I want to become a writer, but I suck at coming up with good and original stories

[Guest]

.. I had lots of ideas for a story, but none of them are good enough.

[Steve]

You must have lived long enough and experienced enough to not have that problem. At least that is my humble opinion. I spent over twenty years in the Marine Corps and I'm a historian. I read and read and read. Most of my characters have been people I have run into...the good and the bad. My many experiences have led me to understand how the world works. As you get older you realize that the world is not a very nice place...filled with people who will do almost anything for power and money. There are of course good people who will never do bad things. Good luck.

[SE ~]

You won't come up with an original story so stop trying. You may have original takes on a story but not an original story so don't beat yourself up about that one.

You won't know how good your idea is until you start writing it.

Start by writing short stories before you attempt a novel, figure out how you write first.

Good luck

Ps, read, read, read and read.

[Adam]

Whether a story is 'good' or 'bad' is subjetive. There are 8 billion people on this planet, and we don't all share the same interests or opinions.

Some will not like your stories, but some definitely will. You can improve your stories, but you also need to find the people that will properly appreciate them. They're there.

[Michael]

You need to get in touch with your authentic creative self. It lies underneath things like logic and reason and “good enough” do some meditation. Find out where creativity comes from in your head and let the flood gates open.

[Justin]

No. Your ideas *are* good enough. There will always be an endless amount of people who will tell you that they're not, and there is no reasons that you have to be a part of that crowd. You have a story? Write it. Write it again. And again. Get to the fourth or fifth time, see what you have, and then try to tell yourself with a straight face that it's not good enough. Something tells me by that time you're not gonna be able to. Your ideas are good, now bring them to life!

[Brian]

So be a shitty writer for a while. Not a problem. You'll improve. Also, don't worry about "original". Get better at unoriginal and eventually you'll have new ideas.

[Doreen]

I think the bigger question is why do you want to become a writer? If you're doing it for your own satisfaction, then who cares what others think. Just write, write and write some more and eventually you'll have a story. While I'm not someone who can plot out a story, perhaps you should give that a try. Get it down on paper in outline form, run it through your head like you're watching a movie and then type what you see. The first draft will be crap, but that's why editors and beta readers exist. Rely on them because they can help enormously and don't get upset with negative feedback. They are simply being helpful. Remember the word FAIL doesn't mean what you think. It means First Attempt At Learning.

[Dan]

There is nothing that hasn’t been done, nothing is totally original. At best, you can take the bare bones of a plot that you like and add your own personal spin on it.

You like pirates, but want to try something unique? Put them in SPACE! Or in a fantasy world.

You like detective fiction, but don’t want to re-write the Sherlock stories? Have a character solve a mystery during a zombie outbreak. The type of death looks like it was by zombie bite, but the deceased isn’t returning to life…the game is afoot!