Creative Writing Spark

To go along with the last entry, I've decided to periodically give you premises of my own to help you generate story ideas. On that note, the first premise is:

While house sitting for friends, you discover something unexpected on their property.

The first sentence could go something like:

"I couldn't believe my eyes..."

Feel free to post a comment letting me know what you think of this new feature, and telling me how it helped (or didn't help) your writing!

On the Premises

Some time ago, I wrote about using starter sentences to spark writing ideas. I recently ran across On the Premises, an online magazine devoted to a particular writing contest.

How does it work? Several times a year, On the Premises opens a contest to stories based on a story premise…supplied, of course, by their magazine. The premise for the current contest is:

THE PLAN

One or more characters have a plan. They think it's a good plan. Are they right? That's up to you, but whether the plan is brilliant, stupid, or anywhere in-between, something goes terribly wrong when the characters try to execute it.

Even if you don’t enter the contest, imagine the possibilities for using that premise to spark your own writing. Your story could be about a bank robbery, a wedding proposal, a surprise party or a battle. Think of anything that requires a plan, and write about it. Of course, I do urge you to enter the contest if you write a story based on their premise…the deadline isn’t until September 30, and it offers a cash prize, a chance to be published and the chance at a critique if they reject your story. (Yes, they actually critique some rejected stories, a valuable service few magazines offer these days.)

If you are interested in their contest, by the way, here’s some more info.

Write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long that clearly uses the premise.

Deadline: September 30, 2009, 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

Prizes: 1st - $140, 2nd - $100, 3rd - $70,

Honorable Mention - $25.

All payments in US dollars.

Between zero and three honorable mentions will be published.

No that you have another story idea, go forth and write!

Are You Limiting Your Writing Creativity?

Creative Writing Secrets - 7 Ways You Limit Your Creative Writing Potential Without Even Knowing It
By Dan Goodwin

All of us have an ocean of creative writing potential waiting to be discovered. But having the potential to do something, and actually DOING it, are a world apart.

There are many reasons why we don't write as deeply, as freely and as consistently as we're capable of. So here are 7 of the most common ways you may be limiting YOUR creative writing potential without even knowing it, and what you can do to turn them around:

1. You don't capture your new ideas. A major complaint of creative writers is they don't have enough good ideas. Having the ideas though is not the issue. How many times have you had a great idea appear in your head at the most unlikely moment and thought: "wow, what an interesting idea, I could really develop this into something..." and then forgotten it as quickly as it appeared?

Capture your ideas as soon as they come to you, using a small notebook. Carry it with you wherever you go, and you'll soon realise not only how many ideas you've been having and just not noting them down, but you'll also see that the more ideas you do capture, the more ideas appear to fill their place.

2. You don't write everyday. Creating each and everyday is one of the fundamental building blocks of a consistent creative life. When you say you'll create "when you have time", guess what happens? Yep, you never seem to have time, and so you never write much.

Sit down and write for a minimum of 15 minutes each and every day at the same time each day. The power of this habit has so many benefits, not least of which that you give your creative mind a regular space and a place to, well, create!

3. You don't seek out inspiration. If your daily routine involves seeing exactly the same surroundings and few places, and you never go anywhere different or try any new experiences, you're writing will be similarly monotone and limited.

Keep your inspiration topped up by regularly making time for yourself to visit new places, see things you've always wanted to see, and absorb a little more culture and nature. The change in surroundings will stimulate your senses, which in turn feeds your creative mind with new ideas and inspiration.

4. You don't believe you're creative. Although on the surface you might think you have strong beliefs in your creative ability, often just below the surface a whole gaggle of limiting beliefs are conspiring to hold you back without you realising.

Honestly question what you REALLY believe about your creativity. Write out a few positive statements like "I believe I am a creative writer" and "I have an unlimited potential for new ideas" and notice your instinctive reaction to these statements. If they feel uncomfortable or untrue, it's time to work on making your underlying beliefs more positive.

5. You don't have a place to create. We all need somewhere to create, a place where we feel comfortable and can get into our writing without major distraction. Without this kind of space, we'll never get into any kind of flow with our writing.

