Spice Up Those Characters!

Characters are what bring life to stories, so don't ever forget to bring your characters to life!  It's the reason for which we read stories, to get to know these characters and to see how they react when put under stressful circumstances.

As you probably already know, what motivates characters in a story is either a dear desire that they hope to attain by the end of the story, or a terrifying fear they try to avoid as much as possible, and even surmount it.  By making these aspects of each character clear, you already have yourself a story you can build on!

Another important part of developing character is to establish their relationships with other characters in the story.  These relationships can in turn lead to how characters make their decisions that make up who they are throughout the story.

Also, if you're planning on making a story with a lot of characters, make sure it is clear why each and everyone of those characters is involved.  Make each one have a part to play, even if it's a small one, that will help mold the story you are trying to tell.

Inspiration

Looking at things from a different angle can give
you a completely new outlook on things.

Writers find inspiration from multitudes of things.  Yet, a fun way to stir that imagination is to find a really interesting image or picture that makes your mind go!  While looking at a picture, think of the cause and effect or why the items in the picture are arranged in this way and not another.  Also consider the color scheme.  Do the colors suggest a happy tone or a depressing one?  If the picture is of a landscape, imagine what could happen there.  If the picture is of a person, create some sort of intriguing past for them.  Either way, let your imagination run wild and you'll be surprised at how many original ideas you come up with.  Try to look at things from different angles.
Also remember this key fact: imagination is like a muscle, you need to train it and practice using it often to fine tune it.  Happy imagining!