Stories are essentially within the confines of human experiences and imagination. Experiences and Imagination therefore form the basis for genre classification of literature ie prose. The human mind can effectively generate as many ideas as possible hence the avalanche of books that dots the literary landscape since time immemorial. The urge to write is not felt by many in any given population but that does not reduce the possibility of saturation of literature. Generating and holding on to ideas is what determines the success of a writer aside marketing and PR efforts. Regard this little treatise as means to generate ideas for an enduring story.

Experience: your experiences are central to how you write. The environment you lived while growing up gives as much substance and structure to your write-up. It determines your mental capacity and what pre-occupies your mind at any given time. For example, an African writer and a European writer are different because of the content of their works and its structure. Therefore, your experience are a great resource for ideas especially as you get to learn about other parts of the world.

Imagination.
This is the brain working beyond the ordinary daily living of human. It has to do with occupying your mind with those things that were possible in the face of certain experiences and circumstances. The fantasy genre best encapsulate the power of the imagination. The ability to weave tales around certain events which may be true to the world or beyond it is another ability open to some writers. Fantasy genre is present in all cultures such as the tales of witches and wizards, ancient or extinct creatures like dinosaurs ie the American movie Jurassic Park, Snow White etc.
The imagination is the key source for a good story.

Research
Every writer does research either consciously or unconsciously. The desire to know and arrive at a plausible solution is what Research means. Reading the work of other writers is an unconscious form of research as ideas could easily present itself then. Novels and other literary forms are often a continuation of a discussion of a particular book either fiction or non-fiction. The only difference that ensures that a work stand out is how true and original it truly is. You could easily decipher the link between some works if you read a particular collection of any writer or group in the society. Also, conscious research are mainly through reading newspapers, listening on gossips, learning about a particular culture and through observation.

There you have the primary source of stories. The key difference between good and not-too good writers is that ability to look original and confident in presenting a particular material.

Written by me.

Lovely writeup.

kayo80:
Lovely writeup.

Thanks.