Turn Trash Into Writing - Where to Get Story Ideas

No, I'm not going to tell you about how to take your old writing and recycle it, though that might be a good idea for another day.

Instead I'm going to ask you to take a walk around your neighborhood and pick up (or at least take note of) at least 10 items of trash that you find and bring them home. If like me, you live in the middle of nowhere, you can still walk around your property and find out of place things, or do this exercise when you take a trip into town.

Here's what I found on my walk:

Feathers from a dead bird, obviously killed by some critter.
A smashed beer can.
A flier for a local nightclub.
A wrapper from the local fast-food place and a plastic fork.
A page of coupons for the local supermarket.
A busted bicycle wheel.
A plastic water bottle.
A plastic shopping bag.
A child's sneaker.
Scraps of a busted tire.

Of course your first benefit in doing this exercise can be having a cleaner neighborhood, with less trash on the road. But there's a writerly benefit to this exercise as well.

Now, pick at least one of the objects you found and ask yourself how that item relates to one of your characters, and write about it. Or perhaps the item will spark an entirely new character!

Using the list above, here are some thoughts on what you or I might get out of it:

Feathers from a dead bird, obviously killed by some critter.

In my story, "Willa," I have the protagonist's mother bring home a dead bird in the first chapter. It ends up illustrating some interesting things about my characters:

Her mother is squeamish about handling dead things, but wants to preserve the natural beauty of the carcass.
Willa, on the other hand is not squeamish.
The manner in which they use the wings from the bird not only sheds light on their beliefs, but the bird wings (taken by her sister for Show-and-Tell) later lead to a crux point in the story, where Willa realizes her brother and sister are in danger.

In your story, a dead bird might send your character on a rampage against the local cats. Or they might be avid birders and need wonder what sort of bird it was. Or in a detective novel, the dead bird might be a clue. Was the bird poisoned?


A smashed beer can.

My present protagonist is a 16 year old girl who does not drink, so a beer can won't remind her of wild nights out partying and tossing beer cans out of the car, but it may for you. Willa would probably reflect on the sadness of people ruining the environment. Or she might pick up the can and give it to a local hobo for recycling. Or use it as a container to boil water in. How about your character?

A flier for a local nightclub.

Perhaps your character decides to check out the nightclub. Maybe they meet someone there. Or spend a lonely night reflecting on how this just isn't their kind of place. Maybe the flier contains a scrawled message that leads them to a clue.

A wrapper from the local fast-food place and a plastic fork.

This might lead to anything from a rant about how impossible it is for plastic to biodegrade, to a visit by your protagonist to the fast food joint. Or maybe they'll complain about their weight. Or if you're writing about a busy parent, perhaps they'll debate bringing home some food or the perils of getting their kids to eat healthy.

A page of coupons for the local supermarket.

Is it time for your protagonist to go shopping? How do they feel about clipping coupons? Do they consider it necessary savings? Do coupons clutter their house? Do they feel that coupons "force" them to buy products that they wouldn't buy otherwise? What are the coupons for? Do they suggest that your character needs to do the laundry? Make a microwave dinner? Bemoan the fact that they'd love some fries but their figure can't handle it?


A busted bicycle wheel.

Maybe your character takes a bicycle trip and the darn thing breaks down. Are they the sort to flag down a passing motorist for help? Will they walk home and drag it? Or leave it on the side of the road? On the way home do they see something of import? Maybe your protagonist hits a bump or a rock and goes flying. Do they need stitches? Are they whiny about the injury or do they take it in stride? Is it really an accident or does someone crash into your character? Could this be part of a chase scene? Does seeing a broken bicycle remind you of an incident as a child when bullies stole their bike? Or when they were the bully?


A plastic water bottle.

What kind of water is it? The expensive kind that athletes get? Just normal everyday bottled water? If the former, does that suggest a scene where your protagonist goes to the gym or otherwise gets themselves fit? Or meets a big burly gym-goer? Is your character thirsty? Why? Were they running? Is it a hot day? Do they buy a bottle of water for their dog?


