Friday, November 25th, 2011

Writing Prompt – For When You’re Blocked

This idea will work if you’re blocked, or if you want to write, but don’t have any idea what you want to say.

It can work with a short story, a novel or a poem; anything, in fact.

I believe I first heard this method from author Bruce Holland Rogers, though I can’t be 100% certain. (Bruce, if you’re listening, please set me straight.)

What to do:

Take a book off your shelf and crack it open to the first page, or the first page of a chapter, or a poem at random.

Read the sentence, then write one very similar to it, changing the nouns and verbs and setting, etc. Then move on to the second and third, or as many will help you as a jumping off point. Then, continue on your own.

So, for example, from Chapter 2 of Anne Ursu’s book, Shadow Thieves, the second chapter begins:

Charlotte was one month into the school year at Hartnett Prepatory School, and thus far the year had proved to be just like all other years, except more so.

I might write something like this:

Mark had been in the sanitarium for eight weeks now. And it wasn’t quite living up to the standard of nuthouses he’d formed in his mind. It was worse.

We could go on…

Anne’s opening paragraph (in C2) continues:

Eight of the other girls in her class, whose names all begin with A, had left for the summer as brunettes and had come back as blonds.

So I write:

Three of the others in his “we see dead people” ward, had been treated to brain stimulation therapy that left them near comatose, until their bodies seemed to heal the damage. (And then, they didn’t see their dead relatives anymore.)

Mark sighed, glad he’d seen the first two come back looking like zombies after their treatment. He never would have known how to act otherwise. The treatment left him giddy, feeling free, and his Uncle Bob sounded even more clear than before. And if he wasn’t mistaken, his dead sister, Melissa, had something really important to tell to him.

He simply had to act like the others, so the docs wouldn’t catch on. Soon, he’d be out of here, too.

Didn’t take me long to go off on a tangent, eh? And I took an interesting YA sentence, and waltzed off into something supernatural. It doesn’t matter what you start with, your brain will engage with what you want to write.

Here’s Your Prompt:

Take a book off the shelf and open it to the beginning, the beginning of a random chapter, or anywhere, if it’s a poetry book.

Read the first few lines to see if the content is interesting to you. (If not, choose another spot.)

Write the first line exactly as written, skip a few lines on your page, and then start your own writing.

See where it leads you!

Friday, November 11th, 2011

Writing Prompt – Veteran’s Day

Frank MichalskiIn honor of our country’s Veterans, I’m hosting a Veteran’s Day Writing Prompt today.

Many thanks to all the men and women who’ve served in the US Armed Forces. I’m grateful that our country has a strong military, for both the freedoms it’s continued to safeguard and how safe I feel knowing it’s there to protect us.

Thank you to the men and women who continue to serve.

A quick digression:

I wrote a little about my family’s strong military background and some info about Veteran’s Day in my post last year, if you’re interested.

Last year’s post has a pic of my great-Uncle Walter. That’s him in the background of the picture to the right. He and my great-Uncle Frank are pictured in a downtown Baltimore bar, having a drink before they both return to duty after the Christmas holiday.

(Wasn’t Frank a handsome fellow? He looks like an old-time movie star to me. I’m sure the ladies swooned when they saw him coming.)

Now, on to the prompt…

Here’s Your Prompt:

  • Write a diary entry for a single day in the timeline of any “great war.” Include specific details, as well as personal reactions.
     
  • Write a thank you note to a veteran (or current member) of the armed forces.
     
  • Take a few moments and brainstorm some words that come to you when you think about the military. Write a poem using one or more of the thoughts that occurred to you.
     
  • Make a list of words that define “the perfect soldier.” Create a character sketch of this hero.
     
  • Based on the prompt above, choose the one trait you think every soldier should have. Now, create a character sketch of a soldier who doesn’t have that trait, or blatantly disregards it. (Does that make him an unfit soldier? An anti-hero? A villain?)
     
  • Imagine the military of the future. What gadgets do they have? What skills do they need?
     
  • Write a story about U.S. Military Occupation on the moon. Why are we there? What’s happened? What would happen if weren’t there?
     
  • What if there were no militias the world over? Would the world be a better place, or worse?
     
Friday, November 4th, 2011

Writing Prompt – National Candy Day

Sugared CandyToday is National Candy Day.

