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Hi all,
I used to write a bit a quite a number of years ago, but eventually stopped due to near constant writers block. I am trying my hand again, but I still feel a bit rusty and am having a little trouble restarting. Can anyone give me some advice on starting new stories? Finding a spark of inspiration to kick start a new narrative?
Thanks
Lisa.
I know where you have been. I
I know where you have been. I had a block that lasted nigh upon a year. Suddenly I started thinking of plots again.
Think of an everyday situation.
For example,
You are standing in the entrance of a skyscraper waiting for a lift. Suddenly something crashes into the back of your legs. You turn round and .....
I used this sort opening for a story (probably to be posted here in Jan 2014). But the permutations after the ..... are virtually endless. Let the what if and your own fantasy take over.
The result may not be fit for publiction but it might get your creative juices going again.
I'm thinking of reviewing and
I'm thinking of reviewing and updating some of my old stories over on FM first. I'm not so keen on some of my old work now (although I still have a hard time reading back through anything i have written), so I may pull some down for rewrites, or just pull them down and put them in an 'ideas box' for future reference.
One of my tricks is...
to write down your titles of all your ideas for a story then get each on it's own screen/page and just start typing trying to get a grip on one of them. I do a lot of serials and when I'm blocked I do that with a group of next chapters to be.
If you're anything like me you'll stat fixating or focusing on one of them.
*Great Big Hugs*
Bailey Summers
A potential source...
Here on BCTS there is a forum section called Writers' Challenge, and you'll find plenty of ideas there, especially in the posts by Rasufelle.
Kaleigh
Thanks for all the responses
Thanks for all the responses and feedback. I'm currently putting my hand back to my old stories, putting new images to them (i originally wrote them illustrated) where the old images are either really bad quality gifs or just plain missing. I'm also giving the stories an edit here and there, changing bits I am no longer happy with, cutting a bit, adding a bit.
It seems to be getting my imagination percolating a bit already :-). There's a few recurring characters in some of my stories that I remember I intended to write a 'prequel' about but never got around to it. So my 'writer's cuts' will appear here before long and then maybe new stories to follow.
Lisa
Great Your Back
At this moment in time I have a folder on my computer full of Ideas that jumped out at me while I am reading the news of just musing. I write a paragraph or so sometimes just dialog from a conversation I over hear at Starbucks.
My children are great inspirations with the funny rib splitting things they say to one another. Cartoons, poorly worded commercials, what ever catches your attentions. I love it when I see a sign and my reading is off in left field. My mind bogies and tells me that's not right creating a play on words.
All sorts of stuff ends up there and I place the better ones in there own file complete with a working title. When I run out of stuff to read on BCTS I go and look at this to see if I get any more inspiration. I also then have a file to put any research I find that I need for writing the story. The biggest thing do not sweat things. Being uptight and over indulging our fears closes down our creativity. We just start to run away from our fears. I would not write for years until Bailey Summers pushed me to post something and my world has not been the same ever since. And that is a good thing.
huggles
Michele
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
Songs/Music?
The only story I've managed to finish and post so far was basically ripped wholesale from the music video to a song, and my aborted attempt at last year's "One Winter's Eve" Christmas contest was inspired by the lyrics to another one.
Anyway, I can't really suggest going as far as I did on my story, but you could certainly use a song or lyric that you enjoy as a muse or story starter.
My story is progressing well
My story is progressing well now. I've just finished up chapter 6, but I keep on putting off posting, saying I'll finish it first, but it's looking to be a long one lol. Maybe I should just bite the bullet.