Novel Ideas to Write About
Soon or later, one way or another, most people have thought about writing their own book at least once in life. Great stories about love, bravery, and adventures inspire us for the creation of our own stories and pieces of art. If you feel confident and prepared to write a novel but don’t have a good novel idea, payforwriting is ready to help. You can check our guide on how to write a novel. We have also composed a list of various novel plot ideas that may serve as a basis for your book or great starter to begin with. You just need to choose your favorite category of the novel: romance, dystopian, mystery, fantasy, or science fiction. Good luck and let the Muse be with you!
Romance Novel Ideas
1. From Hate to Love
Surprisingly, the distance between these two strong feelings is shorter than it might seem at first sight. Actually, the starting point doesn’t have to be hate but any emotion that is not associated with love: contempt, fear, or anger. Indeed, love can be unexpected.
2. Too Different to Be in Love
Opposites attract, and we can see many examples that prove this statement in literature and movies. A romance between boss and employee? Criminal and victim? Hero and villain? Why not? Such stories always surprise with their unpredictability. However, heroes may turn out to be too different to become lovers.
3. Life-Long Love Story
Even life-long friendly relationships can be surprising. The same applies to the stories of life-long enemies. Everything can change after one phrase said at the right moment. Another option for your characters is to fall in love with each other and then fall apart because of the unpredictable twists of fate. Anyway, they’re going to be together at the end, right?
4. Games and Challenges
Experiments on people without their consent are not okay. Playing with someone else’s feelings is not okay too. But some people just can’t live without love challenges and games. Results can be truly unexpected. How do you know that you won’t fall in love with the next victim of your sociological experiment as in the movie “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”?
5. Tragic Death
Not all of the romance novel plot ideas are optimistic and happy. Reality is cruel, and even lovers don’t live forever. Some stories start with death (“P. S. I Love You”), and some stories end with it (“Romeo and Juliet”). If you’re not afraid of tears, try to create a vivid tragic story. Just try not to be too banal, okay?
Dystopian Novel Ideas
1. Virus
It doesn’t matter how the virus appears: an unfortunate incident in a lab, a crazy plan of an evil corporation, or a rare genetic mutation. Anyway, it is spreading quickly and uncontrollably. Maybe it turns people into vampires, zombies, or just kills them. Are your characters going to find a safe place? Or a medicine? Their decision depends on you.
2. Machines
The idea of artificial intelligence has worried the minds of great writers for many years. Now, when this idea is becoming more and more real, interest in it has reemerged. If you truly believe that robots will never be able to violate the Three Laws of Robotics, then this topic is not for you.
3. Aliens
Invasion, slavery, total elimination, or a full-scale war – make your choice. If you choose dystopian novel topics, there is no need to remind that aliens can’t be presented as friendly and wise creatures. They just want to kill all of us.
4. Third World War
A devastating war is one of the most probable variants of our future. Motives can be different, but the reason is always the same: people are cruel, aggressive, greedy, and ambitious creatures. Of course, not all of them. Only the most powerful. There will be no winners in this war, only casualties.
5. Natural Catastrophe
One day, our planet will lose its patience, and another flood will begin. Or endless volcanic eruptions. Or devastating earthquakes. Anyway, the majority of the population won’t survive. There is no place for optimism in dystopia!
Mystery Novel Ideas
1. Ten Little Indians
This crime novel idea is not actually new. We can’t be 100% sure that Agatha Christie was the first writer to put a dozen characters in one place and then kill them one by one. Of course, the identity of the murderer will be revealed at the end.
2. Serial Killer
If you are not afraid of horror stories, this topic is just what you need. We also highly recommend you to read specialized literature about real-life serial killers. Firstly, your narration will look convincing if you learn more about this topic. Secondly, you might change your mind and write a novel about something less horrifying.
3. Unusual Murder
Some readers say that unusual murders are suitable for low-quality pulp novels. Anyway, this topic is good to start your writing experiments with. Extraordinary murder weapons, unexpected places, and absurd situations are appropriate tools to create a novel about an unusual murder.
4. Genius Theft
This topic belongs to the category of really good novel ideas, as it can be written in a way that will blow the minds of your readers. Not literally. Of course, it requires more imagination and cognitive skills than the previous one. The perfect fraud or an ideal illusion – choose your weapon.
5. “Good” Criminal
Let’s add a ray of light into this dark world. Miracles happen from time to time. Let your villainous character become a real hero. The causes of transformation can be different: love, duty, personal tragedy, etc. Make your female readers fall in love with a bad boy!
Fantasy Novel Ideas
1. Unexpected Journey
Your character should be ordinary at first sight. In truth, he or she is chosen to save a magic world because of an ancient prophecy, destiny, or blood ties. Your hero has to stop an evil magician, a terrible monster, or enemy troops. Underline what you like more.
2. War of Races
Put together humans, elves, dwarfs, orcs, and fairies, and the conflict will appear by itself. Your only task is to choose the right side for your hero. And give him or her a chance to win.
3. Quest
Kill the dragon! Save the princess! Find the treasure! You can order your hero or heroes to do whatever your imagination wants. Interesting characters, impossible missions, and several feats – that’s the recipe of a good quest novel.
4. Not Exactly Our World
If you like our world and don’t want to imagine something extremely different, that’s a perfect novel writing idea for you. In your story, show our world but add some interesting spices. A school of witchcraft, for example.
5. Magic Transformation
Metamorphoses are quite an ancient trend. Somehow, they remain interesting even now. “The Little Mermaid,” “The Princess and the Frog,” and “Brave” are fairy tales for little girls, but each of these stories proves the same wise statement: “Being human is not enough to be a person.”
Sci-Fi Novel Ideas
1. Space
The starry sky has always been a source of legends, mysteries, and inspiration for humanity. In the past, people thought that the sky was inhabited by mighty gods who control our lives. For today, we’ve learned much more about space and its content. However, a lack of knowledge still gives us the opportunity to dream. You may choose one of these novel topics to write about: terraforming, wormholes, space travels, space wars, artificial planets, space trade, etc.
2. Technological Future
The future is closer than you think. VR technologies, electric cars, 3D printing, and universal translators have already become a part of our reality. Before writing a novel about our technological future, make sure that your ideas have not been invented yet. You won’t surprise anyone with flying cars.
3. Time Travels
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the “present.” Yes, we cite “Kung Fu Panda” and don’t see anything wrong about it. Appreciating every moment of life is a very good strategy. Still, nobody can stop us from dreaming about the future or past. At least once in a lifetime, every person thinks about the opportunity to travel through time. Turn these dreams into a science fiction novel idea.
4. Robots
Human-like machines impress and scare us at the same time. Will they become a great help to humanity? Will they try to replace us? You can choose any idea and any future to describe in your novel. Artificial intelligence can’t replace human creativity, right?
We are sure that you’ll do your best to create a great story about a fantasy world, a mysterious killer, or a space battle. If our list of the novel ideas is not enough for you, you’re free check our example of a novel or to combine two or even three topics to compose an extraordinary novel. Create anything you want: robots controlled with magic, a mythological creature who falls in love with an alien, a serial killer who travels through time – your fantasy should have no limitations! If you have a great idea, don’t hesitate to make it come true. And we promise that payforwriting will always be ready to help you with your writing experiments!
