so I have this idea for a book about some friends finding a 'door' to this other world, or reality. it's not another planet but just like another reality they somehow (not sure how yet) can jump into. and they meet some kids their age (ages 15-18) but I am having a lot of trouble on…what to do next. I thought about having a war between this other world and our world Earth, but that seems cliche. I thought about them stumbling into a civil war happening inside this new world they found but that seems tired and done before. I know I want fighting and war involved in my story, along with romance and humor and some mystery, like maybe a romance between a girl from earth and a boy soldier from this other world could be involved idk. magic and such are all included I am open to pretty much any idea. I am just so stuck. help would be very much appreciated.
You've got basically a skeleton of a story right now that looks like hundreds of other books, so you have a ton of room for a ton of creative ideas. You know you want romance, war, and mystery. What else do you want? Usually, I like examining my favorite books and movies and TV shows and asking myself WHY I liked them so much, then I write those reasons down. Then I draw inspiration from those things.
You could also just start at square one and take notes in your phone when random inspiration hits! It could be a cool tree you saw, something funny somebody said, a random cliffhanger situation you think would be cool–ANYTHING. I have a looong list after just doing this for a year. It's insanely useful, and it'll give you a ton of ideas.
And then you should think about what kind of moral lessons you want to teach or at least something important you want people to walk away with. Like, a story about what sacrificial love is, a story about what strength really means, a story about weak people rising up to save the day, a story about friendship. Whatever is important to you.
Hope this helps!
Yeah, I definitely don't want my story to just be another boring love-triangle-post-apocalyptic YA, so this is very helpful. Thank you so much for the insight! I'll start writing down inspiration, good idea. Thank again!
