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Generating Writing Ideas
When you sit down to write, where do all the ideas go?
Especially the ones you thought of only 15 minutes before. They
went to Idea Land. Sometimes they will return, and sometimes
they won't, so you need to learn how to drum up more writing
ideas.
One good way is to think of a dramatic
scene:
- Two ice skaters on a lake - one falls through the ice
and drowns
- Someone is kidnapped and they left a clue on
purpose
- The janitor at school wins a lottery ticket. What
happens to him?
- Someone hacks into a computer and steals the owner's
identity
- A mother and child are separated in a shopping
mall
- A teenager breaks into the same house for the third
time, but the owner has rigged a shotgun
Ideas are all around you in real life. Read the newspapers.
Listen to the news. Search old newspapers, rename the people,
and lift out some of the information to make your own story.
You could sit in a restaurant and eavesdrop on other people.
Imagine all sorts of things according to what you hear. Or
stand in a crowd and do nothing but listen. Life is full of
weird things.
Look at any object - a house, semi-truck, car, dog, child,
bridge, etc., and ask the six questions: Who? What? When?
Where? Why? How? Example: Who is that person, when did they get
to that place and why? Where is that truck going and what will
happen along the way? What is the name of that bridge? Why does
it carry that name?
All of these things can trigger ideas in your imagination. Some
of your best ideas will come from real life. Don't make the
mistake of copying private circumstances into a story. That's a
good way to get sued, but you can take circumstances from three
or four people and mix them up until they give you a story.
(And then you can be sued by three or four people. Nah. Just
kidding.) When you use circumstances in someone's life,
disguise them well and you will have no fears.
Here's something I read on the net recently - look at a piece
of furniture and imagine that one piece of furniture is in a
house, hundreds of miles away. Now furnish the house however
you like; fill it with occupants, landscape the yard, and focus
a story on the house or the people.
You can come up with good ideas from writing prompts, too. For
example: Three men are surviving in a life raft. Land is still
three days away and even with rationing, there is only enough
water for one man. What happens? When you think of the answer,
ask yourself "What if?". That will expand your mind to all the
various possibilities.
And when you get the idea you want, run with it! Sit down to
the keyboard and type and type and type. Do not edit until your
ideas run out. If you can't write at that moment, take brief
notes so you don't lose the thought.
by Deborah Owen - 11th November 2008
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Ms. Deb is the CEO and Founder of Creative Writing Institute.
As a non-profit organization and the first fully mentored
writing school on the net, CWI offer can offer writing classes
at a 40% discount. Drop in and see for yourself: http://www.creativewritinginstitute.com
Source: http://creativewriter.me.uk
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