I don´t know if anybody have heard about mental maps for writing. That could be as well another way to go. That is a rather graphical way to put things. But I can tell you that I have not actually used that method. Maybe some day I will try.
I write all my ideas down even if it's not for my current book,. I go everywhere with my note pad, I even sometimes write stuff on receipts when I'm out without my note book lol I also write my first draft out by hand, I find it faster so maybe you can write a quick draft for each of your stories, I re-wrote the drafts into the 'pages' app and update as an when ready for when I knuckle down and properly write them. Good luck
Which story line do you keep going back to, or which one do you think about the most? Quiet all the other "noises" and focus yourself on that one story. I get this too, too many ideas, but for me I cannot work on several things at once. Others seem to be able to but I can't. Writing for me is like being in a relationship, I have to devote myself completely to one relationship at a time and I cannot move on to #2 until #1 is finished. I tried starting #2 and all I do is think about my "ex". If i am constantly thinking about my "ex" i can't really devote myself to the new thing in my life, if that makes sense lol. As some suggest you can write your other ideas down, but to make it easy on yourself dont write them down. Not every story idea is worth writing and sometimes its best to forget some so that you are not looking at a list of 20 different things. For me its best to allow myself to forget weak stories and remember only the ones that keep bugging me.
I came up with this neat idea probably a week ago, and so far it has been working well for me even though I wish I could fill it up with more content. Essentially what the Idea Journal is just some sort of notebook that you can write in, and have handy whenever, wherever. I realized awhile ago that good ideas tend to just magically appear in your mind at random, and so I figured that the best way to capture these ideas before I forget about them is just scribble down a note with the idea in the journal then once filling up the notebook I would take all the ideas I came up with and organize it on Microsoft Word or Google Docs. I realize this isn't the most original idea, and I'm already sure a lot of other writers do this, but I figured I'd mention it to you guys since it is a helpful way to help develop your story. Also it keeps ideas for your story safe since it always drives me insane when I have a really good idea for my story, but I'll forget it after a day. One thing though is it's really easy to misplace your journal, so keep it somewhere obvious. I keep my on my computer desk, so it's very unlikely for me to lose it. Also since it's summer (well at least for me) you can take the journal practically anywhere you go, so you can grab a pencil and keep working on ideas anywhere such as the beach. Let me know what you guys think. I figured it could be fairly helpful.
I do find a notebook invaluable because I get ideas either when I am researching or doing something mundane like the washing up. I also get ideas whilst I'm driving and going to sleep, both of these instances can be annoying because I can't get my notepad out whilst driving and I will disturb my husband if I put the light on to jot anything down. I now keep my iPhone by my bed and email myself in the dark, I tried to keep a dictaphone in the car but it wasn't easy enough to switch on and start recording whilst driving. When I had a career I used to email myself ideas on my phone when in work, people just think you are sending a text or a work email and don't bother you or get nosy about what you are doing. I much prefer a nice notepad and paper to my phone but it can be another useful tool all the same.
I have notepads everywhere for writing down those wonderful magical moments when some wonderful piece of writing flows through your mind and you know that you will forget it seconds later when you get to the pen and paper. I have even been known to get out of the bath dripping wet and wrapped only in a towel and walk downstairs to write a few lines. Why does it always happen when you are indisposed?
When i want to start writing a short story, i mostly think about the story from the start till the end as a 'single packet'. how the story is about, who are the characters that will be included, how the story will be going, i have thought about them from the beginning. I think by doing this i can get a good-in-quality short story as a unity. The sequence, the coherence, and the plot, they will be unitified from the beginning. But then, from time to time, i find lack of creativity in developing the content of the story. I feel that my story(s) become so monotonous. And i don't know why. In your opinion, do you agree with my way of creating a short story? Why? Then how about if i start writing a short story without a 'single packet' idea like that before. Will i find the better way of writing?
