names and their identities), change their look, change their location, dial up the drama and action all the way to 1000 and then add it to your story. It works for him! Plus, it makes your characters and action much more realistic and fun. -
Keep a journal
A lot of the time, when I believe that I don’t have any ideas, it’s actually because I didn’t write down the ideas that came into my head when I was on a train or doing a workout or something. Then they get lost in the Land of Forgotten Ideas and I regret not writing them down. You might find a gem in them here and there! Write down stories when you think of them. Write descriptions of people you see on the street if they catch your eye. They might become a really interesting character for your story later on!
I know how difficult it can be to come up with some ideas and combat writers’ block. I have a bunch of different resources to help you with that! Most of them are by me, so I am sorry in advance for plugging my own blog posts and forum threads. I have a small-time blog dedicated to helping Episode writers write better! I’ve compiled the ones that are most useful for coming up with ideas below, along with some other stuff.
Writers’ Block Post
Post on the Importance of Keeping Bad Ideas
Post About Good Planning Resource
Post on Creating Good Female Characters
Post Explaining What Exposition Is
Post Explaining Deus Ex Machina
Crash Course History - Great for Grounding in Reality
Crash Course Literature - Awesome for Understanding How Stories Work
My Fantasy Writing Prompts Topic
My Grammar Topic
My Reading Suggestions Topic (Feel Free to Contribute)
My Writer’s Block Topic
Discussion about Love Interests
Guide to Slow-Burn Romances (This one is genius!)
Happy writing!
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All my inspiration comes from other authors and personal experiences.
I also find a lot of inspiration on the forums when people discuss things that they’d like to see in stories.
But mainly my personal experiences as I think it makes it easier for me to go on with the story as I always know what’s going to happen since it’s usually something I have experienced myself.
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