You’d think someone would have the good sense to combine it with Halloween, when it comes right on the heels of it, wouldn’t you?

No worries, though, I plan to celebrate with my absolute favorite candy/drink combination:

York Peppermint Patty and an ICE COLD bottle of Diet Coke. There’s nothing better than that cool minty sensation burning down the back of your throat in a huge swallow of icy cola.

Yum.

But not before breakfast. That would be sacrilege. Perhaps for a mid-morning snack…

(According to the National Confectioner’s Association, there are no less than 15 “National Chocolate” something or other days and one International Chocolate Day, as well as 35 “National” candy days total in the yearly calendar, including National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day, only a few days away on November 7. However, their calendar doesn’t mention National Candy Day at all…nor does it mention that, apparently, June is National Candy month.)

Before you get started today, I recommend channeling your inner child and eat all the candy you find around the house. If you don’t have any leftover, I’ll bet you could catch a good sale. You remember the immortal words of Bart Simpson, right?

“It’s okay. There’s no sugar in Pixie sticks.”

Here’s Your Prompt:

  • Invent a new candy! Put on your Wonka hat and create the sugary treat missing the world over. Make a list of all the ingredients that have to go in (don’t forget those spoonfuls of love and pinches of mystery.) Describe it, draw it, and then write the advertising copy.
     
  • Do this slowly: Close your eyes and lift your favorite candy to your nose. What does it smell like? Can you smell the individual ingredients that make it up? What do you think of when you smell them? (Does vanilla remind you of sex? Does cinnamon recall the pungent odor of a burning fire or a cup of hot chocolate?)

    What is the texture of the candy on your fingertips? What does that remind you of. Lastly, take a bite. Take note of the texture, the blending flavors on your tongue. How much did you salivate? Write down all these sensations, thoughts, feelings.

  • Think of a character you are writing about. What is his or her favorite candy? Why? How does knowing this change your story? Could this candy play a key role in the plot of the story?
     
  • What kind of candy best describes your personality? Write about it.
     
  • Write a haiku or other poem about candy. The heart of the poem can be about anything: an ode to your favorite candy, or a poem of disgust for what you think is the worse; that candy should be banned, how candy once saved your life (or nearly destroyed it), that candy should be served before dinner… Anything.
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

Giving Up Hope – Or Faking It Until I Do

Image of painting called My Lost Hope by Freida.Wherein I whine just a little bit after having done a stupid thing…

Writing fiction is hard.

And starting over from scratch is even harder, I’ve found.

Except for some free writing in class the last few weeks, I haven’t written anything on my work in progress: not since I lost 25 pages of the manuscript.

I’ve been in a terrible funk. And hopeful.

Hope is a terrible thing sometimes…and crippling.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve tried to recreate my lost work, but the words just aren’t flowing.

In the back of my mind, I’ve constantly been thinking:

  • It’ll turn up.
     
  • It’s got my name on it. Some kind soul will drop me an email to let me know they found it.
     
  • It’s not really lost, it’s misplaced…
     
  • I just haven’t looked hard enough for it yet.
     

And as long as there’s been a smidgeon of hope in my mind that the dratted pages will turn up, I haven’t been able to write a word…because why should I re-write these chapters when I know they’ll appear at some point?

But the fact is, it hasn’t turned up. No one’s called me about it. And I’ve looked high and low, and called a lot of places and dropped in on several more (some more than once) and so I know it’s it’s worse than misplaced:

It’s lost and I’m never getting it back.

(Okay, I said the words. Maybe, if I say them enough times, I’ll believe it.)

Yeah. I’ve not quite given up hope. But I’ve got to fake it, or I won’t be able to move on.

It’s not like this writing should be hard. I know what happens. I know where the plot turns. I know about that secret reveal in Chapter 15.

And this version will likely be better since I’ve already written it once. It’ll be the second draft, for 25 pages, halfway through the novel.

I’ve written a few hundred words between yesterday and today. Not great progress, but it’s more than I’ve done in a month.

Have you ever been paralyzed by hope? How do get past it?

 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“My Lost Hope” image by Freida. Not used by permission, since I’ve been unable to contact the artist. See more of Freida’s work at RedBubble. Freida, if you see this, please drop me a line so we can talk about the use of your gorgeous painting. Thx!

