
Professional writers recommend keeping an idea notebook, so each time you think of something, even the barest wisp of an idea, you can jot it down and return to it later.įor example, if you jot down an observation on a train, of a ragged looking man carrying a small paper bag, you might brainstorm what he could be carrying in the bag. This means that whatever idea you come up with for a short story, you need to be able to tell it succinctly. When done well, writers can even make money writing short stories. Short stories usually range from 2,000 words to about 8,000 words, with longer ones reaching as many as 20,000 words. So how do you overcome the blank page? How Do You Get Ideas for Short Stories? While some may be quick to write it off (pardon the pun) as writer’s block, professional writers believe in the importance of pushing past the wall and writing-sometimes, just anything. This struggle is real for all kinds of writers: novelists, short story writers, poets, and even bloggers. Nothing is more frustrating for writers than facing a blank page and not having the slightest idea what to write about.
