1) Put the book aside and read – at least two books – Classics.
2) Brainstorm on paper – anything no matter how silly it sounds. Fill a notebook with ideas if you want – just come up with lots.
3) Write the ideas on file cards one per card. Sit down at a table and start shuffling them around trying to create a story from them. Keep moving them – dont be afraid for it to sound silly.
4) Make an outline from those cards when you find something interesting.
5) Try to write a very very short story from that outline. Then write several more very very short stories from the cards. See which one lends itself to a longer work
6) Start doing character studies and analysis – back to the file cards. Write down anything you know about your characters – adjectives, habits, appearance, likes and dislikes, occupation, age, anything. Look in magazines and catalogs and cut out pics that resemble the character as you see them in your mind.
7) Back to the table. Start pushing the character cards around – see who rubs who and how — Who likes who? Who hates who? Main character to main character – then main character to secondary character – then secondary character to secondary character. This will help you come up with subplots
Back to your outline. Plug in the subplots.
9) Come up with a kick tail first sentece that will draw your readers into the story.
10) Start writing.
It works for my students. Just make sure you dont skip the two classics – that is the inspiration that unblocks and inspires you. If you are still blocked, move onto something else. I have about 4 books on disks – started but it just wasnt the right time to write them for me. One goes back to when my 20 yr old son was a baby. Maybe I will finish it one day, maybe not. So far the mood hasnt struck me. And it is a great idea – never been done. Im just not ready for it yet. No shame in leaving something aside.
Good luck. Pax – C.
liana k Said,
it depends on what your trying to write but…
play music , watch a great movie, go people watching, visit a museum, read some great poetry….
basically be inspired.
A great philosopher (who’s name eludes me at the moment)said that true art ( art can be music, paintings, writing, photography) has the ability to INFECT it’s observer.
So go and get infected.
surround yourself with inspiring things and an idea should come into your head!
Sam Said,
I’ve been designing a website amongst other design stuff for my company and whenever i hit a brick wall i just walk away and do another job. Take your mind off it – you never know the ideas might just come to you. Works for me.
R&KBen Said,
I just start writing about anything, stray thoughts, recipes, my views on what happened in the news, answer questions here on Yahoo, anything to loosen up the mind muscle.
brian h Said,
SCOTCH!! and alot of it>
Katie Said,
Well, it would help if we knew what you where writing about so we could help more. but, sit down at a table with a pencil or pen and a piece of paper. set a timer for 10 minuets, and start writing, don’t stop, just write what comes to mind. it could be the word bananas, just write it down. then when you are done, look at the paper and see if you could use anything.
best of luck!
greenseersika Said,
i pace and listen to music, it helps me get my creative juices flowing. basically do something that helps you relax and forget about it for a little while, it’ll come to you when you least suspect it.
kagnomi Said,
Just walk around, watch tv and read books(great source of ideas), relax, listen to music, and write the parts that are already solid in your head.
Marta S Said,
It happens to me from time to time. I have tried many things, but those who have worked better for me are:
- Dead lines: when I am under the pressure of a dead line, and am about to hit the date, somehow ideas and words flow out.
- Method: I take notes, use a board where I scrap a line or an idea that might work, I scrap a chronograph of events so I can have a line to follow. If I come out with a paragraph that might work or I think is good, I save it and try to work around it (what precedes it, follows it or sidelines it).
- Research: If I have a vague idea of what I want to do, I research heavily on the Internet. If I don’t have the slightest clue, I just try to work on something else. I tried the old going out for a walk or something like that in hopes to get some inspiration, but in the end it is just evasion and doesn’t work for me.
Deadlines and method, that doesn’t sound as much fun; but it works.
There is a saying in my country for little kids that are learning how to read, that goes: "The letters with blood they enter" (meaning how hard it is to learn how to read)… I add: "and with blood they flow out".
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This is the method I teach to students
1) Put the book aside and read – at least two books – Classics.
2) Brainstorm on paper – anything no matter how silly it sounds. Fill a notebook with ideas if you want – just come up with lots.
3) Write the ideas on file cards one per card. Sit down at a table and start shuffling them around trying to create a story from them. Keep moving them – dont be afraid for it to sound silly.
4) Make an outline from those cards when you find something interesting.
5) Try to write a very very short story from that outline. Then write several more very very short stories from the cards. See which one lends itself to a longer work
6) Start doing character studies and analysis – back to the file cards. Write down anything you know about your characters – adjectives, habits, appearance, likes and dislikes, occupation, age, anything. Look in magazines and catalogs and cut out pics that resemble the character as you see them in your mind.
7) Back to the table. Start pushing the character cards around – see who rubs who and how — Who likes who? Who hates who? Main character to main character – then main character to secondary character – then secondary character to secondary character. This will help you come up with subplots
9) Come up with a kick tail first sentece that will draw your readers into the story.
10) Start writing.
It works for my students. Just make sure you dont skip the two classics – that is the inspiration that unblocks and inspires you. If you are still blocked, move onto something else. I have about 4 books on disks – started but it just wasnt the right time to write them for me. One goes back to when my 20 yr old son was a baby. Maybe I will finish it one day, maybe not. So far the mood hasnt struck me. And it is a great idea – never been done. Im just not ready for it yet. No shame in leaving something aside.
Good luck. Pax – C.
it depends on what your trying to write but…
play music , watch a great movie, go people watching, visit a museum, read some great poetry….
basically be inspired.
A great philosopher (who’s name eludes me at the moment)said that true art ( art can be music, paintings, writing, photography) has the ability to INFECT it’s observer.
So go and get infected.
surround yourself with inspiring things and an idea should come into your head!
I’ve been designing a website amongst other design stuff for my company and whenever i hit a brick wall i just walk away and do another job. Take your mind off it – you never know the ideas might just come to you. Works for me.
I just start writing about anything, stray thoughts, recipes, my views on what happened in the news, answer questions here on Yahoo, anything to loosen up the mind muscle.
SCOTCH!! and alot of it>
Well, it would help if we knew what you where writing about so we could help more. but, sit down at a table with a pencil or pen and a piece of paper. set a timer for 10 minuets, and start writing, don’t stop, just write what comes to mind. it could be the word bananas, just write it down. then when you are done, look at the paper and see if you could use anything.
best of luck!
i pace and listen to music, it helps me get my creative juices flowing. basically do something that helps you relax and forget about it for a little while, it’ll come to you when you least suspect it.
Just walk around, watch tv and read books(great source of ideas), relax, listen to music, and write the parts that are already solid in your head.
It happens to me from time to time. I have tried many things, but those who have worked better for me are:
- Dead lines: when I am under the pressure of a dead line, and am about to hit the date, somehow ideas and words flow out.
- Method: I take notes, use a board where I scrap a line or an idea that might work, I scrap a chronograph of events so I can have a line to follow. If I come out with a paragraph that might work or I think is good, I save it and try to work around it (what precedes it, follows it or sidelines it).
- Research: If I have a vague idea of what I want to do, I research heavily on the Internet. If I don’t have the slightest clue, I just try to work on something else. I tried the old going out for a walk or something like that in hopes to get some inspiration, but in the end it is just evasion and doesn’t work for me.
Deadlines and method, that doesn’t sound as much fun; but it works.
There is a saying in my country for little kids that are learning how to read, that goes: "The letters with blood they enter" (meaning how hard it is to learn how to read)… I add: "and with blood they flow out".
Add A Comment