It's a challenge for every author...no matter how many novels or short stories you've written. Just where do you go for sources of fiction?

Stop racking your brain and pounding your fists on the keyboard. An endless supply of ideas are all around you.

From Reading
If you want to write a novel, it helps to read them. One sentence from your favorite book could spark an idea that turns into your own bestseller.

Homer wrote The Odyssey and The Iliad based on battle reports. Homer's work motivated Virgil to write The Aeneid and this stimulated Dante to write The Inferno. So you can see there's a pattern of both persuasion and inspiration when you read.

Famous authors started out as beginning writers at some point. Read their earlier works as well as their current ones to see how they've developed their craft. There might even be a formation of ideas in place that help your own writing.

Don't rule out reading nonfiction either. Fiction usually combines elements of both fact and imagination.

From Language
How often have people told you (or maybe you've even said so yourself) that they have a great idea for a book. But they can't seem to put it into words.

However, words can be the very foundation of your novel or short story. Plenty of authors have developed complete story lines based on a simple conversation with a friend. You could even be out and about minding your own business when you inadvertently pick up a writing jewel.

For example, say you're cashing a check at a bank. Two tellers in the next window are talking about Mary Lou, also a teller, who was recently fired. Rumor has it, her cash drawer came up several thousand dollars short.

Off goes your creative mind. Maybe when customers brought in cash, Mary Lou was altering their deposit slips. She skimmed the cash to support her gambling problem. There's your story.