How to turn a story topic into a winning idea

When a competition gives everyone the same topic, the judges read dozens of stories that start in the same place. Your job is not to answer the topic in the most obvious way. It is to find the version only you would write.

Step 1: write down the first five ideas, then cross them out

Your first ideas are usually everyone’s first ideas. For “The Door That Wasn’t There Yesterday”, most writers will open the door onto a magical world. That can work, but you will be competing with every other portal story. List five ideas quickly, then ask what the sixth, seventh and eighth would be.

Step 2: try a different kind of door

Topics work on more than one level. A door can be real, but it can also be an opportunity, a secret, a new friendship or a decision. “The Things We Don’t Say” could be about a family, a friendship, an apology that never comes, or even a whole town keeping a secret.

Step 3: make it personal

Ask: what does this topic make me feel? A real memory, a place you know well or a feeling you understand will give your story detail that no one else can copy.

Step 4: put a person in trouble

An interesting idea is not yet a story. A story needs a character who wants something and a problem that gets in the way. Once you have your angle, ask: who is this happening to, and what do they stand to lose?

Try it: write ten different one-sentence ideas for one topic in ten minutes. Circle the one that surprises you most.