A couple of years ago, I decided to write some short stories. I began with titles, and interwievs of my coworkers at the natural historical museum where I work part time. There were many leads into stories by their memories and tales. ONe told about the sea when she grew up. ABout the sudden wind and waves that could upend your boat and kill you. ABout the beach where the children lit fires and played with things they found, making a small store and selling rocks and shells to each other.
i thought about a story called "black arms".
A child would find a figure of a sea creature. She would tell her parents about her find, and they would take it to the local inn to show it to tourists, an hoping to sell it.
The story has not evolved further, I got lots of other ideas and beginnings, but few has more than five written pages.
STill, there is these tales waiting to be developed. Some day my short fantasy stories will surface.
"The ghost in the machine", "the tiger bride", "the ship of fools" and many more ...