Newspapers, magazines and other publications offer many perspectives that can prove a rich source of material. Browse online publications and you'll likely find a variety of stories: news, local coverage, profiles of leaders, features on grandparents, schools, community organizations, police officers, criminals. The point isn't to recount or retell the events; rather, they should be used as a springboard for your fiction. Look for subjects and subject matter that interest you.
A notebook can serve as an author's playground. It can house story fragments, ideas, dates, lists -- anything that can later be used to inspire a new work of fiction. The notebook organizes your random thoughts under one cover. Also, the notebook can be used to store those late-night visions, early-morning daydreams and afternoon musings. Jotting them down may help boost the creative process.
Journalists are concerned with who, what, when and where. Fiction writers have another phrase at their disposal: What if? This popular idea starter can lead to zany, nonsensical musings; profound, philosophical wanderings may give your work some gravitas. Apply the question to any subject, place, time or concept. Author Neil Gaiman suggests trying phrases such as "I wonder," "if this goes on" and "wouldn't it be interesting if ..." to get the creative work started.
Materials for creative capitalization are everywhere -- magazine ads, radio advertisements, television commercials, billboards. Seek story ideas in places not normally associated with narrative fiction. Even spam messages in your in-box might serve as an idea primer. Take a walk through the museum; listen to your favorite songs; find a brochure on a city you've never been to. Unearth some old family photographs. In short, put your imagination to work.
Ideas can strike merely from the simple act of putting one word after the other. Free writing isn't about getting every word or phrase correct (that's what revision is for). It's about connecting seemingly unconnected items and producing something tangible. Allowing yourself the opportunity to daydream on paper can produce numerous characters, plots and settings that may surprise, engage and inspire.