This is not easy for any writer.

Sure, coming up with the basic plot can be easy, but figuring out what you want to happen in each chapter can be hard. I used to just go with the flow and write whatever I felt like writing. That was when I first started writing fan fiction. While this may work for others, it isn't always the best, and it can be hard when you have no inspiration.

I should say quickly that this isn't exactly about coming up with ideas alone. It's about figuring out what you want to happen in each chapter and throughout your story. I was going to call this "How To Write a Chapter" but I decided against it.

There are a few more obvious ways you can get inspiration when writing a story/chapter:

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This may not only help you think of ideas while writing the chapter you're curretly working on, it may also help you come up with ideas for a chapter later on. Music can help you get your creative juices flowing. You may even find a song or a set of songs that fit the plot to your story well, and you could use that as a way to help you write.

This may sound typical, but it's true. Walks are a good way to give yourself a mental break from everything happening around you. It's a good use of time to try and think of ideas. You can also refer to point one and listen to music while walking.

Doing any of those three things may help you come up with ideas. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten ideas from books/fan fics, movies and television shows. Of course, I would always change things up a bit to make them my own. But yeah, this may give you some inspiration. Try not to copy the book/fic/movie/TV show exactly, though.

You should do this whenever you come up with an idea for your story, whether it be randomly or while you're walking or listening to music or even writing a chapter and the idea is for a chapter later on. You could write it on your computer, on a piece of paper/in a notebook, on your phone, or any other device. You could also just sit down and come up with ideas and write them down, then decide if there's any you do and don't want to use.

I got this idea from , so all credit goes to her for this idea. She actually inspired me to write this Writer's Guide too, so thanks to her :)

Writing an outline for each chapter is actually very helpful. You basically write out a description of what you want to happen in each chapter. When you write the chapter, you can change it a little or completely if you want. The chapter outline could be a sentence or two or even a full on paragraph. They can be vague or descriptive. I like writing mine descriptively so that it's easier for me to actually write the chapter. I've been doing this for my recent story and it's really helped me. I just posted chapter eight a few minutes ago, but I've got outlines written up to chapter 31. You can also use chapter outlines to come up with all your ideas. Whenever I came up with an idea for a chapter, I'd write it in this notebook I have. It's really useful.

I'll give you an example of what a chapter outline may look like (this isn't one for any story I'm writing. I'm just making it up).

Chapter 5

Harry and Liam decide to go out and play soccer for the afternoon. They run into Louis and he joins them. It starts to rain and they all run to Harry's apartment. They watch Netflix. Louis and Liam get in a fight about something at school that Harry doesn't know about. Louis leaves, angry with Liam.

That's kind of the idea. I usually go into more detail but I just made this one up so yeah.

That's all I have now. Hope this helps you if you're struggling to come up with ideas.