Where Ideas Come From

It's interesting to sit back and see where story ideas come from. I was with a friend at a local restaurant-bar last night discussing writing and the life of a writer among other things when the subject turn to ideas and where they come from and the fear that they will one day stop coming along. It's a natural fear I think most writer's experience at some point in their life, especially when the pressure of the everyday gets hard to handle.

I mentioned to her that on this past Fourth of July as I was waiting for the fireworks to begin, a story idea came to me, and me without paper and pen handy (I had left in the car) went over and over the idea in my head, trying to eek out more information from the hero and heroine that had arrived so unexpectedly. Not only was I able to figure out a little about who they were, but why they were there, and I learned that their story isn't the first that needs to be told (now that was a surprise), but the third, and will bloom into a series. She didn't seem convinced. So, I told her to look around at the patrons, there is a story possibility behind each person there tonight, it simply depends on the point of view you choose. Do you choose the bouncers at the door? Or the college guy with his friends? Or maybe one of the girls sitting nearby? Are they watching the game on the big screen or at the pool table? The story will be told, not only by you, but by your characters.

Will one of my characters rise from that night? Maybe. I do know that while we were sitting there, I figured out the inner workings of a secondary character who is turning out to be more important than even I realized. I can't wait to get back to my book.

Ideas, when they come to you, from where ever they come, need to be grabbed and held onto. Write them down and explore them. And if you can't finish it right then, because you have to focus on a different project, you at least have the basic information needed to start on it later.

Happy Writing! Happy Reading!

Exercise - Hero

Take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes to write about your hero.

Pantser vs. Plotter

A pantser is someone who writes by the seat of their pants, without a written outline.

A plotter is someone who has a written, nearly complete outline of major and usually minor plot point.

THere are varying degrees of both and everything in between and NO wrong way to write

Assignment 6

Describe, with as much detail and information you can the setting surrounding your story. (outer space - nebula galaxy - is fine, if that is all you know) Due Tuesday.

How I write --

I was recently asked to describe how I write -- so I thought I'd share my jumbled answer here.
----
I'm more pantser than plotter, but I adjust things for me. I hate lines, so I don't usually work within them. I start with an idea, usually a snippet of a scene with a couple of characters in it. While I'm writing the idea down, I write down any thing and everything that comes to mind. Usually on unlined paper all over the place, I'll put into the 30 day outline spread sheet later. I write without editing, whereever the characters and story take me. I do usually know how the story is going to end and one or two of the major events that will take place, but I not a whole lot beyond that. WHen I get stuck, I get out my wipe board and markers and will plot either from where I am to where I need to be or the reverse. Or I'll do a spider-brainstorm thing on it. My wipe board usually looks like a huge mess of colors. I'll write using the plot points I've come up with and continue on from there. I use the wipe board for sorting my characters personalities and backgrounds. About once a week or once every two weeks I'll input the information in the outline or personnel folders or both.

Where Ideas Come From

So, I was watching "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Andrew Lloyd Weber, and there is a scene where Jesus is led before Caifus (spelling bad today) and he is led away and in passing he sees Judas and he takes a minute and puts a hand on his chest and in that instant forgives him.

My idea... two brothers, they are young, twins, or possibly best friends, one is taken away by the police he is crying, reaching for his brother. The other one stays put until his brother is out of sight. The two grow up to be men, one has the "All-American" type childhood, the other has more scars and pain than even he knows what to do. One has guilt "blood on my hands" his whole life is driven to be worthy, to erase the blood from his hands, the other has resentment not at the brother, but the family or system or situation that caused the rift.


Ideas come from many different places and in the weirdest times. Like the middle of a movie, the shower, or during a boring car ride, or while listening to music. Write them down immediately. Write down everything that comes to mind, and what you were doing or listening to when the idea struck. The story of Jesus and Judas may have nothing to do with what will happen in the course of character and plot development, but then again, it might.

Later, we'll brainstorm these ideas.

Quote of the Day

Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck -- but, most of all, endurance. -- James Baldwin

Assignment 5

In preparation for Assignment 6, I want to know what you think setting is. How do YOU define it. What things or people would you consider as setting? What would you consider not part of setting?

Assignment 4

Several names really stand out for me along with impressions of when or where their from. I will limit myself to two, though.

