Generating plot ideas

What to do if a cool story detail comes to you before an actual plot

Today I’m answering a reader question from B.L. Jasper:

I’ve got a cool magic system but now I need a plot. Advice on how to generate plot ideas?

I love this question.

Sometimes books come to us plot-first. We envision a hero with a goal and we can see the things standing in their way. Other times, however, we merely stumble upon a kernel of a story. Perhaps it’s a unique setting, a fascinating character, a special piece of technology or, as you said B.L., a “cool magic system.”

I have had books come to me in both manners. Most recently, Dustborn came to me world-first. I had an amazing setting, and the more I daydreamed in that setting, the more I learned about the world. Eventually I had a notebook FULL of details, but I still didn’t have a hero or a plot.

So how did I get there? Well, characters are products of their worlds, so I spent se…