Tag Archives: creative writing

Story Prompts

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses, Writings about Writing by

Some people ask me how I come up with ideas for my stories. The answer is: I don’t. the ideas come to me, frequently when I’m not expecting it or looking for an idea.

I know that some writers struggle a bit more with the initial idea for a story. And even the most abundantly creative person can hit a dry spell (which has happened to me before). Some people just want to try their hand at something new – a new idea, a new genre, a new style of writing.

Enter the story prompt. A picture, a word, a phrase – all of these can prompt an idea. My intent with this post is to give a boost to a fellow writer, to get you over that hump if your creative juices have run dry. A story prompt can also be very useful if you’re new at writing, if you want to tell a story but you don’t know what to write about or where to begin.

A note: most of these story prompts have a fantasy slant, because that what I write. A prompt, though, is just that – the seed of an idea, intended to prompt you to think on it and develop it. A picture of a dragon does not have to prompt a fantasy tale, just as a picture of a happy modern couple in a sports car does not have to prompt a contemporary romance.

Here are some ideas:

The famous artist who says that his pet dragon actually does the art

A lonely basilisk

A boy and his best friend, a cloud

Demons swim in all the sacred places

It was two days before Christmas when the spaceships landed outside of town.

As the choke of midnight comes, the trees grow and the darkness begins to cry.

In that silent future after the world has ended, a child is born.

Where is this place? What happened here?

Where is this place? What happened here?

Now go write!

Revisiting a Forgotten World

Posted in Writings about Writing by

Writing Updates

I’m still working on my fantasy trilogy that has been my writing project for a couple of years now. But lately I’ve been thinking a lot about some stories I wrote and a world I created many years ago. I don’t want to neglect my time spent on my current projects, but I also want to make some time to revive this older set of stories. Those stories were the ones that got me to where I am today.

Birth

This fantasy world of these old stories was my first foray into epic fantasy – I created a complex world, dozens of characters, and enough of a history and timeline to cover several novels. Initially it didn’t start out with all those elaborate details – it began as just one book, and the story was a rather obvious copy of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

I wrote it in fifth grade, and it was probably barely 20,000 words (I don’t have a word count, since the story was hand written in pencil on notebook paper). Still, not a bad middle-grade “novel,” I suppose – and it was the longest story I had ever written and completed to that point. It spawned a two-part sequel, part one of which I wrote in middle school. Then for a while I left that world behind in favor of Star Wars fan-fiction, a lengthy story about horses on a magical island, and other assorted short stories.

Revisit

I revisited this world sometime in high school, with some fresh ideas and a slightly more mature command of writing and storytelling techniques. I wrote another novel which was intended to be a prequel to the one I’d written in elementary school, and I made plans to re-write that one.

The world was becoming more complex: I crafted different races and cultures, deities and religions, history and geography. I planned out a seven-book saga, even though one novel (and one and a half MG novelettes) is all I had written at the time.

In my college and post-college years I moved away from that world again, launching a new fantasy series, amid more short stories and some pitiful attempts at poetry. But even with all the school assignments, Shiny New Ideas, and other creative projects, I never forgot my first fantasy world that I built.

Revive

And now, even though I’m deep in the middle of something else, I’m feeling a burn to go back to this ancient world that has lain quiet and patient for so long. It requires another revamp – a bigger overhaul than just rewriting a childhood story. Change of format, change of storytelling structure, some changes to the timeline of history that I had created.

But the bones of the world are still there. I spent collectively years creating the complex societies of the centaurs, and the religion of the elves. I came up with detailed descriptions and biologies of several species of dragons, and a magical treasure that managed to make it through all the different versions of the world.

Even though I’m not fond of editing and rewriting, this revisiting is not the same thing: it’s a foundation, dusty but firm, that I can use to build on anew. Editing, revising, and rewriting will come much later, once I’ve got some new stories. But for now, I’m excited to be once again exploring a world that was my first love, in a sense. Let’s see where the stories take me this time.

Please share with me! Have you ever done a complete overhaul of a story idea, keeping it the same yet creating something new? Do you have a story or idea that’s stuck with you for years?

WorldWide Blog Hop

Posted in Writings about Writing by

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve done a blog hop, so I thought I’d participate in this one. I think these questions are the same as the ones I answered last time – but I’ve purposefully not looked at my previous entry, so that my answers for this one will be fresh and honest. So here goes.

First of all, I was nominated by my friend Bonnie Watson. She’s a writer of fantasy (as well as an artist and musician), and her work can be found here. Now, on to the blog hop questions:

1.  What am I working on?

Still editing the first novel of a fantasy trilogy. I really hate editing and rewriting. I guess it’s the drudge work of being a writer. I much prefer first-draft writing. I’m doing a bit of that, too. I’m hoping to finish the first draft of book two of this trilogy by the end of October, because I want to start fresh with a new project for NaNoWriMo.

2.  How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Mine is a cross-world fantasy, taking place in both the real world and a fantasy world. That’s not exactly unique, but I think that primary world fantasy is the most popular right now. It’s also inspired by Finnish mythology and folktales. Again, not a one-of-a-kind idea, but perhaps a bit less common than urban fantasy with vampires or Norse mythology fantasy.

3.  Why do I write what I do?

Because the characters in my head tell me to! Seriously – I write because if I didn’t, I’d probably eventually go crazy. The ideas need an outlet.

