On last week’s post, 7 Places to Find New Story Ideas, Autumn Storm left this comment:

Hans Christian Anderson couldn’t have said it better – Life itself is the greatest fairytale of all. While we’re not writing fairy tales we have all these adventures and stories around us just waiting to be told.

If you keep your eyes and mind open, you’ll have more story ideas than you’ll know what to do with. In case you’re still not sure where to look, here are seven more places to search for inspiration.

1. Social Media and Networking Sites

(Thanks to Allison for this one!)

Twitter is great for this–140 characters can create just the teaser you need to spark a story idea. Consider these sample updates:

• @MissElle: We bought Monopoly for the original Nintendo system and I’m totally addicted to it. (Sounds like the beginnings of a mystery to me.)
• @KFZuzulo: Tendencies are better than proclivities, I think. Proclivities = creepy (What proclivities? Who has proclivities? More importantly, why do they make that person creepy? Sometimes a word or two is all it takes to stir up an idea.)
• @joelcomm: What airport do u loath with every fiber of your being? Mine is a tie between LAX and ORD (This one totally invites a story about getting stuck in the worst airport possible, maybe with a corpse in tow?)
  

Facebook status updates and blogs can be a great source of inspiration, too.

2. Restaurants

Couples eating dinner, groups of friends laughing and joking, a woman in a corner eating alone. Where there is food there are people, and where there are people, there are stories to be told. Order your entree and get to taking notes on setting, characters, conversations and interactions. Make sure you leave a good tip, because you’ll probably find yourself monopolizing a table for the entire evening.

3. Photo albums

Flip through albums at your friends’ houses, or log into Flickr and start perusing strangers’ albums. Find an image that strikes your fancy and makes you ask questions. Then start answering them. A picture really does speak a thousand words. All you need to do is write those words down and let the story loose.

4. CDs

The lyrics to your favorite song, the album art on that new release, or sound of a singers voice can be just the inspiration you’re looking for. Expand on the theme of a song, write a story around a refrain, or create a poem inspired by the cover image. The possibilities are limitless.

5. Your Journal

Writer’s are known for carrying around journals to jot down their notes and story ideas, but are you using them once you’ve written them down? And what about that private-super-secret-diary-type-journal you’ve been keeping for decades. With a few name changes, a little imagination and some added conflict, your own life can be a mine field of writing opportunities.

6. The Mall

Like any place where you can people watch, the mall is a great place to find characters to spark your stories. Eavesdrop on conversations in the food court, browse in a store you wouldn’t normally shop in, or just sit on a bench and observe. If you find yourself curious about a person, place or thing, you’ve got the beginnings of a story. Jot your thoughts and ideas down and then explore them later.

7. Work

While you’ll need to be especially careful here, your job can be a great source of inspiration. If you have a job other than writing, you’ll likely spend a lot of time with a specific group of people. These people will tell stories about their lives and have interesting quirks and characteristics that you can stretch, alter and twist and then attach to your own characters or story lines. Just make sure you change a lot of details and NEVER use real names.

Now what are you waiting for? Get out in your world and find those fairy tales.