It’s been a while since we did any writing prompts, so I thought it would be fun to do a few.
Here are a couple story starters as well.
While we’re at it, let’s get outside and do some writing. No need to stay couped us, is there?
Originally uploaded by lowjumpingfrog
Sometimes I need a little boost in the creativity department, and I thought this would be a fun post that didn’t involve tricking anyone.
Here are a few opening lines to play around with.
Since I’ve been sick, I’ve been struggling to pull myself back onto schedule. My creativity feels like it’s at an all-time low. It’s amazing how much physically feeling rotten has affected my writing.
So, here are a few tips I’ve come up with to help.
If you’re struggling to find that creative spark, then I hope these tips help you. They’ve helped me over the last week!
…when you don’t know what to write about.
We’ve all had those times when we’re feeling particularly uninspired. When I’m under stress, my creativity seems to dry up. Whether it’s fiction or blogging or something else, it’s tough to find that inspiration again.
Here are some tips you might find useful — I do.
Blogging
Fiction
What creativity tricks do you use when you’re stuck? It happens to us all, so share!
If you’ve been blogging for any length of time, you’ve probably had moments when you wondered what in the world to write about next. Even the most creative, prolific writer will have days when the idea well runs dry, but it needn’t stay dry.
What tips do you have for finding blogging topics? List them here in the comments.
I don’t know about you, but I get inspired by all sorts of things, many of them downright weird.
I love to listen to people talk. I overheard one of my coworkers the other day, “It’s like having sex on a bicycle. You never forget.” As my husband put it, “That’s f-ed up. And down. And up. And down….” I bet you can get a story out of that.
Or the quote that kept running through my head last week. “This is my blog. There are many like it, but this one is mine.” Any fans of Full Metal Jacket out there? My husband loves the movie, which means I love the movie (whether I really do or not). Actually it’s pretty good, when I’m in the mood for that sort of thing.
Sometimes I think about the people I’ve known, the stories I tell. Like the time the dog tore out the arm of the couch when I was in the bathroom. Or the neighbor who tormented her, with complete disregard for his own safety. He once put his face only a couple inches from hers while I had her out on the leash.He didn’t seem to mind that I could barely hold her, or that she was snarling and completely enraged by his teasing. What an idiot he was!
Or how about the coworker who married a woman he’d seen in person off and on for a week; she worked at a resort where he was staying. After a few phone calls, he married her and set about trying to get her in the country. I couldn’t help but wonder about that.
Or my grandmother, the mother of nine children, about twenty years from oldest to youngest. And she happened to be one of the most patient people I’ve ever known. I guess she had to be.
Or our family friend, who totaled her husband’s car because she was sick of his drinking. Did I mention she used a hammer to total it? He sat in the house and watched, too afraid to try to stop her. I wouldn’t have tried to stop her either!
I bet you’ve got some stories that would make great stories as well.
How many of you have ever used dreams, whether yours or someone else’s, as inspiration for a story idea?
I sometimes have very vivid dreams, and I do use them as the germ of an idea for a story. I’ve been known to use my husband’s dreams too; he tends to dream spooky stuff! In fact, I’m working on a story right now that was inspired by one of his dreams.
Where do you get your writing inspiration?
I’ve been thinking about being creative, and about what makes us creative, or want to be. I’m sure you know people who are extremely creative. I know I do, both in my personal and online life. I’m blown away sometimes by what I see other people doing; it makes me feel positively inadequate, I can tell you.
Of course, creativity comes in all forms. Most people tend to think of it in an “artsy” way, and I do as well sometimes. For me, it’s writing primarily, but it’s also knitting. It’s putting together a good story, weaving characters and plot together to make something that others will enjoy. Or it might be combining color and pattern to make something functional and beautiful that others can use and appreciate.
My day job doesn’t have anything to do with either of those; I’m a programmer. However, finding an elegant solution to a problem is creative too.
So, what makes a person creative, or not? I have a bit of a theory about how creativity works for me.
Being able to approach life creatively, whether it’s work, home or a creative pursuit, is a talent to be fostered and appreciated. Let’s do one thing this week differently, and more creatively, shall we?
…writing, that is.
I’ve been thinking about family stories and writing, and that led me, of course, to thinking about growing up. I was thinking about the first time I can really remember writing a story. I may have written before this, but if I did, I can’t remember. I know that this is the first time I really got into the “zone.” I saw and felt and experienced the story as I wrote it. I’m still a bit awed by the feeling even now. When I’m lucky enough for it to happen to me, it’s almost as if I’m channeling the story. Plots twist, characters misbehave, and the book takes on a life all its own. The result can be chaotic, but it’s also far more creative and surprising than I could create by planning it out.
I wrote my first story when I was in third grade, so I would have been eight years old. We were writing stories for school, and I had just read Call of the Wild. I sat down in my room, using the seat of one of our kitchen chairs for a desk, and started writing. My room was chilly, and I remember wrapping a little blanket around me as I worked.
My story was about a mother and child who are trapped in the wilderness in a blizzard with hungry, ferocious wolves circling outside. I can’t remember how it ended, but I still remember seeing the scene in my mind. Gray figures of the wolves paced against the white expanse of snow while the mother and child huddled inside the cabin, sneaking peeks through a cracked door.
I’m not sure how long it took, but my feet had gone to sleep by the time I’d finished, and I’d filled more pages than I had ever expected to. I remember the feeling of satisfaction when I finished the story, and how proud I was of it. I’m not sure if I realized it then, but I think that moment did more to make me want to write than anything else I can think of.
I suppose that’s why I write today. It can be difficult to feel a relationship with readers when I spend months working on a novel that no one but me has read. I plan, and hope, that others will one day read and enjoy it too, but the writing process can be quite lonely. The act of writing, of creating, of discovering the story is what keeps me at it.
What keeps you writing?
This is an interesting article, particularly if you’re interested in creating alien races. People in the Netherlands are growing taller (six feet one is the average for men). The article points out that it’s probably because they lead healthier lives and have better nutrition.
When I read about alien races, I like to understand why they’re different from humans. Evolution selects the fittest, so if someone is taller, shorter, has four arms or knees that bend backwards, there has to be an evolutionary explanation. In short, their design must fit their environment or be explained by their environment. Otherwise, it’s just a neat anomaly that’s likely to bug the reader. I Know it bugs the heck out of me.