Little Bits of Inspiration #1 - A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

When you're a writer, one of the most thrilling moments you can find yourself in is when you're in your "madman" phase*, writing away, seeing the scenes in your head and getting them down on paper, the words coming so fast that your fingers can't even keep up. It's like watching a movie or TV show, being taken along for a ride, it's fun and makes you feel really good about yourself. If only all writing could be like this....

Fan Fiction as an Exercise

One of the ways that I got into more hard-core writing (setting deadlines for myself, plotting in my head all day long, finding myself excited about getting home from school to write) was Fan Fiction. I honestly cannot remember the last time I read a piece of fan fiction, though the last piece I wrote, I remember, was over ten years ago (the summer before college started), a Harry Potter Fan Fic, all about what if Wizardry was just in Harry’s head. But I digress, while I no longer have a need or even a slight desire to write/read fan fiction (and there is part of me that shuns that part of my existence because I grappled with the morality of stealing other people’s characters), I still think it’s a very valuable exercise for beginning writers.

Always Remember.

I am sorry it has taken me until nearly midnight this evening to post this, it’s sort of off the cuff, and not really much to do with writing, I just wanted to say something regarding September 11.

On on the way to work this morning I heard a 9-11 tribute on the radio where everyone was talking about where they were when it happened and it got me to thinking. We all say “Always Remember,” and we all will remember where we were when we heard the news, and the events of that day to follow. It made me think back as well. I’d like, if you have the time, for you to post your story in a comment on this post. No matter how simple the story is, I’m interested in hearing, even if it’s just a few words of where you where, share. 

Listening To Your Novel (or Having a Conversation by Yourself)

Want to feel crazy? Become a writer. I frequently have conversations with “myself” aloud or on paper. For this entry, I’m going to talk a little about these conversations we writers have aloud.

Get to Know Your Characters

When you’re writing a novel (or short story) it’s really important that you know your characters very well. This goes for your protagonist(s), as well as the supporting cast. You need to know how your character would react to a given situation. You need to know the thoughts that would go through that character’s head. You need to know that character as you know yourself.

Spending the time before you begin writing really getting to know your characters will make your job later much easier.

Here are three of the exercises that I sometimes use when I get stuck.