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 23 May 2010

Writers' Digest, October 2004, pages 26 to 33, has a collection of short "nuggets of wisdom" related to getting published. Maria Schneider is the author of the compilation. Take a deep breath, and here we go:

"Some book publishers do ask for queries first, but most want a query plus sample chapters and an outline or, occasionally, the complete manuscript. Include the essentials about yourself -- name, address, phone number and publishing experience. And only the personal information related to your story." 2004 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market

I wonder if they included this because they are, after all, Writers Digest? Personally, I'd recommend checking what the guidelines are, and following those. But the notion that you don't need to go overboard is a good one. Tell them what's really relevant, and leave it alone.

Original Posting 13 July 2009

Writers' Digest, October 2004, pages 26 to 33, has a collection of short "nuggets of wisdom" related to getting published. Maria Schneider is the author of the compilation. Take a deep breath, and here we go:

"Remember that verbs are power words. Adjectives are weaker words that can dress up your work but can also interfere with the smoothness of the writing. Make sure each adverb you use is essential. Ask yourself if you can eliminate the need for the adverb by choosing a different, stronger verb." Bob Mayer

Adverbs? That would be the "ly" words, such as "he wrote smoothly?" It seems to me that part of the trick here is noticing that we often add add adverbs instead of really describing things. If we've set the scene properly, described the characters well, and shown the reader what's going on in this scene -- we don't really need to say, "Joe stomped angrily across the room." The reader knows what Joe was feeling, so all we need to say is, "Joe stomped across the room." The impulse to add that adverb either comes from feeling that we can't quite trust the reader to figure it out or perhaps knowing that we haven't really done the description. Trust the reader. Do go back and doublecheck that you've done the foreshadowing and the description needed to make sure that the reader knows what's happening, then you can use simple verbs.

Nouns and verbs. The meat and potatoes in the writer's meal? Some spices, a little pepper, some garlic, but by and large, nouns and verbs. Although I have to admit, I do like a salad and maybe some dessert, too :-)

Original posting 9 February 2009

Mix-And-Match

Do you remember the old placemat games in family restaurants like Big Boy? This is almost like that...

Writers Digest, March 2006, page 11 has this handy little quiz. Just match up the authors with their writing advice. No fair googling!

Let's start with the list of writers:

1. Mark Twain
2. W. Somerset Maugham
3. Kurt Vonnegut
4. Elmore Leonard
5. Jan Burke

And now, the writing advice:

A. "There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."
B. "Don't write what the reader will skip over anyhow."
C. "As to the adjective, when in doubt strike it out."
D. "Take a famous writer to bed."
E. "Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for."

Go ahead. Which writer goes with which advice? Oh, and you might want to think about the advice, too.

After all, we all know the right rules for writing a novel -- don't we? And leaving out the boring bits let you concentrate on the good stuff, right? Those little adjectives sneak in whenever we give them a chance, don't they? And when you read good fiction and study at night, it helps (what did you think it meant?) And of course, last but not least, the reader really wants a hero, someone that they feel good about.

Now who said what?

Answers? You want answers? Well, they really should be upside down. That's the way they did it on the placemats and in Writer's Digest. But since I can't figure out how to turn your screen upside down, here they are: 1, C. 2, A. 3, E. 4, B. and 5, D.

Now can we have a maze, too? Or maybe a coloring picture? And fried mushrooms and root beer, 'cause I really like them. :-)

I'm not sure why, but recently I woke up thinking, "A foolish consistency may be the hobgoblin of small minds, but favoring inconsistency is surely the mark of a lazy mind."

Today's quick writing exercise: Take a well known aphorism, quote, or phrase, and add a bit of commentary. Here, I'll even toss in a list of quotes:

1. "Listen; there's a hell of a good universe next door: let's go." e.e. cummings
2. "Knowledge can be communicated, but wisdom cannot. A man can find it, he can live it, he can be filled and sustained by it, but he cannot utter or teach it." Hermann Hesse
3. "There cannot be greater rudeness than to interrupt another in the current of his discourse." John Locke
4. "A woman is like a tea bag -- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt
5. "You can lead a man to Congress, but you can't make him think." Milton Berle
6. "I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make my dreams come true." Walt Disney
7. "The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis." Dante Alighieri
8. "Doubts are more cruel than the worst of truths." Moliere
9. "It is worse still to be ignorant of your ignorance." St. Jerome
10. "No amount of time and erase the memory of a good cat and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch." Leo Buscaglia

Take the whole thing, take a part - and give it a twist.

And now I'll go get morning tea.