The Place For My Writers Notes

Original Posting 22 Jan 2012

Okay. Quick ways to get an idea for your very own 6x6 story (or any other story, for that matter).

1. Dictionary!

Almost every online dictionary offers a "word of the day" which can be helpful. For example, over here http://dictionary.reference.com/ they were giving out remora when I wrote this (although the meaning -- an obstacle, hindrance, or obstruction? Wait, I thought a remora was a fish that went with a shark... later! :-) But one word doth not a story make, right? Well...

Go over here http://www.ypass.net/misc/dictionary/index.php?random=1 and you can get a random word. Refresh the page, and you get another one. Plus, you can select verbs and nouns, for example. So you might select a noun, a verb, and another noun -- filling out the pattern noun-verb-noun to make a sentence. E.g. I got "feather ball", "work", and "Norfolk jacket" so I might have a sentence like "The feather ball worked over the Norfolk jacket." Or maybe against? Anyway, you get the idea.

And best of all, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Dictionary.htm gives you a list of several words, all at once! The start of the list I got was "city, driveway, now, sprint, read, daisy, surveillance, and doily" -- imagine trying to use those in a story? Or just take the five across the top -- homeland, liking, consult, holland, dish.

Anyway, random words from a dictionary sometimes can be the tinder where the fire starts. So pick your words and link them up!

2. Pictures. Nope, dictionaries aren't going to do it? How about pictures? If you google "random pictures" there are sites out there devoted to just this! Although most of them seem to be aimed at funny pictures. Or you could toss something into the google image search and see what you find there. Take a look at CNN -- the Daily Snapshop over here
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/06/travel/daily-snapshot/index.html?hpt=hp_bn3 which is actually 7 pictures -- pick one, and tell us what's going on there.

3. Jokes. Oh, did you hear the one about... Yipes! I did a search for jokes, and everybody and their brother seems to have a joke list. However, the first ones I looked at... well, maybe my idea of humor isn't quite what they have? Anyway, yes, if you can find a list of jokes that makes you laugh, you might consider using that as a seed for a story! Just don't yuck it up, okay?

4. Urban Legends. Our friend Snopes over here http://www.snopes.com/ has more urban legends than anyone could read. But hit the randomizer, or the Hot 25, and see if you get inspired. What if... there was some truth in that legend?

5. Plots. Take a look at 20 Master Plots (psst? Try this list, if you like http://writercises.livejournal.com/47510.html ). Or any of the other wonderful lists of plots -- quest, revenge, love, adenture, one against the odds? Or do you prefer journey and return, betrayal and revenge, boy meets girl, overcoming opposition, rescuing the victim, overcoming monsters, finding treasure, sin and redemption, impersonation, comdey, and come to realize? Or... pick a framework or list of plots, and consider doing one. Or part of one? Now, add characters and setting, and write!

6. Quotes. This will take some work. First, go somewhere like http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 and take a look at a collection of say 10 random quotes. Pick 3. Now, write your story around those philosophical concepts, those jokes in wordy disguise, those realizations. The hard part here is that random quotes, while typically amusing and witty, often don't exactly suggest characters, scenes, actions, and all that directly. So you will have to work a bit more to wring the story out of the quotes, but... You can do it!

Okay? Some seeds to sprinkle into your 6x6 garden. Then urge them to grow!

and WRITE!

Original posting 8 Jan 2008

Hey, y'all having fun?

I'll admit, I am. I have my little list of ideas, I've picked one and started scratching out notes, and been reminded of a couple of things.

One is a generic approach to getting work done that someone showed me some time ago. Pretty simple really, with four steps.

Step 1. Make a list of ideas. This is the brainstorming part, where you poke around in various places, maybe take a walk through a toy store, pick some random words, or otherwise stoke the furnaces of your imagination. And make a list of possible ideas. Set yourself a quota, and push to get as many as possible. (I also find it useful to just keep adding to the list as I wander through life, bumping into stuff.)

Step 2. Selection. Here is where you pick through the ideas from the list, setting aside those that aren't quite ripe, don't have the oomph for what you want right now, and so forth. Given the realities of writing, you probably need to pick one to work on right now. Doesn't have to be the idea to end all ideas, just something for now.

Step 3. Plan. Take that idea and stretch it out. For a short story, think about characters, setting, scenes, plot. You might use the checklist of questions . . . what checklist? Oh, here's one at
http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/47919.html

Background

1. Where are we?  (setting)
2. Who is involved?  (characters, strengths, flaws)
3. Where are they headed? (goals, motives)
4. What stops or blocks them? (obstacle(s))
5. What are they going to do about it? (plans to overcome problems)
   
   Story
   
   
6. What hook(s) or bait for the reader will I use? (where start)
   What story question do I pose for the reader?
7. What backfill is needed? (background that needs to be filled in)
8. What buildup do I want?  (scenes)
9. What is the climax?
   - how does the character change? (overcome weakness, etc.)
   - how is the plot resolved? (overcome problems and achieve goals)
   - What answer does the reader get to the story question?
   
   Higher Level
   
   
10. What purpose, moral, or theme am I writing about?

This step is kind of like outlining and such - do what works for you. But I find some time scribbling little notes before I start writing actually helps me.

And then,

Step 4. Write! Sit down, put words down, try to capture that festival hall in your mind through the words. Don't be afraid to start with the ending, then work backwards, or otherwise write things out of order. And most important, don't fret about trying to think it all through, or have the perfect bits and pieces to start with - get something down, then polish and revise.

Simple, right?

So I hope everyone is having fun!

[When is Saturday again? Eeek - only three more days, four if you count today? That's almost tomorrow! Back to work, oh ye of the easily distracted.]

tink again!

[psst? If you came in late, we're in the first week of a six week exercise called 6x6. Simple notion - start writing a story on Sunday, and post it by Saturday night. 300 to 5,000 words. And then do it again. And again. 6 times. So probably on Saturday, or perhaps before that if some of us get in a rush, you'll see some stories posted out here. And maybe along the way, some reflections about the process? Or at least observations about what kind of craziness it takes to do this? :-]