I realize this is going to sound a bit crazy, but the next time you find yourself stumped in your writing, grab the nearest dictionary, open it to a random page, pick a random word, and work it into your writing. (Yes, this has worked amazingly well for some of my students, especially lately.)
You’ll more than likely be left with something you need to edit out of your writing, but at least you’re writing, and potentially learning a new word in the process.
Posted by Rebecca as Writing Prompts at 7:57 AM EST
No Comments »
One of my goals on my secret to-do list is to take an improv class, or at the very least, sit and watch one rehearse. I always thought it would be a great way to work on improving my writing because it would hopefully get me into the mindset of reacting in the moment and riffing on something.
It turns out that another writer is doing the improv scene and has found something useful for writers- a game called, “Yes, and…” Actually, she’s found a handful of improv techniques that can help writers, but I really liked the game. She suggested it as a reminder of accepting what’s thrown at you and building from there, but I think as a writing prompt on its own, it could be fairly useful. You write out something, get stuck, and then say “Yes, and…” instead of “What now?”
I think this could be a great way to work through difficult scenes and writer’s block. Just remember it’s only a draft and you can change things later when you’re editing.
Posted by Rebecca as Writing Prompts at 8:39 AM EST
No Comments »
I’m not sure how this didn’t occur to me sooner, given that I write fan fiction, and an alarmingly number of fanfics are what have been called “song fics”. In a song fic, the writer weaves a song’s lyrics through the story, tying what’s happening in the story to the song. (Most sites frown on posting these because of the copyright issues, but interestingly, none of them enforce it.) I have an accidental song fic myself (It has the title of a song, and then the song’s chorus is at the very end of the last chapter I was all but bullied to add on by the readers.)
The thing with songs is that if they’re done correctly, a song is a story in and of itself. Think about your favorite song. Think about the lyrics. Print them off if you need to, just to carefully consider them. Are they a story? It may not be a direct narrative like one of my favorite songs (”Home” by the Eric Stuart Band). It might be something more subtle, just trying to persuade. (My favorite song, “Name” by the Goo Goo Dolls, is like that.) Sometimes, it’s a problem-solution set up. (I admit it, I like “Skater Boy” by Avril Lavigne.) Songs, by and large, are a story.
The point of this post, however, is not to convince you to go write a song, or to spend your time looking for every song’s story. I actually want you to consider this lovely post from Tapping Creativity, and consider using songs as writing prompts when you’re feeling blocked.
Songs provide great material for writing prompts because you can write the story you hear in the song. You can write to a specific line that just pops for you. (You can tie the chorus of a song to a favorite character in a cartoon…) You can write a reaction to the song. You can rewrite the story by playing the What if game. What if he hadn’t come back? What if he didn’t make it big? What would have happened then? In some ways, it’s an odd form of creating fan fiction, only you’re working off a song instead of a book, television show, or movie.
Give it a try. Pull out your favorite song. Find the story within it, and write to it. (Remember to credit the song back to its creator.) If you post it somewhere online, share the link in the comments.
Posted by Rebecca as Writing Prompts at 8:03 AM EDT
No Comments »
I can’t for the life of me remember where I found out about this site full of writing prompts. I’ve been reading through them over the past few days. They’re rather interesting. Each group has their own charm.
Dig through them. See what they inspire for you.
Posted by Rebecca as Writing Prompts at 7:42 AM EDT
No Comments »
I’ve started keeping a file of lines I remove from my stories. The idea is that I can add them back in if I find that I really can use them, but for the novel I’m currently editing, it’s been more of a trend analysis. I’m amazed at how much my characters laughed, giggled, or sighed over the first third of this novel!
In my files for the two novels I’ve been editing over the past two months, though, I’ve found some lines that killed me to remove. I was reading over the notes file for A Night in the Lonesome November over the weekend, and amidst all the removed laughter and sighs, there are some lines that didn’t work in this story, but would make great jumping-off points for other stories.
I’m now thinking about adding a section in EverNote for lines discarded from all of my stories that would be viable writing prompts or first lines somewhere else. Then when I need a little inspiration, or I just want to write something, I can go to that section and pick a line that jumps out of me!
How about you? Do you have any lines on your cutting room floor that would be perfect somewhere else?
Posted by Ceara as Writing Prompts at 8:08 AM EDT
No Comments »
I broke down last week and finally bought Writing for Comics with Peter David. I loved Peter David’s work as a teenager, and every time I’ve thumbed through the book in the bookstore, I’ve found something very useful, something that’s made me think. The purchase was very overdue.
What ended up being the final straw was thumbing through and finding a section that suggested taking a myth or fairy tale and shaking it up a bit. Of course, this is a fairly common recommendation, and I’m planning to create templates for as many fairy tales as I can think of (thank goodness for my upbringing!). What ended up making that afternoon different was that I was looking for a starting point to play with interactive fiction. (I’m not using my original plan because it just has too many flaws that would be nightmarish to straighten out.) reading that page just triggered something in me. I took the book into the cafe, bought it and a hot cocoa, and sat down and started fleshing out some general ideas.
