Whenever I listen to music, watch something, read something, sometimes it happens randomly, and also dreams offer inspiration (like the current story I'm working on).
Inspiration came from everywhere. Even when I'm having a shower thought, and I have a binder book full of my s*tty ideas that's still waiting to see the light.
Look closely at your surroundings - you'll find that you can get ideas from pretty much anything.
Whenever you go to a place with lots of people, try to observe some of those that walk by - think to yourself 'what kind of character would this person be, and what kind of story would they be the protagonist of?'
Even the most mundane things like a water bottle could give you an idea - no matter how stupid it is, consider it and reflect on it. I'm looking at a bottle right now, and I'm imagining it as a giant, elusive super weapon that could do who knows what, and the hypothetical characters' goal is to figure out its use.
You could even go further and make it a reflection on human progression, and how far one should go for the sake of science.
Basically, look closely, observe meticulously, and you'll find that ideas can be born from anywhere.
Also, here is a nice image:
Most of my ideas came up when I had too much time to think. Like before sleep or while in bathroom. I just think about story and my brain suddenly is like "what if this thing happened?" or "I have a new character for you. Make them suffer.". You can let yourself go if you have some free time. Also great help with falling asleep!
I get a setting(usually in the past).
I make some stipulations like “I want this one to be shounen action story.” Or “I want this one to be a funny romance.” Or “I want this one to have a Yandere.”
Then I let my mind go and play with it.
Sometimes I’ll make the characters for the story and wind up putting them in a completely different setting or not sticking to any of the stipulations I set in the first place.
It’s not really about sticking to the rules that I set for myself when I make my ideas; It’s about having rules that stimulate my mind and steer me in some kind of direction
But most of all you just got to play with it and work it out and refine it
Edit(I don’t think I really answered your question from what I said hehe): Just look for something that you didn’t feel was done well in a movie or novel or any story. Take that thing that wasn’t done well and do it better. That’s kinda how I come up with ideas sometimes. Seeing how others failed, and fixing it up how I like it>
Like the “strong independent woman” trope:/ I never liked how strong women have to be super bro-ish and tomboy-y, I also hate how movies kinda try to force us to like these characters:/ So I decided to create a more feminine strong female character with a more complicated and somewhat “unlikeable” personality at times:)
Speaking of fixing up troupes:) go to http://tvtropes.org/ really fun place to get story ideas or just fandom dafuq out:3
Anyhow hope this helps
@A-weird-girler Evil mind XD But this book I am talking about is actually something like this. I want to write several one shots that can get people to feel something or think about something. So this way of thinking might work to give me ideas 
@monotone_ink I have a bit of social anxiety, so I tend to avoid looking at people in crowded places, but maybe doing this can help me not only get new ideas but also maybe get rid of this irrational fear of mine, who knows. Thank you for the advice! \o/
@JakiraJurosawa That's a great idea! I used to always think about how a show could have been done better, but I don't think I ever really put in practice making a story this way!
I sometimes draw inspiration from the deep recesses of my haunting dreams.
And sometimes, when I'm not feeling so edgy, I pray a little and start scribbling crap on a page in hopes of finding something that works!
For me, they can come from anywhere.
The idea for my last story came from watching Ancient Aliens.
Last week, I went to the King Tut exhibit and got an idea for a story while there.
A good place to start is with "what ifs?' Or, what would you like to see done? If no one else is doing it, you should do it. Seeing as how you're going with one-shots, this would be a good approach to visit whenever you feel like you're out of ideas - given that you don't need to worry about the continuity of one ongoing story.
I can't just go for a walk without ideas popping in my head. Most of the time, they are completely irrevelant to what I'm working on at that moment, but I note them. I have notebooks full of those ideas so when I hit a wall on whatever I'm writing, I read them for inspiration.
I usually go to long walks when I'm in a mood to think something
Also, it may sound weird and creepy , but when I see a person - a passerby - I sometimes play this game in my mind in which I make up a backstory having that persons appearance (not the same person) as a reference, (Yep writing that down seems creepy AF. )
Also, when I;m writer's blocked I play pen and paper rpg's with my group of friends.
The shenanigans that occur from it usually fuel my imagination.
Also, books, tv series, random images i find on pinterest can help
I made a thread on here asking for ideas for short stories. People have been providing some surprising and awesome ones, good enough that 2 of my stories are currently beeing turned into a comic and a children's book!
So yeah, there's that option too XD
(Also feel free to steal some if you want, as long as you credit the people that gave their time to write them down, because that was the whole point of this experiment)
lots of research
i recently described my research process as a 'primordial soup of ideas and influences,' and it could be that some tv show im watching for fun influences me way more than the things ive intentionally researched. but somewhere out of that soup comes an idea, eventually
I both love and hate falling into research pits. On one hand I'll probably never use this information again. On the other hand, did you know that most ancient Romans lived in surprisingly modern apartment buildings?
2
nah i jus love that shit. but its not rly what i meant
say, the short im working on rn. i researched:
- ai weiwei
- lynd ward
- a buuuuuunch of science-infused art from an exhibition called human+
- ghost in the shell
- a buncha stuff abt london (not as much, given I Live Here)
on top of this i didnt research but did get influenced by
- black mirror
- channel 4's humans
- taika waititi
- metropolis
therefor, primordial soup from which my actual idea eventually grew
Most of my ideas come from when I read a novel or a comic, but not satisfied with the way things went in those stories, like, I like that character, I don't want her to die, I would love to read more about her, or I hate that guy, the mc is too soft heart, he should just kill him, or why the heck the mc went with the annoying rich guy, the prince like childhood friend is way better, why don't you look at him etc..
That's mostly how I started my stories, I create my own world, my own stories, my own characters because I want to tell a story of a character with that kind of personality, I want to torture that kind of bad guys, I want a story where a caring sweet childhood friend win the girl.
For stories details, I write down the start and the end ( of the whole story, of an arc, of a chapter, of a scene ) I wanted first, put the character at the start, let them to do their own things to lead to the end, then slowly add smaller details like what do they talk about, how do they act, I dont care about the story mood, foreshadow or plotwist..etc.. at this point.
I'm the type that can not think very widely so I need to write everything down first, when I have a closer and clearer look on my own story, the best ideas naturally comes to me, this is when I decide the character should do this, the story should be that, these mobs character can fire up the mood...etc... sometime I need to re write the whole thing because of that.
I personally come up with ideas from either funny experiences/ conversations, or a random idea will just come to me during the day. (usually while I'm at work) My comic is one of those gag a day strips so I find it easier to incorporate the ideas that come to me.
I tend to make a lot of environmental concept pieces of character designs, and often make tiny stories in my head for them, so I always have a little backlog of stuff I may or may not come back to. My current project is entirely based on a prompt someone gave me because I was bored and I have plenty more. XD