Nari
23 - 26 years old,
Blue-Black hair, thick, shoulder-blade length
Bronze/Lt tan skin
Dark Eyes
warrior princess, a past that she is ashamed of, poor, street rat

Kayne
28 - 30
Lt. Brown hair, cropped
Green eyes that become blue when his emotions are strong
White, slightly bronze
Ideal looks, rich, "right side of the street"
Chief, warrior background

Assignment 3

The large room takes up nearly a third of the entire apartment. Sunlight, filtered by snow, and wind enter through the large windows void of curtains or blinds, bouncing off the eggshell white walls. Multiple cultures and eccentric beliefs are represented by the Jade and Teak Japanese wall hanging next the door warding off evil, the framed cross-stitched portrait of dragon stitching a septagram. A calender comparing men to weather reports and their unbelieibility hangs along side the portrait of an elf with an owl and moon in the background, framing a large wooden desk cramped with a flat screen monitor decorated with sticky-notes and pictures surrounded by speakers, CD's, the statue of a pewter wizard holding a crystal ball, photos of a young red-headed girl that will one day accept an leading actress oscar, an empty bottle of blackcherry flavored water sits next to toy figures of Legolas from the Lord of the Rings movies which stand in front of a 5X7 pictures titled storyteller. A large purple dragon looks down from atop his perch on a stack of books, the Synonym Finder, a dictionary, and a medical reference book among them, from the other side of the desk amid papers, printer, a recipe box, beaded braclet, a vase of brillent red silk roses covered with a thin film of dust. BBQ chips and the remainder of a container of chip dip sit on the table, the sharpness of which can still be felt on the tongue. Floss, fabric, CD's, zipdisks hover alongside a tin of fairy cards, a copy of Shakespeares hamlet, and a nearly empty Rainforest Cafe mug holding now cold, tea. The scent of which lingers in the air. THe room is a large rectangle, but decorated to represent a circle. A small tv and dvd player sit atop a small light oak colored corner unit with DVD's stacked in it's cabinets and on top of it, next to the tv. A wallhanging of cross-stiched birds and birdhouses sewn into green and tan calico hang over the old Magnovox. The wood unit, smooth to the touch, butts up against a pair of dented, black tall bookshelves covered with books, some sitting neatly in rows, some laying on top of the rows of books or in front of the books. Books covering history, science fiction, writing, fantasy, romance and its many subgenres, are intermixed wtih books on mythology, baby names, Native Americans, Atlases, Shakespeare, and Harry Potter. A steel gray, plastic speakers sit atop each bookshelf. Books and candle holders take up the remaining space on top of the bookcases. A tall black bottle of Unicorn Ale, once filled with Elven Mist covered in a thin film of dust, looks right at home next to iron courting candle, in front of the mixed, piles of fantasy, mystery, science fiction, and paranormal romance books. A tall, light oak wooden stero cabinet seperates the pair of bookcases, brased by scrapbooks, photoalbums, and National Geographic magazines. An inherited stero sits at the base of the cabinet, surrounded by rows and stacks of CD's. Behind the solid wood cabinets lay more magazines, books, papers, and notes. The bookcases wrap around to the wooden mission style futon covered with a blue, leaf covered fabric. A pair of black and white prints of a deserted city street hang above the futon, partially covered with files, partial stories, candles, and CD's. A tall lamp at the other end sits between the video stand, a basket overflowing with cross-stitch patterns, floss, fabric, completed and partially completed projects, and the futon. An pub stytle sits between stacks of movies, the window and the door. Above it on the wall is another striking photo of the young girl next to a black and white print of a stone table and benches in a circular stand of trees. Two empty, snowmen cookie cars complete the eccentric look. The peaceful silence is broken by the background the sounds of the movie "The Princess Bride" are interrupted by babytalk and active imaginations.

Writer's Block

It's the worse feeling in the world. The voices in your head are still and quiet. You sit and stare at a blank page, not knowing how to begin, where to go. Or worse, you have three lines on the page and can go absolutely no farther. And in the back of your mind you ask yourself what if I can never write again? What if I'm a fraud? Writer's block can be the scariest thing in the world for a writer. At the height of creativity you believe it'll never happen to you. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

WHen it me hit this past month, it was unexpected and I was unprepared for it. I sat there staring at my screen. It read "Chapter 4" and

Loden glanced at Wolf and Ash.

Hurry Felan! Our help is needed.

Where to?

Loden scanned the ground, and saw a flash of orange-red flame and red scales hidden beneath the green of the trees. “There!” He shouted, pointing.

“Doesn’t sound good Loden!” Ash called out.

“Not in the slightest.

