It’s a common misconception that a great idea makes a great story. The truth is that most great stories come down to execution. A great idea with poor execution rarely works, but a great writer can breathe new life into even the most tired tropes.
Like any writer, I have my own treasure trove of ideas that might end up in a story…someday. But why horde them? Instead, I’m opening the vault and setting them free.
Feel free to use these ideas as a weekly writing prompt, or come up with your own twist and reply in the comments.
Idea of the Week – Small Gods
The big, fancy gods of war, money, love, and lightning bolts are the ones that get all the attention. But good animists know that there are gods for just about everything: places, objects, and ideas. As the world and its human societies change, old gods fade and new gods are born.
There are gods of bullying, gods of slacking off at work, gods of avoiding eye contact on the subway, and gods of doomscrolling on your phone while watching TV. While many of them might be considered weak compared to the classical gods of old, some of these lesser gods still have real power in their own special domain.
How do these gods manifest themselves in our modern world? Do they seek more power by influencing people? Do they fight one another at the borders of their ideological kingdoms? What happens to them when the concepts that birthed them no longer exist?
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