A plastic shopping bag.

Does your character go for plastic or paper, and why? Did their bag of groceries break? Who helped them pick it up? Could your murder victim be smothered by a plastic bag? Is it time to go shopping again? What's the label on the bag and where could that take them?

A child's sneaker.

Where's the other sneaker? How did the child lose it? Does your character wear sneakers? Or only dress shoes? Does a sneaker reveal a past memory? Does your character jog? What happens when they go jogging? Do they play some other sport? How do they feel about sports in general?

Scraps of a busted tire.

What would happen if your character got a flat? Do they change it themselves? Call Triple-A? How did they get that flat? Driving crazy? Not maintaining their car? Something dangerous in the road? Someone slicing their tire? Is your character on a long journey by car or other vehicle? Are they afraid of big trucks or do they drive one? Maybe this leads to you writing about a tire swing. Or your protagonist's first car. Or their present car. Is there an accident ahead on the road? How does your character respond when they get stuck in the traffic from that?

Or maybe the entire exercise in trash picking causes you to write about trash, or about a garbage man, or a landfill or dumpster.

So pick up some trash and let it inspire your story.

Keep a Notebook by Your Bed - Where to Get Story Ideas

creFortunately it happened at a time when I was keeping a regular dream journal!

I had a very weird dream about dragging a small child through a park while he was handcuffed to a shopping cart. Somewhere in the same dream, evil faeries were peeking in my window. It was all very odd.

Now Freud might have had something to say about that one, but I'm a writer, not a psychologist, so after jotting down the dream I went to my computer and started writing.

Within hours I had the first chapter of the story that I'm calling "Willa" until I think of a better title. Several years later, the book is about halfway done. I haven't yet come to the point where they're getting chased through the park, but I'm getting close to that chapter.

So how do you remember your dreams?

Keep a Dream Journal

Keep a notebook - and possibly a flashlight - by your bed. Or get a voice recorder if that works for you. The sheer fact of doing so can encourage you to recall your dreams. As soon as you wake up give yourself a few moments in the morning to jot down your memories. Write down the basic idea of the dream and any strong memories or impressions.


Tell Yourself You're Going to Remember Your Dreams

Just before you fall asleep, tell yourself, "I will remember my dreams in the morning." Or make up some other visualization. Simple but effective. Just the intent to remember your dreams can help you recall them.


Get Enough Sleep

If you're tired it can be harder to remember your dreams and you may be too in need of sleep to bother writing them.


One of the best books I've read on dreaming is Creative Dreaming by Patricia Garfield

Warning! Dream Journaling Can Be Addictive

By the time I'd been keeping a dream journal for about a year, it was cutting into my time. I remembered so much that it usually took at least an hour to journal my night's adventures. If this happens, give yourself some time off. Stop journaling them unless it's a dream you really want to recall. Or be briefer in your journaling. Focus on the parts of the dream that were really interesting and might be fodder for your writing.

Ask For a Dream to Get Unstuck

When my plot is stuck, I go to bed and say to myself, "tonight I'm going to have a dream about (story name). Then I'll go through the story in my head, thinking about my characters, where the plot might be going, and so on. Sometimes I'll get a new idea even before I fall asleep. Other times it might take a few nights of this before something relevant comes up.


Using Your Dream Journal

Now that you've gotten the basics of your dream down, go to your computer/typewriter or other writing implement and see if the dream sparks something. Is it a situation that one of your present protagonists might get into or think about? Or does the dream offer an entirely new protagonist?

Maybe you just had a dream that you were eating oranges. Okay, let one of your characters eat an orange. Maybe you'll discover that they hate oranges and why. Or you might find that the oranges lead to a conflict where one character splashes orange juice on another. Or your character gets a cold and eats oranges to get rid of it. Or you may end up with an article on the history of the Screwdriver. Or a recipe for Orange Carrot soup.  Who knows what you might dream up?