And there I sat. Staring. Music didn't help. Changing the music didn't help. Movies didn't help. School didn't help. I couldn't work on a different project. I couldn't do anything. Then I took out my wipe board from behind the door where it was buried. Cleaned it off and asked myself a loaded question.

"What needs to happen in this chapter?"

My thought process went something like this... (this was written out on the board somewhat randomly and then connected with arrows)

Caelan's (heroine) POV NOT Loden (Hero)

Trap
- elf
- dragon
- "Stupid Riders"

Loden doesn't believe Caelan is the one he seeks

Loden/Ash/Wolf good arial fighters suck on the ground

Wolf is gravely injured
- Caelan saves him
- Wolf to Loden "It is mortal brother"
- Caelan "Bloody fool."

With that I could start writing again. Those few notes, the most important of which was realizing whose point of view (POV) I was telling the story from, got me through the first 10 pages of chapter 4.

So when I got stuck again, I turned to my wipe board, erased everything and started again. Starting from where I left off and where I needed to be.

It went something like this:

Healing pools (at one end) and Loden and Caelan alone (at the other end) and then filled in between.

Caelan recovers

Loden/Caelan introductions

Deathmark discussion

She refuses to remove it, thinks he's elitist, arrogant, egotistical "Loden, a skilled fighter doesn't equal good blood or a heart"

She needs to go to the Eastern Oracle

Battle at 'Trollic' Bridge


Loden doesn't want to leave with the mark on, not safe without Ash/Wolf. Loden doesn't think he deserves the mark, thinks she stubborn

Ash/Wolf go home - needed there

Romantic BBM -- She removes the mark and leaves

Liam wants redemption "Am I not redeemable?"

Will this help me move on... possibly. It may take another round on the wipe board for some transitions, but a good movie and music or a bubble bath and a good book might work too.

To write or not to write

“If you want to write fiction, the best thing you can do is take two aspirins, lie down in a dark room, and wait for the feeling to pass. If it persists, you probably ought to write a novel.”
--Lawrence Block, Writing the Novel From Plot to Print

Writing assignment 4

Kaelyn: Long, blonde hair. Big, expressive, blue eyes. About 5'6". Very popular. Clothing style is Hollister, American Eagle, Aeropostale, etc. Talented. Prep and cheerleader. Lives in a small town somewhere and wants to leave. About 16. The kind of girl who's popular and perfect in everything (Or so it seems). The kind you can't help but be jealous of. Goes to the only high school in town.

Logan: Dark, Brown hair. Kinda long. Wears it covering one eye. Brown eyes. About 5'11" or 6'. Clothing style is Hot topic. Skateboarder. Lives in a big city. About 15 or 16. Doesn't get along with his parents at all, although they try to make him happy. Bit of a rebel. Kind of guy most girls are interested in but he doesn't care. Goes to a private school and doesn't like it.

Assignment 4

Look over your character name lists. Which names jump out at you? Start thinking about them. What do they look like? Where do they live? When do they live? Who are they close to?

On two seperate sheets of paper (or in two documents) put one name in each document or sheet of paper (if you have more than two, use as many as you need). Jot down what ever comes to mind about each person.

This isn't due until Thursday.

Charecters

They yell, they scream, they have temper tantrums that rival two year olds, they are loud, noisy, obnoxious, and extremely arrogant -- and that is on a good day.

The toughest part of writing, and one of the most important is your characters. The best plot (story) in the world isn't going to go anywhere if the characters are flat. 3-dimensional characters are hard to master. You have to be willing to not only put your characters through hell in the story, but they have to been through hell before the story even starts.

Say your character is Leonardo DiCaprio, if his childhood is a protective bubble of joy in an upper middle class home, he is less impressive as a character and hero than see he rose from absolute poverty, dealt with the death of a loved one, and was the one person every bully in school picked on -- teasing him mercilessly. (I don't know what his life was like, I'm pulling this out of thin air. :) I'm a writer, it's my job. :) )

Or look at Harry Potter. Harry Potter would be far less interesting, would have less growth, and might be unable to do some of the things he does if his past resembled Ron's -- average wizard family and loved by his family, his own parents. Even if the Dursely's had loved him, his outlook on life would be very different. If they had fretted and fawned over him instead of turning him into a boy version of Cinderella, he might have declined Haggred's invitation to go to Hogwarts. He certainly wouldn't have battled Voldemort.

What makes characters endearing to us as readers, is not just their growth and heroism, but their flaws and the similarities that they bare to us.

