Sometimes when I'm trolling for links I find that nearly everything to be said about writing has been said. From newbie to pro we've all pretty much figured out the "rules" and when to break them. We know how to search and study the markets to see if our stories are a fit. And we know that the most important part of writing is to get our butts in the chair and work.
So you sit down, put your fingers on the keyboard and....the ideas have left the room. If that happens to you, this post by Penny Warner over The Lady Killers blog might help. http://theladykillers.typepad.com/the_lady_killers/2010/06/when-lightning-doesnt-strike.html
I've found that the local news is a good source. Just this morning a house almost caught fire when someone set fire to a bag of papers on the porch. The local police believe that it was just a prank by some local kids. One of several to be exact, pranks and kids.
Back in the Spring a skeleton was found hanging in a tree and it wasn't a Halloween decoration. It was the body of a man who police were looking to arrest. The charge? Alleged pedophile. My first thought wasn't suicide, especially since he went missing before hunting season and no one found his body in the woods.
And there was another skeleton found near the homes of two girls who went missing last year. Turns out it wasn't either of them, but a body dump of a young woman from another state. What are the odds of that?
There are stories everywhere, all you have to do is open your mind and let your imagination take control.
3 comments:
Open your mind and let your imagination take control - great advice, and that's what I do when I get hung up on something, but hopefully not in a tree.
Yes. And get under the skin of your characters.
Getting into your character's skin is great advice, Charles! Putting yourself in their shoes, you can feel the walls closing in, or how they're gasping for breath when being chased. But you definately don't want to hang in a tree to know how they feel, Oscar. :)
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