It was that trigger that caused the book to join my library.
A couple of days later, I was reading Shojo Beat, which features a series on creating manga co-written by a manga-ka I’m somewhat partial to. This month’s installment focuses on story plots, and talked about taking an old familiar story and twisting it into something else.
In my notebook right behind my notes from the day in the cafe are some notes I wrote while waiting for a movie. I took the old (mostly forgotten) fairy tale “Rose Red and Snow White” and started playing the What-If game. It’s a brief outline, full of symbols you have to follow to get through everything, but it’s a start. At the very least, it’s got my brain working in what I hope is the right direction.
Posted by Rebecca as Writing Prompts, Interactive Fiction at 7:32 AM EDT
No Comments »
“Adventure is just bad planning.”- Roald Amundsen
This may be true of life itself, but in writing it’s only somewhat true.
Think about it. Those of us who plan out our stories may end up changing things along the way because the story went in unexpected directions. Those of us who let the story take us along for the ride can often end up with an incredible story on our hands.
Maybe there’s something to be said for not planning, or being open to mis-steps in our planning.
Posted by Rebecca as Writing Prompts at 8:27 AM EST
No Comments »
Miss Snark, who has become my new hero over the past few months, has been running her very well-attended Happy Hooker Crapometer over the last week or so.
The idea was that people would send in the hooks they’re including (or preparing to include) in their query letters, and Miss Snark evaluates them in her deliciously no-holds-barred manner. (I really hope she’s still running this when I finally have a book ready to share. Her advice, though blunt, is wonderful. Or maybe it’s wonderful because it’s so blunt.)
Finally frustrated by people who couldn’t write a hook after she shared so many good examples, she finally offered a basic form to help people start their hook. (As she reminds us repeatedly, it takes more than just this, but these are the basics of a good hook.)
Components of a good hook, care of Miss Snark:
- X is the main guy
- Y is the bad guy
- They meet at Z and all L breaks loose
- If they don’t solve Q, then R starts, and if they do, then it’s L squared.
It occurs to me, though, that you could also use this to help yourself work out a story that’s stuck in your head or perhaps one that is giving you trouble as you try to capture it on paper. Again, not as the entire cure-all, but just to get yourself started or through a rough patch.
Posted by Ceara as Writing Prompts, Resources at 8:23 AM EST
No Comments »
One of my favorite articles to share with people who are up in arms over the quality of fan fiction is this old great one about the beginnings of the Daily Prophet.
Harry Potter created something of a sensation in that children who previously wouldn’t read or write were suddenly doing both. Anime, movies, and many other books have spurred on fan fiction, but nowhere near the quantity that was developed after Harry Potter was published.
For these young writers, fan fiction is a very important thing. Some of them insert themselves into the world to interact with the characters. Some explore giving the characters alternate personalities, or allow characters to explore another book/movie/anime’s world. Some more intrepid writers even attempt to write stories that keep the characters completely true to themselves and to the world. A few even try to imagine alternate endings or what happened after the story ended.
They’re building and exercising their creativity. They’re meeting like-minded people. They’re reading and writing, the hallmarks of literacy.
They’re also learning to be critical, sometimes overly so. They’re learning how to give and receive criticism, even if it’s not handled gracefully on either side. They’re learning to edit, to ask others to help them edit or brainstorm ideas.
It’s an incredible phenomenon, and one that I’m glad to take part in, both as a writer and as an editor who tends to include a lesson or three in her reviews.
Posted by Ceara as Writing Prompts at 7:59 AM EST
No Comments »
When you write for five to ten blogs, as I do, it’s not terribly unusual to sit down at the computer and realize you have nothing to say. I have this problem quite frequently over at DesignNiche and JewelryNiche, probably because a lot of my current activities are really drawing on my education and writing background instead.
When the doldrums hit and I find myself drumming on my keyboard, it’s not terrbily unusual for me to start working on a tutorial or a story post or an exploration of a specific stone or technique. It turns out that these are perfectly normal ways to beat the blogging blahs.
It also occurs to me that recent posts over at EducationNiche could be misinterpreted as working through a case of the blogging blahs when they’re really just reflecting on some things that have recently come up. In all fairness, many of the story pieces and stone explorations are pre-meditated, too, but there have been some that were written simply because I felt I needed to write something.
Relying on fallback plans in blogging (especially when you’ve been blogging for a couple of years) isn’t shameful,and in fact can help rejuvenate your blogging by reminding you of why you started blogging or by reminding you of interests you’d been meaning to explore. It can actually be helpful on many levels.
Posted by Rebecca as Writing Prompts at 8:22 AM EDT
No Comments »
