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The art of writing a short story.
What is it?
Because I think Im missing a vital ingredient.
I can write and I have the time in which to do it but I cant come up with enough story ideas and the most frustrating part of being a writer has to be staring at a blank screen, fingers poised over the keyboard with nothing to write about.
I had a thought that I could use proverbs and sort of up date them for modern life but that hasn't been successful yet and then, last night, my husband mentioned that the only reason half of the sit coms on TV work, is because someone tells a lie. I've been pondering over this all day but still haven't come up with a single story.
A story needs more than an idea - it needs a motive - a reason for its existence - a twist in the tale but also a compelling story line to carry it through and I've completely lost the plot!!
I once tried to construct a story around an ending I had in my head but although I still think this particular punch line has mileage my story was rejected as being too weak. Before that I would have said that if you've got the ending you've cracked it. Now I know that's not so.
I used to enjoy doing W/N & WM comps because they give you a subject and a few hints to start but even then I would miss some out simply because I couldn't think of anything to write about.
Who are these people whose heads are full of ideas? Would you care to e-mail me a few? :)
Oh, and incidentally, I hate the word story it just doesnt have the same weight as novel, does it?
Anyone else out there desperately seeking inspiration?
Because I think Im missing a vital ingredient.
I can write and I have the time in which to do it but I cant come up with enough story ideas and the most frustrating part of being a writer has to be staring at a blank screen, fingers poised over the keyboard with nothing to write about.
I had a thought that I could use proverbs and sort of up date them for modern life but that hasn't been successful yet and then, last night, my husband mentioned that the only reason half of the sit coms on TV work, is because someone tells a lie. I've been pondering over this all day but still haven't come up with a single story.
A story needs more than an idea - it needs a motive - a reason for its existence - a twist in the tale but also a compelling story line to carry it through and I've completely lost the plot!!
I once tried to construct a story around an ending I had in my head but although I still think this particular punch line has mileage my story was rejected as being too weak. Before that I would have said that if you've got the ending you've cracked it. Now I know that's not so.
I used to enjoy doing W/N & WM comps because they give you a subject and a few hints to start but even then I would miss some out simply because I couldn't think of anything to write about.
Who are these people whose heads are full of ideas? Would you care to e-mail me a few? :)
Oh, and incidentally, I hate the word story it just doesnt have the same weight as novel, does it?
Anyone else out there desperately seeking inspiration?
Comments
If you have an ending that you think has mileage go back to the beginning, flip it on its head and see what happens. I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination and I am sorry if I am coming across that way, I just know what worked for me - it might just work for you too.
That is not to say that I don't lack inspiration sometimes - I have spent my share of hours staring at a blank screen. it is disheartening but don't let it stop you.
You could try the dictionary for inspiration. Just choose a number, look at that page, and see if a word springs out at you.
On BeWrite, we used to do a One Word Challenge (original suggestion by Sally Quilford). A word was set, and we had to write a poem or very short story using that word as inspiration. The winner would choose the following week's word, and be the judge (this did not always work well, as not everyone - I include myself - felt able to judge e.g. poetry).
Please say if you're for or against a One Word Challenge on Talkback.
Remember - if you win, you'll probably have to suggest the new word AND be the judge. Also, items posted on Talkback may be deemed 'published' and so not be eligible for competitions. Unless some kind person would like to volunteer to be the permanent judge ...
Do you want poetry and stories?
What length (on BeWrite, it used to be 40 lines of poetry; and 200 words for a story)?
Should the judge/other Talkbackers comment on entries (beware - you might unwittingly cause offence)?
How 'central' should the suggested word be? (Although the word may have inspired me, my stories did not always centre on it. Some people raised objections!)
How often should this challenge be done - once a week/fortnight/month?
Er ... just in case I've over-emphasised the pitfalls, the One Word Challenge did produce a lot of very good writing and constructive criticism. It certainly inspired me to write things I wouldn't otherwise have written.
I was inspired to add an updated discription of myself to my profile though...I thought it was quite good :)
IK have you ever sat somewhere and looked around at what is going on? Nearby, across the road? One evening I was going home from a meeting, sat on the bus, waiting for it to pull out from the terminus stop, when there was shouting from the upper deck.