Friday, October 28th, 2011

Writing Prompt – Endings

Railroad Tracks Abruptly EndingLeaving the restaurant last night after my monthly writer’s group meeting, I was struck by a hint of sadness. It’s always like that: similar minds coming together for a few hours, talking shop, encouraging each other, witnessing some really great writing.

Last night we laughed a lot. And I’m still smiling thinking of our conversations.

And then we had to go home. The End.

How sad.

We stepped outside into utter darkness, a fierce wind blowing, the promise of rain in the air…letting us know that it wasn’t just the evening ending. The year is fast on its way to being over, too.

So, today we’re talking about endings…arguably the most important part of a story. Does it have to tie up all the loose ends? Not necessarily. I like to think the characters I love have more to aspire to then the end of the book. The ending does have to solve the major problem, though: I can’t have all that build-up without some kind of resolution (even if it’s one I don’t like). That just feels like hard work without any reward.

When I get to the end of a book, I want to feel like I’ve just eaten chocolate.

Here’s Your Prompt:

Write an ending.

Have you read a book that you didn’t like the ending of? Re-write it. Have you seen any movies that had you mesmerized…until the last twenty minutes? Write the rant you’ve been discussing around the water cooler. Once you’ve gotten it all out, write a better ending.

Write about something that ended before you expected to.

Write the ending of your own life. Write three endings to your life.

When you’re done writing, write “THE END” at the bottom of the page. How did that make you feel?

Friday, October 21st, 2011

Writing Prompt – In a Fog

Foggy Commute Home - Photo by Kelly A. Harmon

This was the scene I faced the other day, driving home from work. Fog, fog, everywhere!

Strangely, it was just as thick on the highway as it was on the back roads. Usually, the highway is clear no matter how foggy it is elsewhere, I presume from all the traffic…?

It was a slow commute, and of course my mind wandered to writing about fog…

I’ve done a lot of that myself. I find it fascinating, eerie, comforting, mysterious…. You name it. A lot depends on my mood. It’s a great backdrop for a story, or poetry. In grade school I wrote scads of really bad poetry (some, which didn’t even rhyme!) about fog, and thoughts and feelings lost in it, like ghosts… I’ll spare you the rest.

Here’s Your Prompt:
Write about fog. It doesn’t matter if you write about a memorable experience, or a scene with a character you’ve created (or even with a famous character someone else created), or a poem, etc.

Also: the fog doesn’t have to be physical. Just use the idea of fog in your writing.

You could write about foggy memories, or the fog of inebriation, or a drug-induced fog, or an emotional onslaught, etc. Doesn’t matter. You choose.

Here are some foggy prompts to get you started:

  • There’s a little child // Running round this house // And he never leaves // He will never leave // And the fog comes up from the sewers // And glows in the dark – (Song Lyrics by Radiohead)
     
  • Fear death?—to feel the fog in my throat, The mist in my face. – Robert Browning
     
  • The fog is thick as pea soup. You could cut it with a knife.
     
  • Cause the fog’s getting thicker // And the world’s spinning fast // The chaos is building // It’s going to last – (Song Lyrics by Maroon 5)
     
  • …but a strange young girl hung around the neck of the hostess is about as welcome as a fog at a garden party. – Etiquette, 1922 by Emily Post. Chapter 17: Balls and Dances
     
  • She carries the evening in her chest // And knows that she must wither away // She lays her head in his lap //
    And asks for a last kiss – (Song Lyrics for the Song “Nebel” by Rammstein – Nebel, translated to English = “fog”)
     
  • [Indications of Danger.] Alarm. Alarum, larum [archaic], alarm bell, tocsin, alerte [F.], beat of drum, sound of trumpet, note of alarm, hue and cry, fiery cross; signal of distress; flag at -half-mast, – half-staff; blue lights; war cry, war whoop; warning [See Warning]; fog signal, fog bell, fog horn, siren; yellow flag; danger signal; red light, red flag; fire bell, fire alarm, still alarm; burglar alarm; watchman’s rattle, police whistle. – (Roget’s Thesaurus, 1922)
     
  • Some say no evil thing that walks by night, in fog or fire, by lake or moorish fen, Blue meagre hag, or stubborn unlaid ghost That breaks his magic chains at curfew time, No goblin, or swart fairy of the mine,
    Hath hurtful power o’er true virginity. – John Milton
     
  • “A Scotch fog will wet an Englishman through.” – Common saying
     
  • October 22nd to November 21st used to be referred to in the French Republican calendar as Brumaire, or, fog-month.
     

