I am often asked…what story should I write? I answer the question with my own questions. Tell me about yourself. Where did you grow up? Where did you go to college? And so on. These questions can reveal your own stories. Your own life is a good place to start your search for stories. When searching for stories you must find one that has conflict.
Conflict is simple, when you have two characters you have conflict. Because each has their own agenda. For example, a boy and girl are alone together. He may want to watch TV, she may want to cuddle. That’s conflict. It is a simple conflict. The boy has his agenda, and the girl has her own agenda.
In traditional storytelling there are four types of conflicts:
- Hero versus Villain, external struggle
- Hero versus Nature, external struggle
- Hero versus Society, external struggle
- Hero versus Himself, internal struggle
Here are some story ideas:
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Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Willy Loman is a mediocre traveling salesman and the delusions that barely keep him afloat….
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Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
Two couples at a tiny New England liberal arts college drunkenly go at each other…
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Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill
This autobiographical play about O’Neill’s young adulthood scorches from start to finish. You can feel…
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Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Young Hamlet returns home from university to discover the world-shattering news that, not only is…
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One Thousand and One Nights
The main frame story concerns Shahryār whom the narrator calls a “Sasanian king” ruling in “India and China.”…
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Anna Karenina By Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina comprises more than the story of Anna Karenina, a married socialite, and her affair…