Make a space that's just yours for writing. It might be a whole room, it might simply be a cosy chair in the corner of a room. But make it special to you, personalise it, do all you can to give yourself the best chance of writing as freely as possible when you come here to write.

6. You don't set any creative goals. Before your run away screaming at the word "goals", claiming an artist can't possibly be tied down with such limiting concepts, think about this: A goal doesn't need to be complex, rigid and suffocating. A goal is just something you'd like to do, with a date when you like to do it.

By setting goals as clear and simple as: "This Sunday, beginning at 10am I'm going to spend at least 2 hours on writing my new short story" you'll get SO MUCH MORE done than if you just say "I might try to fit in a bit of work on my short story sometime this weekend"... Try setting a few goals - it works!

7. You don't acknowledge your progress. Because you live with yourself day in, day out, it's very difficult to objectively view how much you're developing as a writer. Which means most of the time it feels like you're writing exactly the same stuff you were writing 5 years ago or that you hardly write very much at all.

By taking the time to review how you're evolving - every 3 or 6 months is a good period of time - you can gain huge confidence from realising not only that your writing style has developed, but that actually you've also written far more than you thought you had.

These are 7 of the most common reasons why you're not writing to your creative potential. Which do you most relate to?

Which one area can you choose to work on from today, to start unleashing more of that creative writing talent within you that's bursting to get out?

And you can get your creative writing kick started again right away with the FREE 5 part creative writing ecourse at http://www.YouAreACreativeWriter.Com

From Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Goodwin
http://EzineArticles.com/?Creative-Writing-Secrets---7-Ways-You-Limit-Your-Creative-Writing-Potential-Without-Even-Knowing-It&id=866784

Creative Writing: Another Perspective on Getting Ideas

Ideas Galore: Stay Alert
By Pamela Beers

Do you ever wake up in the morning wanting to pull the covers up over your head and go back to sleep? There are just no more ideas left in the old cerebellum. The creative well is dry and your article is due in 36 hours. Now what?

Keeping a list of fresh ideas is a must for writers. To keep that list new, it is important to be aware of what intrigues you while searching, or just glancing through, the various publications you have at your fingertips.

That wonderful institution called a library as well as the world-wide-web are gold mines for general information. Getting intimately acquainted with your local library provides you with a vast source of article ideas, and your librarian is always happy to help you find whatever you need. For those of you who just got out from under the covers, the www is perfect. It enables you to find a plethora of information without leaving the comfort of your home.

Trade and specialty magazines represent good markets for writers because the ideas from those magazines are what will interest the general consumer. If you are having a problem with understanding an article about the newest advance in computer technology, you can make a quick call to the principal researcher to request an explanation in lay terms. Once you feel comfortable in your understanding of the subject matter, you can query one of the numerous consumer-oriented magazines.

Go through old magazines and e-zines. There are stories that a magazine or e-zine has covered in the past, but new developments can occur which make the story worthy of follow-up. Chances are if the magazine or e-zine ran the story once, it will probably be interested in current material on the same subject.

Other good sources of article ideas are radio and TV, which most of us are exposed to daily. There is much grist for the writing mill when tuning in and listening to the radio while driving. Watching & listening to TV gives you an abundance of global ideas from which to choose. Just condition your mind to be alert. Constantly say to your self, "What intrigues me, and to what particular audience would this be of interest?"

The supply of ideas for articles is endless. All you have to know is where to find them and be alert.

Copyright © 2005 by Pamela Beers. All rights reserved.

Pamela Beers is a freelance writer, educator, and horse trainer who is a platinum ezine author and is in the process of having two books published. You can visit her website at http://www.pamelabeers.com for writing and marketing tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pamela_Beers

Creative Writing: Getting Story Ideas When Truth Is Stranger than Fiction, Part 2

Last time we talked about getting ideas from the news. As a recap, we used the Reuters news story, "“UFO buffs say official denial 'alien to us.'” We also came up with a few fiction ideas. Here are some nonfiction ideas on the same theme:

Investigative Reporting: If you care to, delve into the truth behind the report. Why was it released now, when the Freedom of Information Act was put in place 6 years ago? Could the report be slanted? Is there really a cover up? Or is the MoD on the up-and-up?

