1. Write about how immigrants live differently than others and the journeys they go through.
Maybe you're an immigrant, or your parents, or a great-great grandmother. What's your/their story? How has it changed the way you live?
2. Animals migrate in the winter. What could that be like, to fly away from the cold? What obstacles do they go through?
You don't know what's happening or why. But an internal force is pulling you in a direction. Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution draw you on a path all of your ancestors have travelled, and you fly with communities of others you've never met but somehow look just like you.
3. People naturally migrate from places as they age: school, college, jobs, etc. How does where a person live/move to affect their lives?
You're the new kid in school. The unpaid intern. A stranger to an already-formed society. Even if you were popular or an underdog before, all of that is gone now. You are adrift. How do you land?
4. How the Earth changes/moves over time.
We are on a massive spheroid hurtling through space at a concerning speed. Oceans rise and fall, Rome was built and then burnt in a day, and we launched a manhole cover at Mach F*ck into the cosmos. The Earth is constantly moving and changing. Describe it!
5. Aliens? I imagine aliens--the green guys with the oval eyes--migrate in their spaceships.
Maybe Earth seemed like a nice place to hang out for the holidays. Or maybe their old planet/moon/space station was destroyed and they needed to escape. Maybe they're not even going to Earth; I heard the Alpha Centauri system was nice around this time of year.
6. Describe how stars shift and explode; their life and how they migrate.
Star spots. Eclipses. Solar flares. A 24/7 nuclear fire throwing out concerning amounts of radiation for millions of years until it has nothing more to give. These cosmic rays go far. The stars themselves orbit around larger stars, or even incomprehensibly dense centers of galaxies. What do they pass by as they fly through the universe?
7. How do people move cities based on the economy?
Eugh. Economy. Sounds boring, right? But imagine it on a smaller scale. The last few families in a dying town. Or maybe you've been subject to seeing all your favorite nature places be absorbed by new developments. Write about it!
8. How do emotions shift as people change and mature?
As we age, our emotions move. They grow more important, or less. We feel them in different parts of our bodies; they come from different causes. Maybe you've gained new ones or let go of some. Map them and their journeys out.
9. How would a plague force animals to move?
We know how plague has affected humans. There's multiple historical examples, and one that is not-so-historical. But how does this affect wildlife? If animals understood how disease was spread, what would they do when rabies or chronic wasting disease enters the area?
10. Delve into how people avoid a storm.
What do we do to prepare? What do we do when preparing isn't enough? We bring pets and animals indoors. Maybe we take shelter in a hospital or school. Maybe we even drive hours or days to get out of the storm's path. There is movement, whether it be bringing cans into a shelter or packing the car to stay out of town for a week.
11. A magic portal is discovered and sentient creatures are coming through. What do the local governments do?
We can't have just anyone entering this town through a random portal that showed up next to the center fountain a bit ago! There needs to be security! Housing! Jobs! How does society adapt to this sudden influx of fantastical citizens?
12. The worst thing to experience: Changing schools.
Changing schools as a human is difficult. We are very complex social beings, and being dropped in the middle of already-formed social bonds is never fun. The teachers don't know how to handle you or your problems, and the other students aren't ready to give up their designated-but-not-assigned seats. And what about schools of animals, such as fish? They might not accept a guppy from a different pod.
13. How do friendships or relationships drift apart?
There are many ways our connections with others shift over time. Long distance becomes short and vice versa. Maybe things happen (or don't) that slowly make you grow apart. Describe the slow shift.
14. Two people, across the globe, are beginning to foster feelings.
They wait by the mailbox, even as the cold breeze nips at their nose. The mailvan should be here any moment now... Ah, there! They take the post from the mailman, rushing inside to flip through the letters. Bank statement, holiday card from distant relatives, coupons... and a thick letter in a colorful envelope. They open it carefully, bringing out all the goodies inside: a handwritten letter, a sheet of stickers, and a smaller envelope inside that says "read the note first!" on the outside. Knowing their pen-pal, it was probably some sort of trinket. Maybe a collector's card or a bracelet. They unfold the note and read it. It's the standard greeting, written in loopy cursive with a glitter gel pen. The pen-pal talks about their life as of late. College, the weather, other friends... and then they bring up spring break. They're both well aware that their break schedules line up--they use the chance to send polaroids to the pen-pal when possible--but the pen-pal had never brought it up much before. There's a special gift, the note says. Open the little envelope. So they, with shaking hands, open the envelope. A plane ticket slides out and lands on the table. To the country their pen-pal is from.
15. How immigrating may be illegal and the type of risks people need to take
Ever since I was in first grade I've loved reading; it makes me feel like I'm actually experiencing what's on the page. Literature allows people to empathize with perspectives they might disregard due to their own biases--it's been called the closest thing to mind-reading that exists. Writing a story about illegal immigration right now would be tricky, to say the least, but it could also do a little good right now. And we need a little good right now more than ever.