If you’re having trouble coming up with a story idea/world/culture/creature/etc, I have one piece of advice for you in this blog post.
Watch a documentary. (I have a list of recs below.)
As much as I love reading books and watching action, comedy, romantic-adventure, and sci-fantasy movies, I enjoy documentaries just as much.
You think watching a hero blow up an invading alien is adrenaline pumping? Try watching a jaguar take down a crocodile. Or rather, a jaguar stalking a perfectly innocent baby capybara.
That will rip your heart out.
It could be any documentary of your choosing, but I recommend documentaries about the world we live in. (But honestly, anything you’re interested in, go for it.)
Learn about the elephants in Sri Lanka or about the different geographic regions of Mexico. Take a moment to learn about the people of Cambodia or the living bridge weavers of India. Live a day in the life of Mongolian shepherds or join scientists studying volcanoes in Iceland. Witness the traditions of the incredible Satere-Mawe in the Amazon jungle that use bullet ants to turn their young boys into warriors.
Let the amazing people, cultures, architecture, and ways of life on our own planet help shape the worlds of your stories.
Earth is an amazing place, full of awe-inspiring people, places, animals, and histories, all of which can be used to influence and build your story. Adding elements that can be found in our own lives will add a level of depth and realism that will help your readers immerse completely into your world.
Plus, watching a documentary is an amazing way to do research. You get to sit back and eat salty snacks while learning new things, without worrying about ruining your keyboard with crumbs. And honestly, there’s something about seeing breathtaking vistas or architectural feats of the ancient world in full color on your TV that just sparks the imagination. (I mean, if you can go to some of those places in real life, a) I’m jealous, and b) do it, and send me pics and c) it would probably be even more inspiring than seeing it on a screen.)
As writers, we want to help our readers visualize the worlds we’re crafting, so having visuals ourselves will help us know exactly how to describe what we’re seeing in our minds.
So, please, if you feel like you have run dry of ideas, think of something you’re interested in, whether it’s the migration patterns of Lesser Long Nose bats, how beluga whales have family reunions every year, or what a meteorologist does for their work, and you can find something in a documentary to spark your imagination.
And that even includes true crime and mystery documentaries. Need to kill a character off in a gruesome way, or need to come up with a unique way to hide evidence?
There’s a documentary for that.
(But, again, please make sure the documentary is from a trusted source. Example below.)
Here’s a list of a few docs I recommend:
(I was going to recommend Human Planet by the BBC - It was what everyone thought was a very amazing look into cultures and humans around the world — but apparently it’s been taken down because many of the scenes featuring some tribes were faked…remember what I said about legitimate documentaries? Yeah, always make sure your research is backed by facts, aka, check your sources with other sources.)
Planet Earth - 1, 2 and now 3 by the BBC are always sublime.
South Pacific - an awesome look at our oceans. Plus it’s always fun to hear Benedict Cumberbatch say ‘penguin’ wrong. Multiple times. Seriously, he just devolves and it gets worse and worse as the episodes progress. (Here’s a clip of Benedict talking about it) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GflW9_t7LZk Found on Prime/Discovery+
Into the Okavango - an insane journey of some scientists going into the Okavango Delta in Africa. Found on Disney+
One Strange Rock - A different way to look at our planet. Watch on Disney+
Wild Sri Lanka - Do you like elephants? You’ll like this one. Found on Disney+
The Woman Who Wasn’t There - While this one isn’t about learning anything new about the world, per se, it is an incredible tale of someone’s bizarre desire for attention. Truly just a bonkers story! Could be interesting to help with a character sketch. Can be watched for free with an Amazon Prime Video subscription
The Privileged Planet - a mind-blowing look at our planet and its place in the universe. If you’re interested in more space docs, here’s a list of ones that range from very scientific, to extremely hypothetical when talking about worlds of alien planets, but can be fun and silly while being interesting to watch.) https://www.factualamerica.com/blog/lists/best-documentaries-about-space
And of course, true crime can be found on every streaming service that exists. One that is wild to watch is called Abducted in Plain Sight. Found on Netflix
If you like docs about mountain climbing, here’s a good list of documentaries.
https://indiahikes.com/15-thrilling-mountain-documentaries-to-watch-during-lockdown
And if you want to learn about engineering feats, how products, or foods are made, here’s a link of some of the best TV shows for that: https://www.ranker.com/list/best-industry-documentary-series/ranker-tv
And feel free to craft one idea from snippets of multiple documentaries, which would be an awesome way to get revitalized, get inspired, and learn something new.
So grab a snack and a drink, and set aside some time to take a step out into our world without leaving your couch.
Research has never been easier. I love it.