Writing assignment 3

Sight: When I look straight foward I see a three quarter wall (That's what my mom said it was.). On top of it are some CD's, puzzles, a deck of cards, a CD player and some other miscellaneous stuff. On the floor, I see my cat's food and water dish. To my right, I see the entrance to the living room. In the entrance, there are a couple folding, arm chairs (like the kind you take camping.), and a laundry basket with some stuff in it. I see a sliding glass door that leads to the back patio and my mom's "desk." Her "desk" is a five or six foot long folding table. She has her two computers set up on it, some books, and papers, a Rolodex, a phone, her water cup, a blue, transparent mug woith tea in it and some pens and pencils. On the floor is the shredder, and a couple of boxes with school stuff. Underneath my mom's desk is the printer still in it's box, some CD cases, a package of printer paper, and ink cartridges for the printer. At the moment, my mom is sitting in her chair at the desk, my brother is wandering around the room and my cat is eating. To my left is the kitchen. On the counter is papers, the toaster, a water jug, pool supplies, the crock-pot that my mom is making dinner in, my headphones, my notebook that Julie sent me, a pocketknife that is so dull it cant break skin, a bag of Frosted Flakes cereal, three candles, a bag of potatos, a pumpkin, a couple rolls of paper towels, a case of Dr. Pepper, a plate with Christmas candy on it, a bottle of syrup, a pencil sharpener, a bag of sugar, a bottle of Windex, and a bottle of Clorox.
Smell: I can smell the faint scent of dinner cooking. It smells of Lipton Onion Soup Mix.
Touch: The only thing I am touching at the moment is my keyboard. And it feels like a keyboard.
Hearing: I can hear my mom talking on the phone. My brother is watching the television. I can hear my keyboard when I type.
Taste: I have no taste at the moment.

This took me forever. But it was fun.

Assignment 3

Using all five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, hearing, taste) describe the room you are sitting in.

Due Thursday Night.

Character Tips

These are good tips provided byJOhn WArner in his book == Fondling Your Muse

1. The best characters are based on your own life and experiences -- MYTH . While your characters may possess one or two characteristics that are yours or similar -- make it up -- just make it real.

2. Your characters have to be likable --MYTH-- They have to be interesting and have a shape -- round -- 3D -- real. MAke them unique and allow them to be flawed. No one likes a perfect character -- or at least they won't be memorable.

(this is mine)
Remember that your characters include the hero, the heroine, the villain or villains, and a host of secondary support characters -- much like a movie. EVERY character must be real and EVERY character thinks the book is about them, whether it is or not.

Tips for Writers

1. Write every day. Without fail.
2. Have unshakeable, undeniable faith in yourself and your career as a writer. (it's confidence, not arrogance, therefore you can't act like a jerk)
3. Find out who or what your muse is, listen to it occassionally.
4. Accept critism and rejection, while trying to remember that it's not a personal attack.

Writing Assignment #2 -- Onilyn

Here are my lists --

Heroines
Nari
Keely
Annalise
Elena/Alena
Moya
Moira
Brett


Heroes
Chase
Jonah
Jarek
Kayne
Kavi
Ronan
Breck


This is sometimes easy for me, and sometimes not. Depends on who is screaming at me. :)

Writing Assignment 2

Names.
Boys:
1. Edward (Not for my dad though.)
2. Emmett
3. Jasper
4. Kaden
5. Cody
6. Aiden
7. Ryan
8. Evan
9. Logan

Girls:
1. Kaelyn
2. Isabella (or Bella)
3. Rosalie
4. Lily
5. Ariel
6. Ava
7. Kylie

I could have come up with hundreds of names if I had more time. I like using babynames.com to find names. It's fun! I would have loved to keep going on this assignment. I worked for about seven minutes and those are the names I found on babynames.com or I like for one reason or another.

Assignment # 2

Set your timer for 8 minutes. In your journal, list at least 4 names (male or female or both) that MAY represent a character you want to get to know and develop. For now start with just the first name, unless a last name comes to you. But it's entirely possible that their culture has only one name. I will do the same.

Possible name sources are:

www.babynames.com

baby name books
newspapers
overheard
news/tv programs
telephone books
obituaries

Grand Opening

The object of this blog is so that we have a safe place to post our exercises, comments, and anything else we can think of. As of now, this blog is only opened to three people, if and when it becomes open to others will be determined by a group decision based on the comfort level of all those participants. Feel free to post questions and even challenges here also.