In Today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* Here Y’go, Fiction Writers (Story Ideas)
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
Back when I was speaking at conferences a lot, I was often asked where in the world I get story ideas. My answer was predictable: Where do you NOT get story ideas?
All of the following quotes are story ideas from one issue of 1440 Daily Digest:
“Scientists discover potentially habitable planet roughly 146 light-years from Earth, four times closer than the next best planet in a habitable zone.” (see Of Interest)
“What’s Civilization Without Alcohol?”
“Evaluating Escalator Etiquette”
“What are peanut butter-style pay raises?”
“Should you stop putting restaurant lemons in water?”
“Why Americans resist dressing well on planes”
“TSA’s top 10 most unusual finds from 2025” (see Of Interest)
“Why we experience false memories”
Here Y’go, Fiction Writers (Story Ideas)
Per the lead-in to the article teased in the first quote of the day above, the surface temperature of the actual planet “may be below minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit.”
So for you SF writers, for sake of fiction, change that to “between 60 and 94 degrees Fahrenheit.” Why not?
Now all you need is a magnetic drive or other form of propulsion that will enable near-light-speed transport.
Then put your colonists and crew on a generation ship and have a ton of fun writing all the stories that will come out of that journey.
When I did that with the Journey Home saga, it ran for 10 novels, but it could have run for 100.
Ooh, did I say “colonists and crew?” Yep. And if you put a realistic number of colonists in a confined space (generation ship) for the rest of their lives, what could possibly go wrong among all those humans?
Goes to action-adventure, romance, mystery, and pretty much any other genre, not to mention (again) SF.
So go for it. And have fun.
Likewise, all of the other quotes of the day can serve as the catalyst for short stories or novels too.
All you have to do is read the quote and let your creative mind play. You don’t even have to read the actual article if you don’t want to.
In fact, I’ve linked to only a couple of the articles in Of Interest, and I did that only because those articles might lead to other story ideas.
For example, when I read “What’s Civilization Without Alcohol?” (only the quote, not the article), I saw an old drunk guy holding forth on a barstool to the guy on the stool next to him. Story possibilities abound.
But it could also be a bartender talking to a reporter, or being grilled by congress.
It could also be a citizen testifying before the fictitious House Committee on the Benefits (or Disadvantages) of the Legalization of Alcoholic Drinks.
In our increasingly strange world, in which some paid or extremely spoiled people believe they can do whatever they want without deserving or suffering any consequences, might similar people not attempt to force others to ride an escalator the ‘right’ way (action adventure, etc.)?
Or might a romantic meet-cute happen as the result of a ride on an escalator (romance)?
Or might one escalator passenger notice in passing his grandmother’s recently stolen jewelry in the possession of another passenger (action-adventure, mystery, crime)? What happens?
Or might an escalator passenger drop something valuable that ends up in the inner workings of the escalator?
What is a “peanut butter-style pay raise” and why would anybody want one or force one on an employee?
Is it necessary to know what a ‘peanut-butter style pay raise’ is before writing a story? Nope. You’re a writer. Make it up. Imagine.
What are the risks posed by restaurant lemon slices? Illness? Government control? Control by some other weird group? Easing an alien invasion? We’ve suddenly learned lemons are actually sentient?
What risks can be enhanced or diminished by dressing well (or not dressing well) on commercial flights?
And what is considered “unusual” by TSA personnel as they wand or scan or search items and people bound for those flights?
And finally (for ideas from today’s issue of 1440 Digest) what are “false memories,” and how can anyone prove my version of the memory is false and not simply different from yours if we both experienced the same event?
You could run all over the place with that last one. Actually, you could run all over the place with any of them.
The point is, story ideas abound.
You only have to recognize them when they appear, then let your mind play.
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Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
A potentially habitable new planet has been discovered 146 light-years away
TSA’s most unusual finds of 2025
The Numbers
The Journal………………….. 820
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 820
Writing of
Day 1…… XXXX words. To date………… XXXXX
Fiction for January………………………… XXXX
Fiction for 2026…………………………… XXXX
Nonfiction for January.…………………… 19590
Nonfiction for 2026………………..……… 19590
2026 consumable words………………… 19590
2026 Novels to Date……………………… 0
2026 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2026 Short Stories to Date……………… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 123
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29