How To Get Story Ideas

 So I was reading a story by an author I follow and my goodness, was this story just a retread of what the author usually writes. Come to think, that's the third or fourth time I've said that this week . . . 

Alright, so time for JAC to talk about something near and dear to him--using the same plot repeatedly. 

Now I'm not talking about parallelism, where an author might use the same storyline in a novel twice to compare two different characters. I actually think that's a poignant way of getting a theme across. What I'm talking about is when this is the seventh time that dastardly author has written about dungeon delving into an ancient mysterious temple with a dark hideous secret. 

I'm so bored of that, I wish anyone who wrote that fell into a dark hideous ancient temple.

Or is this the ninth time we've gotten the amnesia plot? Is this the fourth character who has self-esteem issues and needs some therapy?

Okay, but idle complainism isn't going to fix anything. Where can writers get ideas from? 

Usually, the real source of this is that people typically only read the same general genres or ideas, and therefore grow stagnant. If you only read science western operas, all you're going to write is science western operas. 

You know where I like to get ideas from? History. 

History is relatively realistic (eh not really most books are actually a lot more sane but like . . . ) and powerful. I like to read about companies hiring Pinkertons to fight protestors. Isn't that a rip-snorting good time to you, too? Or how a general set out a bunch of scarecrows on a boat and how when the enemies fired at the 'crows, he just took the arrows and resupplied his army.

You don't just need history. Listen to people. They're everywhere. 

I saw one of my neighbors stop her car and she walks out. She yells at her daughter, "Why did your teacher say you have fourteen missing assignments!?" 

What happened? I dunno. 

Saw one of my neighbors shout at someone, "He's no brother of mine!" 

Now that's a story, right. 

What about those neighbors who seem to be awake at 2 AM and yet are awake in the middle of day? Or those neighbors always causing a party? 

Go to the store, you'll find an entire freak show fit for the entertainment of an emperor. 

Sometimes I just look at people's houses and I go, "I wonder how that window got cracked?" Ever wonder that?

And if you're really pressed, there's play pretend. Don't tell me you've never been in deep fog and went "what if I was the only person here?" You're in Silent Hill.  

Or even been on the floor doing something and looked up and been like "you know I bet this is what my cat sees from her perspective." 

When all else fails, rip-off Spongebob. 

Anyway just a random PSa.