Having a strong idea for a short story is a good start. Understanding what the overall intent of the piece is also good. Your approach to writing short stories is fine. If you feel you're having trouble creatively it can help to brainstorm. Get a piece of paper and just write down ideas. If you've got a main idea put that in the middle. Then around it put other ideas that stem from it. Ideas about the characters, who they are, what they do. Ideas about the setting, where this story takes place. Ideas about what happens to these characters and why. Anything. It helps you to reach that "Aha!" moment when it all comes together.
Maybe you are over outlining your stories. You can have a great idea and plot it through piece by piece and it still comes out bland. When this happens to me, I ask myself why I want to write this story. What excites me about it? I then reread the piece and usually I can find where I went off track. The difference between a good story and a "Blah" story usually is the writer forgetting his own voice and reason for why he or she wanted to tell it. Your problem happens to everyone who writes. We get too busy trying to get our point across and lose site on why we were excited to write it. It really stands out when writing short stories because of the limits we use on ourselves to tell it.
I find my process to be much the same when it comes to short stories. But then again, I don't write too many shorts. It's definitely worth trying other approaches. Even if they don't stick there's usually something you can absorb from it. There are many shades of gray in the outlining vs winging-it debate--you just need to figure out how far toward one side or the other is ideal for your writing.
I find it also depends a lot on what genre you're writing in. I read a lot of sci-fi, and I've noticed that those stories (especially older ones from a few decades ago) tend to very much foreground one "big idea"--sometimes at the expense of building interesting characters, or world-building, or continuity. This is, IMO, one of the biggest weaknesses of the genre, but I think there's more of a tolerance for it in sci-fi than in other genres.
I usually get an idea for the plot but I never get an idea for the ending before I start writing it. I feel I have to spend some time with my characters before I know where their story should 'end' (good characters should live on).
I don't know what you mean by "single packet." I don't think of my short stories that way. I think a short story begins before the writing and continues after the writing. When you read short stories, you can see that this is pretty much always true. You, as the writer, are stepping in to give of the meat of the story, the important moment where things change for your characters. You can think of a short story as the story of how something changed, the story that made something different. It can be subtle, but it should be there on some level. What you are doing is giving readers 15 to 20 pages something that is different for your characters than the rest of their imaginary lives you're not writing about. Can you do that in a "single packet?" Again, not sure exactly what you mean, but it could be holding you back. I think the reason I never feel stuck for short story ideas or have much problem developing them is because I read so many of them. I see short stories as a true art form. I'm not saying other writing isn't art, but good short stories can take my breath away. They dazzle and immerse me into something unfamiliar even when all the characters are doing is having breakfast. I love to read and reread short stories. You said your stories become monotonous and you feel like you're lacking creativity, but you don't know why. Seriously, the best fix for this is going to be reading good short stories and lots of them. I still don't understand what your way of creating short stories is. There's not a wrong way if it works. But if it's not working, try something else. I don't put much if any preplanning into my short stories. I enjoy the process of making up the story as I am writing it. Others like to plan everything out. And you can do anything in between. However, it seems like your mysterious method may be holding you back. Short stories are short. This allows us to try different approaches. Be open to finding a good one that really works for you.
You can only find out how you like to write by experimenting. If you feel you need to have everything in the story fixed in your mind before you start writing - that's fine. But if it's not working out maybe try something different. For short stories I rarely plan anything. I just have an idea and start writing. I make up things as I'm writing. It's worked for at least five short stories that I'm satisfied with so I haven't changed my format. With novels I work a bit differently - I don't plan on paper/computer but I do a lot of thinking/daydreaming before writing. I settle and sort some things out - but not everything. I like the element of discovery to be part of my writing process.
Thanks a bunch.. I like the idea of yours about using a kind of mind mapping. I just realize that way. Hence as a writer sometime we just want to write, and follows the idea at that time. So that we find confusion and lack of idea to develop the content. Anyway did you often do that kind of mind mapping during your writing proccess?
