I'm in a long and painful recovery from many years of writer's block. Coming up with even quite simple story ideas costs me unreasonable amount of effort. Sometimes inspiration is generous and I'm able to sketch a catchy main plot from time to time.
But that is not quite enough - I should give my story some secondary threads. And by then my imagination runs dry. I need a bunch of simple, classic plot hooks. Stuff like "Revenge after years", "Recovery from soul-crushing experience", "damsel in distress appears to be the monster". Nothing overly complex, just bare bones.
Specifically, I'm not asking you "what to write" - I'm asking where to find a bunch of this kind of stuff. Is there a subcategory of TVTropes listing that? Is there a kind of generic "Random Adventure generator" geared more towards writers than RPG players? Some guide to plot hooks?
Answer
George Polti, a French writer, concocted a list that, arguably, contains every dramatic situation possible. His list has 36 situations. Although it's quite general, it may provide clarity.
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