10 Ways to Come up With Interesting Middle Grade Plot Ideas

If you are starting out as a middle grade fantasy author, one of the first questions you get asked is, “what is your story about?” In other words, most people will ask this question if you tell them that you are writing a book. Coming up with a plot can be challenging. But here are some sources where you can draw on to begin, add to or expand the plot of your story.

Your Experiences

While the adage that you know can sometimes not be what we want to hear, you might want to dig into your personal experience to get inspired. While every moment of your life might not be story worthy, there are moments in our life that can spark a story, maybe something funny that happened to you like a toddler mistaking you for their dad or something outlandish and hilarious, or maybe you ran into a friend you thought you’d never see again. Incidents like these can be the start or have a story seed that can grow into a whole new story.

Mythology and Folklore

Yes, this is true even if you don’t write fantasy. Mythology and folklore have withstood the test of time and have great staying power.​​ These stories are one of the best ways to be inspired for plot and character. You will find that there are creatures and beings that you can also use from folklore and mythology, especially if you are writing fantasy. There are so many myths and folktales from around the world that you can read and be inspired by that will help you become a better storyteller and make your story richer.

Culture and Tradition

If you come from a unique culture or even from a European culture there might be events, festivals, practices and beliefs that you might know that a vast majority of people don’t know. You can use these to add unique flavour to your middle grade plot and make your story stand out more. Enriching your stories with different attributes drawn from your culture or tradition will help make your story more authentic. 

Ask ‘What If?’

One great way to come up with different plot ideas is to ask the question “What if?” What if the world was ruled by giant rodents? What if the moon crashed down onto the earth? What if there were monsters asleep in the heart of the earth?” Questions like these can help kick start your imagination. So don’t be afraid to ask questions starting with “What if” Keep asking this question until you stumble upon a concept that truly intrigues you and keep on going until you flesh out an interesting story. 

Try Freewriting

If you are stuck and feel that you are blocked, try writing about anything that comes into your mind. It doesn’t have to be organized. Anything and everything can go. Let your mind wander and let your imagination guide you and lead you to wherever it wants you to go. The most important difference between professional writers and writers who aren’t consistent and professional is that professional writers don’t wait to be inspired whereas amateur writers wait until they feel inspired and motivated. Freewriting will help you move past a writing rut and get into writing even when you feel uninspired. 

Keep a Journal

Record your thoughts and observations. Sometimes a story idea might be sparked by a conversation you overheard or someone you saw on the street or at a store. Anything can inspire a story so keep you eyes and ears wide open. Observe people and note down anything interesting you see. Carry a notebook with you so that you can jot down observations and sudden sparks of ideas that might otherwise be lost as you go about your life. 

Tap Into Your Childhood Memories

If you are writing for children, then one place you must and are most likely to revisit is your childhood. Remember what it felt like to be a child. While it is different to be a child today than it might have been back when you were a middle grader, things like fear, worry, sadness and loneliness are things that all children feel regardless of the technology that surrounds them or what time they live in because these are basic human emotions that every child experiences. 

Tap Into Your Dreams

You can use story ideas from your dreams. Dreams can be a rich source of inspiration. Remember to keep a notebook by your bedside if you have interesting dreams. Keep it and write down any strange imagery or words that you see and hear in your dreams. You might be able to use these to come up with interesting plotlines or major story events that will add a unique flavour to your story.

Observe Nature

There are a lot of things you can learn from observing nature that can be used in your plots. This is especially true if you are writing a story with anthropomorphic animals as your main characters. Even if you weren’t writing a story with animal characters, learning about nature including animals and plants can add to your plots and make your story richer and feel more real than if you write with less or no awareness about the natural world as most stories that we write take place here on earth. So take your time to learn about nature and be with nature by taking walks and going on hikes. 

Get Inspired by History

If you like writing stories you might want to look at real life events and incidents that happened in the past and get inspired by different stories and plotlines. There are interesting things that happened in history and strange practices that are stranger than fiction if you take the time to go back in time and study historical settings, events and figures. Make use of the free online resources that offer a lot of interesting insights into the past.

I hope you found this article useful and found some ways you can draw inspiration to construct your plot and write an interesting story that will keep your ideal reader hooked until the end of your story.