Indeed Raven, those problems come to me frequently. And yeah, it depends on my current mood at that time, which leads me to continue the writing or leave it. Lol But then when i decided to continue the writing, i tried to reread it, sort the pieces of the ideas, and rethink about the main idea. When it is lucky for me, i find a way to develop it. When it is still not, i leave it. Nice reminding.
Absolutely xanadu. I bet other writers will do the thing as you said if they get the same problem. Well how about you? What did you usually do when you are in the same case? Moreover, what approaces did you usually use?
Hmm sci-fi is indeed a genre which always be interesting to be read. I also like to read sci-fi for some acquaitants. Anyway robert, can you eplain more about the biggest weaknesses of this genre? What kind of weaknesses here? And how does it can be declared as the weakneasses?
Aha! I like your idea in the last sentences that good characters should live on. I often find in many short stories, that the main characters (usually they become the part of the tittle of the story) will still be the ones who does exist in the end of the story. And sometimes, i feel like, "do every good characters should be like this? They do exist in the whole story and even be the 'winner' of the story". I sometimes think that if i make the good characters have the different 'fate', i will have a 'wah' story which is out of the ordinary. What do you think Anderson?
Thank you very much. Actually I just want to share the problem that i feel and i find during writing a short story, and that's the way how this post is posted. How lucky i am that i got a reply like this and unfortunately i totally agree with you, deadrats. (Still) lack of reading technically and substantially good short stories make me realize that i need them much more as a reference to create a good short story. I need more time to reach a level that is called as good short story
Yep, i agree with you. I need to do it for some occasion. And of course i need more time to do it. Thank you
So I noticed something with my own style, that I tend to make the characters before I have a plot. And I was just wondering what everyone else's style was like. What is the first thing you like to make up before you start a story?
At the beginning of any new story three things come to me at the same time: 1) Some characters, 2) a location, 3) a thing that's happening. I don't create characters to then write a story about them. That works for a lot of people, doesn't work for me. When the three aforementioned things arrive in my head, it's all very amorphous. Sometimes I see who the MC is right away, sometimes it's more like an audition and the characters that first present themselves all have a pretty equal shot of getting that MC roll. Anyway, I write the scene out. I let it sit a little. While it sits, I think about what I want to say with this story. That's the most important part for me. Maybe I post it here for some feedback knowing full well that this is just the dough of the story, yet to rise, far from the point of baking, so I take the critiques with that in mind. The action of the scene usually gets divided up as I think about what brought the characters here and what their purpose is in doing any of this. I slide the divided pieces to their respective places along the timeline that starts to form in my head. These become my landmarks. The story starts here. This is the midpoint. Here's what I think the conclusion will be. I write the spaces in between.
For me, my first inspiration is always a message that I wish to share with the world. It's rarely a whole manifesto, but I will notice something that doesn't seem to get enough attention in our everyday lives (my everyday lives that is, of course), or a question that doesn't seem to be asked enough. Then I get a rough idea of the main character(s), but they don't truly form before they're on paper. 90% of times, I'll start with the first chapter and 10% of times, I'll start with the final chapter. But after that, I always write chronologically. So far at least
If it's something long-form, like a novel, I usually get some image that I can't shake--something like "some kids are playing a make-believe game that ends up getting them in a lot of trouble." It's more fleshed out in my mind than that, I can see the setting, the kids etc. but the overall scene doesn't have much context--I take it as an arbitrary starting point, but I don't even know what the next scene will look like, much less the rest of the book. But after I get that first scene down, I just sort of ponder for a while, come up with additional scenes that I then agglomerate into something like a plot, a setting, real characters etc. It's a very inductive process. For something short-form it's the total opposite. I guess maybe because most of my short fiction is sci-fi, I start from some kind of abstract, usually hypothetical idea ("what if humans had to flee the solar system, and were housed in an alien-run refugee camp on a planet orbiting a red dwarf?"). Then it's more of a deductive process--well, what would the climate be like, what would their society be like, etc. That in turn shapes the plot, the characters etc. There are exceptions, but generally how I start out varies along these lines. It's always one of the two, anyway.
