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.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
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!
http://members.cox.net/adisalvo/html/lemonade.html
I hope you enjoy it. I'd love feedback!
Monday, June 19, 2006
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!
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!
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