Human Interest Feature: Visit a UFO convention and interview the participants. Find out why they think the report is bogus and discover what personal experiences have led to their fascination with aliens.

Technology Feature: Interview scientists and researchers who search for extraterrestrial life and find out what new technology they use, and how that technology could someday be used to prove the existence of life in outer space.

Hopefully this process got your creative juices flowing. I challenge you to do this same exercise, either coming up with more ideas for this story, or finding another story and repeating the whole process. You’ll quickly discover that there truly is a story everywhere you look.

Creative Writing: Getting Story Ideas When Truth Is Stranger than Fiction

This blog has already covered several ways to stir up story ideas when your creativity is at an impasse. Here’s another one: use the news.

Many times the stories you read in news sources really are stranger than fiction—and they offer good inspiration for both fiction and nonfiction stories.

To prove the point, I visited CNN.com and found a news piece on their home page.

To see the entire piece, go to http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/06/29/uk.ufos.reut/index.html

The headline says, “UFO buffs say official denial 'alien to us.'”

The teaser copy reads, “SHEFFIELD, England (Reuters) -- Last month, the British Ministry of Defence made public a top secret report on UFOs, concluding that three decades of sightings had failed to produce evidence of visiting extraterrestrials.”

The story goes on to say that, despite a 500-page report released by Britain’s Ministry of Defense, UFO enthusiasts are still sure there’s a conspiracy in the works. So, how can you use this to create a new story?

Come on; this one’s easy! Here are some (to me) obvious fiction angles.

Sci-Fi: A skeptical reporter and UFO believer team up to delve deeper into the MoD’s report and end up having a close encounter of the 3rd kind, proving that years of UFO sightings are for real.

Suspense/Thriller: Same as above, but instead of discovering aliens, the pair discover a man-made secret far more sinister than any UFO cover-up—a secret that soon has them running for their lives.

Note: If you have a flair for the romantic, either of the above could also be turned into a cross-genre romance—you could even have someone fall in love with an alien…hmmm?

More next time on nonfiction ideas from this source.

Creative Writing: What I Did with a Starter Sentence

A while back, I gave an example of a starter sentence using lemonade, and promised to show how I'd used that sentence to create a story. You'll find the story at the link below.

http://members.cox.net/adisalvo/html/lemonade.html

I hope you enjoy it. I'd love feedback!

Creative Writing: Turn Everything into a Story

In my very first post on this creative writing blog, I mentioned the importance of observation in creative writing. There’s even more to the connection between observation skills and creative writing. Good observation skills will do more than add dimension to your writing; they’ll also help you come up with creative story ideas.

Using observation to develop story ideas requires a whole new mindset. You have to stop thinking of your life as ho-hum routine and start thinking of new angles to every action and event.

For example, one morning I had to be at work early, but I also needed to drop a video at Blockbuster to avoid a late fee. At 5:30 in the morning, it was still dark, and I was the only person in the Blockbuster parking lot. I started letting my imagination run wild—what if a cop car pulled into the parking lot, lights flashing, and the cops arrested me for something I hadn’t done? What if somebody had planted evidence in my car, link me to a crime I knew nothing about? What if the cops were in on it, and it was a big conspiracy to frame me and cover up something bigger?

Okay, so that’s a little extreme. However, see how I took a simple, everyday action (dropping of a video) and took it to remarkable lengths. You can do that too. Of course, this was a fiction example, but you can use it for nonfiction, too. You just need to reign in your imagination (a little!).

A nonfiction example for the same scenario (again, dropping off a video in pre-dawn darkness): a story on different professionals (bakers, garbage collectors, restaurant servers, whatever) who have to be up and at work before dawn every day. Interview them. Describe the world as they see it in the morning…dark, silent, almost ghostly.

With a little bit of practice, you could be seeing stories wherever you turn—and you may even wish you could stop!