And here is some information about how fog is formed from USA Today.

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Would You Write in the Bathroom Stall at Work?

Toilet StallWould you steal a few moments of time to write by spending extra time in the bathroom at work?

Someone on one of the many newsletters/mailing lists I read advocates writing for ten or fifteen minutes (whilst sitting on the throne) at work – once or twice a day – as a means to find more time to work on your current manuscript.

I seriously doubt I could do this. Not only am I too busy at work to spend more time than necessary in the ladies room, but I have a feeling that the public nature of a four-stall room provides a less than conducive atmosphere for creativity.

Besides, I’m just not certain I want to be pretending to use the toilet, while attempting to write, while someone in the stall immediately next to me is actually using the toilet.

And can you imagine this conversation, after publishing a blockbuster novel that sells a bazillion copies:

Reporter: Just how did you come up with this fabulous idea?

Author: Well, I was sitting on the crapper when the idea hit me…

I’ve written before about finding small bits of time during the day in which to write.

I’ve found that I can meet my (self-imposed) word goal, even on busy days, by taking advantage of these lulls and wracking up fifty or one hundred, or even several hundred words at a time.

(It took me a while to get over the need for a large block of time in the day to get some writing in, but once past that mind set, I find I’m able to accomplish much more.)

I’m not usually picky about the aesthetics of where I choose to write, but I’m drawing the line at the restroom at work.

How about you? Could you carry a notebook (or netbook!) into the lavatory and work on your masterpiece?

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Writing Prompt – “Good Characters” / “Bad Situations”

If you’re just jumping on board, you might want to read last week’s prompt where I discussed one method of building characters for your stories.

This week, we’ll use the same method for coming up with some interesting situations to put them in: a bone for your muse, so to speak.

Here’s Your Prompt:

As you did last week, divide a sheet of paper into thirds and label the first third, “Article of Clothing/Weapon/Random Object,” label the second, “Event or Action,” and label the third, “Emotion, Feeling or Mood.”

(If we were in grade school, I’d make you fold the paper into the three sections, and complete each column before moving on to the next. But you can do this anyway you want. However, I caution against writing across the row, because it’s too easy to come up with hackneyed situations, for example: bouquet, a wedding, happiness. Yuk!)

The first column should be filled with words or phrases such as: chain mail armor, dagger, persimmon.

If you’re having trouble coming up with words on the list, try the Random Noun Generator, which lists up to 10 words at a time. (Not all of them are nouns, unfortunately. You may need to push the generate button a few times to get enough words for your lists.) But do try on you own at first, it’s always good practice to think!

Seventh Sanctum has a Random Weapon Generator, but the weapons are fictional. You’ve got to decide what they do.

The second column should list words such as: “the wedding of the century,” “someone sneezed,” “a robbery,” “a car broke down,” etc.

The third column should be filled with emotions, feelings and moods, such as: mad, happy, glad, forlorn. Try to find some nuances among these, instead of sticking with the mundane. If all you can think of are “the usual,” write down the first ten (10) on a different sheet of paper, and then toss it out. Dig deep into your mind.

Article of Clothing/Weapon/Random Object Event or Action Emotion, Feeling or Mood
dagger war hurt
chainmail a cough mistrusting
orange choking offended
pot of coffee went forward in time furious

Now comes the fun part: choose one item from each column (and never more than one item from each row). You’ll use these to write a scene with the character you created last week.

For a true sense of randomness, use a random number generator from Random.com to pick the item from each column.

I suggest, however, that you choose the event or action which will most upset your character. Conflict will make the scene much more dramatic.

A point of note: I used quotes around the phrase “Good Characters” in the title because I mean good in the sense of well crafted, rather than meaning a goody-goody character. Similarly, “bad” in the title means “unfortunate for your character” rather than (necessarily) dire.

So, your (well-crafted) pre-teen gang member might hate to attend that wedding of the century, or worse, be a bridesmaid.

Once you’ve picked from each column, write the scene described with your character.

