Inventing Short Story Ideas

Here's a new idea for inventing stories.

Remember that car travel game I created called "Explain This?" It was in a recent post. A player suggests an unusual scenario in a sentence or two, and then each player explains it in a plausible way. I discovered it's also a great way to come up with short story ideas.

Use anything that pops into your head, and write it down. Here's an example: "Todd handed out the dollar bills to the people as they walked by, trying to distribute as many as he could quickly, before the police could stop him." Try to explain that. Our minds insist on explaining things, so you will find an explanation if you try, and if it's an interesting enough explanation, you have your next short story.

Personally, I imagine the dollar bills are signed or otherwise identifiable, and they can be traded at a big seminar for a gift worth even more. Spend it and get a soda? Or get something truly valuable for it? This may go in the marketing ideas file instead of the short story ideas file.

Maybe Todd is handing out the last of his money as per the instructions of his spiritual leader. It could be a "get rich quick" cult that requires all members to start from zero. A religious movement based on getting rich? I think someone could make it into a plausible story.

For more on inventing new short story ideas, visit the new page, Short Story Ideas.