: Re: How do you come up with non-fiction story ideas? My biggest problem is that I'm often at a dearth of ideas. I can target a publication or radio show or whatnot once I've got it, but I'm

@BetL639

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You can try to use the Top-down or Bottom-up approaches:

Top-down: think about the big picture and worry about details later. For example, you can say that your story is about a lawyer that was offered a great deal of money to lose a case. Now you can refine and think about questions like: what case, how much money, why lose it etc. Those question will lead you further, and will probably help come up with new ideas and plot elements.
Bottom-up: come up with one very fine detail, and build up. For example, Mr. Abraham Jonas, a lawyer, finds an anonymous letter on his desk with the words "drop it" and a photo of his wife and children. Now, you can think about his reaction. Does he call the police? his wife? talk with his secretary and ask her who came into his office in his absence? Detailing his actions, you can then come up with more ideas, until the entire plot comes to life.

As you can see, each approach has its own pros and cons. One approach lets you think big now and work the details later, while the other lets you focus on one fine element now and worry about the bigger picture later.

The best is to combine those approaches. Think about a theme, and work the details to match that theme. But focusing on one approach is probably easier.

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