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Starting Over and Getting Organized: Time to Focus

There’s been a lot of upheaval in my writing life lately, some of it spilling over from my personal and work life.

There’s the lost manuscript.

The mismanaged roofing job which resulted in water damage in the house.

The fact that because of said water damage I’ve been working out of my kitchen. (These high stools are killer on your back muscles when you’ve been sitting for a while…)

More stress at the day job than I can adequately describe in one sentence. (Trust me, it’s the stuff of a novel-length tell-all…)

There’s been some good stuff, too — I just had a wedding anniversary — but if the state of the kitchen table is any indicator of what’s going on: things are out of control.

It’s time to reign in and re-boot.

It also means focus.

I’ve been concentrating on the new stuff while I’ve got a pile of perfectly good finished stuff just sitting around. I’ve had some rejections come in (fact of life, folks, if you plan to be a writer) and I haven’t sent them back out to new markets yet.

They need to be sent off to new homes in hope of fosterage!

I haven’t decided if this current morass means I need to re-examine the goals I made in January. I need to dig out of the muck and see what’s left before I determine that.

So last night I updated my calendar from all the multiple input sources and printed it out through December 2012. (Just for fun, I stopped printing at December 21 and marked the end of the world. Remember: life is WORTHLESS without humor.) Then, I updated all my tickler files and writing deadlines.

Tomorrow… I have a class, so I’ll have to wait until Thursday to go through the finished projects and make plans for their distribution.

Then: I’m going to attack the unfinished writing projects like paying off debt: the projects which are closest to completion get written down first, thereby knocking out as many as possible, in as little time as possible.

And, damn the muse! I’m not starting anything new until all these are off my plate. (She’ll get me for that, I’m certain.)

How do you approach a re-organization?

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Writing Prompt – Building Character

I couldn’t decide whether to quote Hemingway or Twain, when it comes to discussing characters.

“A writer should create living people; people, not characters. A character is a caricature.”
~Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway gets right to the heart of it, but Twain’s irreverence takes it a step further: echoing Hemingway’s thoughts, but noting also that it’s what authors do with those characters that makes us want to keep on reading.

“The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell, together, as quickly as possible.”
~Mark Twain

Twain’s right: We want to see those characters bound in figurative chains, writhing in agony, in whatever cesspit of a situation that will make them the angriest, or saddest, or vengeful. That makes good reading.

Characters are more than their eye color, how they dress, and their physique. So, to write a great story, we’ve got to get into the psyche of the character, know his loves and hates, what makes him tick and how he’ll react, and then expose him to the very flames which will make him twist.

When you know your character well, you’ll find story and plot ideas will leap out of the knowledge, begging to be written.

Here’s Your Prompt:

Build a character by identifying traits, phrases and situations which can be mixed and matched. Divide a piece of paper into thirds and write “Adjective” at the top of the first column, “Person or Profession” at the top of the second, and “Phrase or Situation” at the top of the third.

My example:

Adjective Person/Profession Phrase/Situation
lonely middle-aged woman “Deuces wild, jacks or better to open.”
deviant seer missed the bus
belligerent teenager broken down on the side of the road
venomous wizard lost in Detroit City

The tendency is to write across the page, filling out the row…but I urge you to fill in the columns instead. It’s too easy (see my belligerent teenager? My lonely middle-aged woman?) to come up with ‘cardboard’ characters while filling in the blanks.

While you’re at it, choose some interesting adjectives and situations. Challenge yourself to find words and labels beyond the ordinary.

Do you write in a particular genre? Then choose appropriate words and situations. If you write fantasy, stay away from the mundane. Include wizards and gremlins and dragons on the page. Sci-fi? Add some interplanetary locales or some phrases based on future tech. Victorian romance? You get the idea…

Write to the bottom of the page, more if you can. Do the same, even if you’re typing. The more options you have the better.

Once you’re done, choose an item from each column and meet your new character. Try unusual pairings to see what you can come up with. At no time can you use any two (or three!) items from the same line.

Write a few sentences about your new character. Why is the middle-aged woman venomous? How did a teenager from (fill in the blank) get lost in Detroit City? Decide how your character got to be this way: give him or her a little back story. Judging from that, what are your characters likes and dislikes?

Next week: we’ll find some awful situations to put your characters in!