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While I primarily write fantasy romance, I can’t help but explore other genres. I’m endlessly curious about what elements readers expect to get lost in when they pick up a thriller, for example. Is it all about the cleverest plot twist? What makes a satisfying horror story? Experiencing nightmares from the comfort of your armchair?

What do readers want in historical fiction… to compare life to better times, worse times? What keeps them swiping pages in a steamy, emotional romance novel, besides the steam? Okay. My last one. What is it about traveling to a future world here or out there that draws readers to sci-fi? For me it’s the idea of having a future of any kind.

Then, there are all the sub-genres.

Within the sub-genres—even within a single novel—are the myriad of tropes that change constantly depending on what’s popular.

Where do you go to get inspiration before you even get to the genre you want your story to live in?

Do you prefer writing in one genre? What’s your go-to style?

If you have a favorite style and genre, how do you come up with fresh story ideas inside that genre?

Do you feel your way through the mechanics of a story, and let it tell itself? Or do you establish your structure and all the rules first?

This excerpt is from an article I found after Googling the subject question.

…This [looking for compelling interests] might take the form of research, conversations, looking through ephemera, or journaling. If you follow the trail of that preoccupation, you’re bound to come across the engine of a story.

How do authors come up with stories? ~ Gotham Writers

The idea of being “bound to come across the engine of a story” totally resonated with me. When I started writing, I had no idea about the mechanics of the craft, or that fiction writing was… well… mechanical. Don’t get me wrong. I was an admin assistant and paralegal for decades. Proper grammar, editing, and the efficient conveying of words in sentences and paragraphs were my bread and butter. In other words, mechanics. But when I started my writing journey, I was focused on the artistic side of things—the creative outlet just like all my previous downtime activities in arts and crafts. The “feel good” aspect.

Creativity for me is all about the organic flow of imagination and ideas, letting one thing build onto another, applying different mediums until it feels right under your hands. That’s how I write. I feel my story through the keyboard as I type. But three years into the journey, I’m learning there is much more to it. Feeling the words might get those ideas flowing, but to craft a good story takes the study of and dedication to the mechanics.

So, after plowing through writing my first novel using my decades of voracious reading and acquired business writing sense, and all the grammar fluidity I honed along my career path in combination with my imagination, I’m now digging deeper into the mechanics of fiction, especially as I try my hand at a different genre.

I love reading and watching good horror. Now, I want to write one.

Short story anthologies are a great way for writers to try out the mechanics of a whole new device. I’m currently challenging myself to write a horror story under 20,000 words. Thanks to articles like the one above (and I recommend reading the short piece with quotes from great writers about finding their story ideas) and folks like Dave Chesson, the Kindlepreneur, who generously share resources like Horror Writing Prompts: 50+ Ideas to Get You Started, I’m on my way.

My problem is that I have a real tough time writing scary, bad people, doing scary bad things. That’s where examining the technical aspects of the craft might help. So, I’m off on a whole new tangent. But hey! That’s my joy.

Here’s a link to one of my side trips, aka articles, that you might find helpful. Writing Evil Characters. Packed with great memorable nuggets like this.

…evil characters are heroes in their own stories and in the stories of their minions and countless supporters. And as heroes, it’s important to see how the plot of your story or novel is affecting them and forcing them to grow. ~ Naomi D. Nakashima

However, what I’m learning about the horror genre is that the antagonist doesn’t have to be a person. It could be an entity, an urban legend, the protagonist’s own mind… So off I go, tripping further down the tangent highway of horror.

I would love to get your ideas on how you find ideas. Leave your comments below.

I’ll leave you with this cover and link to one of my short stories where I did venture down the path of horror to a degree, dabbling in a totally fun sub-genre—one I’d never heard of until entering a writing contest with Writing Battle. Cannibal Comedy.

Ride through a swamp in a gondola full of serial killers on their way to a banquet in The Passengers. Their grim pilot? He wears a dark cloak and carries a scythe. The story is also part of my collection of short stories for 99 pennies on Amazon.