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How to Come Up with Fresh Story IdeasCaterina Christakos How to Come Up with Fresh Story Ideas When Your Well has Been Tapped Dry When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day’s works is all I can permit myself to contemplate. —John Steinbeck I know that it seems easier to make that extra pot of coffee, read that good book, that you have had in storage for the last ten years, and suddenly decide to make the kids that Halloween costume by hand, than it can be to make yourself sit down and write. Believe me, I have been there. Here are some brainstorming techniques to get your brain pumping again and churning out ideas. 1 If you are having trouble coming up with characters or even a story line, try developing an action scene. One good scene to kick off your book can get the rest flowing. Develop the characters and story line around that scene. 2 Come up with a problem to solve. Is your main character the class clown or the brainiest kid in school. What type of problem would your character face in his or her normal life Write your story around the problem and a unique way of solving it. 3For character development use common sense. Use what is in front of you. Look at your family and friends and see if they remind you of anything. My first Shakespearean teacher reminded me of a caveman or a husky walrus because of his whiskers. Does your Uncle Arthur have whiskers, wear glasses, and walk with a little bit of a waddle Turn him into a know it all beaver or a store clerk, at a bookstore that sells books that you can actually climb into and live out an adventure. Does your sister have a talent for jumping rope and blowing bubbles, with purple bubble gum Maybe the heroine for your next book could do the same.Is their a kid in your neighborhood that is always getting into trouble Hmm, do you think that the creator of Dennis the Mennis might have known one You can use your family and friend’s talents and their physical characteristics to come up with tons of characters. One hint though- if you choose to make Uncle Charlie a slug or Aunt Emma a rhinoceros, keep it to yourself. They may not be thrilled with their induction into literary history. Inspiration is all around you, waiting for you to reach out and grab for your next storyline or character. Use stories from the news, jokes that your neighbors tell you, the quirky things that your dog Buster does in the morning. One final word - stop criticizing what you have written down. In these first stages, no one cares if you have misspelled words or if your grammar isn’t perfect. Just write. The rest will follow, after your story is done.
| | | | RELATED ARTICLES Five Steps to Goal-Setting What would you like to achieve in your lifetime Its All About YOU! The Hottest Word on the Web Wording Up Your Website Back to basics. Forget funky design, good copywriting is the key to a clear and intuitive website. How to Multiply Your Freelance Writing Work You can turn your $200 fee to write a press release into $2,000 tocarry out an entire PR campaign simply by convincing clients toinvest in campaigns, instead of individual assignments. Campaignsachieve better results and cost less in the long-term for clients, compared to individual assignments. And, of course, as thefreelancer, you get paid much more for turning out a succession ofassignments that assimilate a successful campaign. Creative Writing Tips - Have You Established Your Main Character At The Start In the beginning of your story you have to grab your readers’ interest and sustain it till the end. Our hook is our character. Readers keep on reading to find out more about the character. To see what he’ll do in the story; how he’ll solve his problems. What his goals are and whether he’ll achieve them. Will This Be Your First How-To Report Youve got to start somewhere, but once youve created your very first How-To report and learnt to develop your own research tactics - life will never be the same again. You can write a report on almost any topic you like, providing you have knowledge of the subject through personal experience or research. Why Book Writers Need A Running Mate By far, I have found that the lack of discipline is the biggest hindrance for most people, when it comes to writing a book of any kind. Although I urge you as a would-be writer to develop a theme because once you are clear on "why" you want to write a book, your motivational level will shift into a higher gear, I also urge you to get an accountability partner. This person will be the most important asset you can have as a writer. Slow Pokes: Short Story On The Changing World Of Writing “No one will ever know who I am, I’m a nobody-writer from nowhere… I’ve had a thousand rejections from all the major publishers. It seems my destiny is never to be read, another nameless soul lost to the sands of eternity.” Johnny’s face twisted into a pained grimace, you could tell his heart was tied up in a pretzel knot of self-deprecation. 8 Advantages to Writing a Book as an Entrepreneur As an aspiring or an established entrepreneur, you are an expertin something, but does the rest of the world know You have awealth of information, experience and knowledge that you canpackage into a book that will benefit others. This truly is theinformation age and people want to know what you know. A Few Brief Tips for Dealing with Rejection What to do when you get rejected. How I Became a Syndicated Columnist -- And You Can Too! Real Estate has "Location, location, location," and writing has "Clips, clips, clips." How to Write Words Worth a Thousand Pictures Our Image-Driven Society Are You Ready For The Publishing Revolution Writing has traditionally been considered a solitary craft. You wrote you article or book in seclusion. You submitted it to an editor or publisher and prayed it would be published. Writing for the Gaming Industry Several months ago, I worked on an interesting project for a client looking to break into writing music for the video game industry. As the project progressed, I found myself fascinated with the art of interactive entertainment, and began to take "side notes" on what it takes to write for the gaming industry. I made a host of wonderful contacts and learned a great deal about how tough --- and rewarding -- it can be to become a part of the development of some of the most mainstream and high-tech forms of entertainment today.One out of every three American households has a video game system and the fastest growing market for video games is in Europe.There are also many opportunities for freelancers to "break in" to the gaming industry through offline and "lower-tech" mediums. Veerappan - The Legendary Bandit No More! Known by different nomenclatures like bandit king, elephant poacher, sandalwood smuggler and the much recent Robinhood of India, Veerappanthe forest brigand was finally killed in an encounter this month. This man popular for his handlebar moustache, hacked more than 120 people to death during his reign of terror spanning over four decades, felled thousands of sandalwood trees worth and sandalwood worth $22 million, and poached about 2,000 elephants for more than 88,000 pounds of ivory worth $2.6 million and what not! It took about 20 years and more than Rs 1000 crores to finally kill Veerappan, making this manhunt, Indias biggest and most expensive. A Quick Guide to ISBNs for Self-Publishers A Quick Guide to ISBNs for Self-Publishers Interviewing an Author: Dont Be Left Speechless Edited by Jenny Wilson Write A Better Newsletter! Youve decided to write your very own Newsletter to promote your business, communicate with your customers, or just for FUN. Writing for Teen Magazines I would look at the magazines my teenage neighbor and her friends stashed away in their cupboards and think, “Heck, I could do that!” So one day, while she was away at school, I broke into her room and “borrowed” the magazines. Need a Book Coach, Ghost Writer, or Editor Part 2 If you either want to write a book to help others create a better life and boost business or you already have your book nearly finished, you may need book coaching to answer all of your questions "What step to take next" |
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