Words were shouted, including "he's had you!" And an angry young man rushed downstairs and off the bus- very dramatic. This then set of a lot of questions in my mind possibly real, others imaginery. That allows the writer to use the idea either with young or old characters, and any scenario that could fit those circumstances.
OK, found them, but they are not on disc, I need to copy them from one edition of my book. If anyone wants 75 story ideas, write me offline, I will send them to you as soon as I type them up. Is that OK? Free by the way, totally absolutely 100% free!
OK - I'm going to post a couple of items about the One Word Challenge. If I can stop sniffing long enough.
Dorothy, That's a very generous offer. I'll be contacting you at the earliest posible opportunity.
Carol, I sat looking out of my window this afternoon, as lights were going on in the distance and as it became darker and the lights became more of a warm orange glow my mind began to wander...which leads me on to Dorothy's suggestion and I have to admit to already being a bit of a peeping tom.
Mutley - how simple - how effective.
Keep talking guys...and bless you, Jay.
This is all wonderful grist to the mill
Dorothy, how do I contact you?
I didn't use the word brainstorming in the article, I don't think so anyway, I think it was ten ways to get ideas.
When I wrote the 75 ideas for the back of my book on writing erotic literature, I actually said they were off the top of my head and I still had plenty more ... now of course all ideas are handed to me by people who want their stories told. It makes life so much simpler.
Couldn't find the * in this new format but my e mail address is in my profile. I don't want you to feel obliged to do this though.
Meantime, if anyone else is interested, they can contact me on [email protected].
this is a supplementary email address, you won't be invading any privacy by writing to that one.
The story ideas are typed, ready to go!
Character is a big part of any story as that's where you'll find the motive. Some people recommend doing detailed character studies before starting on the writing, but I don't go that far myself. What I tend to do is divide a sheet of paper into 2 or 3 depending on how many chacters are involved, then I put down things about them, looking especially for ways in which they are similar or ways that they differ. Also as Mutley says it can be really helpful to draw diagrams and once you start just the process of doing that makes you think of more possibilities for things that could happen within that story. Sometimes all I have in my head is a place that I think would make a good setting and then I brainstorm whatever I can think of about it, eg who might you find there, why would they be there, what's the history of this place.
Persistence is definitely key. After I sold my 1st story it was another year before I sold the next. There were lots of rejections (still are!) but you just have to keep going. Having a critique of 3 of my stories was a big, big help. And don't feel that you have to apologise for writing stories, not novels. A novel is only a long story after all.
A Little Piece of Home is the story of a grandmother making a special loaf. Her grandson is coming to collect it. The story traces her memories as she thinks of him as a little boy playing with a toy rocket, becoming an astronaut, finally telling her that he and the beautiful girl he chose as his wife are to be frozen and sent out into deep space. They were allowed one thing from home, so she was baking him a special loaf, seasoned with her tears. When they woke from their sleep, they would be able to share a little piece of home.
Oh yuk, sticky sentimentality and all that, but it worked, or it would not have sold to two different SF magazines.
So, you can turn the most mundane of household things into a story if you think of it differently. Worth a try.
I like Jay's idea of the One Word Challenge for that reason, helps us to look at things differently, especially that one word.
I've still got the first story I ever submitted to a magazine. it never sold - and due to the fact that it involved a money tree (probably why it didn't sell) that produced pound notes - is now obsolete but I still hang on to it.
One Word Challenge January 2008
(that's for your entries) and
One Word Challenge - rules and queries
This month's word is 'time'.
And pictures too.
LATER ...
I searched using "inspir" (inspiration/inspiring), but the threads/discussions were quite short.
By the time my weekend shift is over, I'm tired and drained and have certainly forgotten all the best snippets!
Having said that, I too have pulled up a list of proverbs and two ideas have presented themselves to me. I just hope they are sustainable!
Dorothy, e-mailing you right now.
Came across an interesting piece about a fella who killed himself by swallowing aluminium phosphide. When his body reached the hospital it started giving off lethal fumes. I don't think I'll be using this one but if anyone's writing a murder mystery it might come in handy - the man who killed after he was dead!!
I got it away, thanks to a break in the system which actually gave me my emails!
The story contained, as part of the plot, an ongoing reference to The Chippendales - no mention of stripping or body parts - just the fact that my main characters met at their show.
So, for future reference - People's Friend don't do Chippendales - and, I assume, anything else in the same vein.