4.  How does my writing process work?

Slowly. Discipline is my main problem. I also have to fight against Shiny New Idea Syndrome, and stay mentally focused on the two or three projects I’m currently working on. As far as specific writing process, I’m more of a plotter than a pantser, and so if I come to a spot in my story that I haven’t plotted out well ahead of time, I get stuck. Usually for a long time (that part is just a discipline problem.) Having at least a loose outline helps keep me from dreading my work too much.

And now I’m tagging…every blogger out there! If you’re a blogger, and you enjoy reading my blog, then jump on board and post your own answers to these questions (and tag my blog, if you don’t mind!)

Keep writing!

How to Begin a Story

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I’ve written a couple of posts about beginning a story, but I thought I’d come at this subject from a slightly different angle. Lately I’ve had a few people congratulate me on being a writer, while in the same breath proclaiming that they would love to write a book but wouldn’t know where to begin. This is not so much an “anyone can be a writer” post as it is some (hopefully helpful) tips on how to actually get started.

Start writing something. This is the simplest step, but often the hardest. Just put a few sentences on the page. If the story begins slowly, awkwardly, or just plain wrong, you can always fix it later. Even the best first draft needs revising, editing, and probably rewriting – don’t stress about producing a publishing-worthy book before you’ve ever written a line.

Introduce the main character. This doesn’t have to be done in the first line or even first paragraph, but very early in the story (like in the first scene or chapter) the main character should either make an appearance or be referenced strongly in some way. After all, even plot-driven stories are still about characters. If you wind up writing twenty pages of boring day-in-the-life stuff about your character that you cut from the rewrites, that’s okay – it’s a great exercise in getting to know your character and their world, and it gets your creativity flowing.

Save the polished first line for the rewrite phase. As I’ve already emphasized, it’s okay to write mediocre and uninspired prose while you’re first getting going – it’s the action of writing that helps you improve your actual writing. While we all want that magic hook or that memorable first line that people will be quoting for decades to come, it’s probably not going to be the actual first thing that you write down.

Begin later in the story than you think is appropriate. This is one that I’m slowly learning myself. If you’re a plotter or outliner (like me), or you tend to be overly wordy in your first drafts (like me), chances are you’ll start your story way too early on in the plot. Like I said before, it’s okay to write pages and pages of boring drivel about your character’s daily habits, elaborate back story, and deep thoughts – but most of that should get cut (and/or mixed in throughout the story) in revision mode. I once began an epic fantasy story, and wrote probably at least 20,000 words of it before I realized that I hadn’t yet arrived at the start of the main plot. So I saved that novella-length prologue for the first half of an entirely different book, wrote a new beginning that started about five scenes into the main plot, and it was a much better start to the story.

What are some of your favorite ways to jump-start a story or get yourself into the writing process? 

My Writing Process – a blog hop

Posted in Writings about Writing by

I was invited by Libby over at Subourbon Mom to participate in a writing blog tour. You can read her posts about southern life and the writing life. Many thanks to Libby for tagging me to write about my writing! So here are the questions I was given, and my answers:

1. What am I working on?

Besides trying to come up with a witty and wonderful blog post each week, I’m working on a fantasy novel trilogy. I’m revising/rewriting book one, and working on the first draft of book two.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

That’s always the challenge, isn’t it – to write something that fulfills readers’ expectations while still being unique and unexpected. This trilogy I’m working on is cross-world high fantasy – it’s got magic, monsters, swords and battles, and hopping between this world and the fantasy realm. But it also has a lot of elements drawn from the mythology of Finland and the Sami (the indigenous people of Scandinavia). Hopefully that slant makes my stories unique without being so off-the-wall that one one will read them.

3. Why do I write what I do?

Because I have way too many ideas in my head to simply leave them there. I’ve always loved fantasy – reading it, watching it, and writing it.

4. How does my writing process work?

This question could be answered several different ways. I’m more of a plotter than a pantser. I don’t usually outline an entire book before I begin, but I have the basic plot worked out, all the main characters, and I know how I want the story to end. As far as my writing routine – well, I’m still working on that one. I’m generally more creative in the evenings, but I always seem to have a lot of other things to do then. I’m still working on making writing a priority.

And now I’m tagging three other amazing writers to carry on this blog-hop!

Abigail Bromilow says: Full time wife and mother, most of the time corporate crusader, and ever-constant fangirl. I love all things literary and want to be a writer when I grow up. I collect supplies for crafts I’ll never finish, am secretly trying to turn all of our farm animals into pets, and have finally accepted that I will never have clean floors or organized file drawers. I share my life with a husband who accepts me for everything I am (and am not), and three children that remind me how important imagination really is. She blogs at An Unorganized Mind.

Ashley Scott says: My name is Ashley, I created this blog in hopes of reaching people who are in pain…it doesn’t matter what kind of pain. I want to help you. Through my rough life I have gained the insight that I am supposed to reach out and make sure that no one going through hard times EVER has to be alone. Just know, you are never alone, especially now! Remember that you are loved. She blogs at Journey out of the Abyss.

Bonnie Watson says: Bonnie was first introduced to the digital world while attending Virginia Commonwealth University. As a writer, digital medium assisted in developing character and landscape references. Her collection of How to art books by various favorite artists (Gary Lippincott, Jessica Peffer, Stephanie Pui-Mun Law) continues to grow, and serves as an inspiration for future ideas. After graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts, Bonnie went into Visual Design and Customer Relations. She is author of the Wisdom Novel series, and a freelancer on the side. She writes, paints, and composes music at Wisdom Novels.