I thought I might have some fun with a different idea. This writing prompt is to explain why you aren't writing. It can be funny or serious or something completely and utterly false off the wall insanity. The only point to it is to write why you aren't writing. You can't get off easy! Don't just toss down a few sentences. Get creative, try something new, play around. Make up a story, make up an excuse, make up two hundred excuses! Go for it! My example, (See I'm not letting myself off easy either!) I didn't get any writing done yesterday because I started watching a new mini series on Netflix. In the middle of my binge someone knocked on the door. I jumped up to answer it but my husband was already on his way. I peered over my computer as he opened the door to revel an oddity I thought I would never encounter. An old man wearing nothing but his underwear stood in front of my husband. “Ah, are you alright?” He hesitantly asked. The old man respond by yelling out, “Splat!” He then threw a water balloon in my husband's face. He started to shuffle away as my husband wiped the water from his eyes. I couldn't help myself, I let out a giggle. My husband cursed and walked outside, he shut the door behind him careful to not let the dog loose. I was on my way to the door when I heard my husband hollering in pain. I quickly ran to the door my hand outstretched to grab the knob when I felt my toe crunch against the hard wood floor. I felt the air rush past me and then an explosion of pain as my face met the floor. I let out a string of curses, my hands clinging to my poor broken nose. Blood sprayed down my chin, neck, and shirt soaking the cotton material. I spent the next few hours at the hospital, extremely upset over my stupidity. It turns out the old man was a new neighbor of ours. He accidentally mixed his medication which caused him to hallucinate. My husband screamed because he tripped over a cooler the old man was wheeling around. He was fine though, just a bruise on his elbow. So, now I can't write because my nose is covered in this giant bandage. The pain killers are making me a bit fuzzy so I can't seem to concentrate. Oh, well back to binge watching Netflix.
I haven't written anything lately because I'm still figuring out where to start. My mentor told me, "Do a brain dump," but my mind has always been clean - it's my potty mouth that I have to watch. How do I begin? - Once upon a time - A long time ago - One day - In a land far, far away All that sounds so pretentious. I would rather capture the readers' attention with something like: F*ucking took place nine months ago. Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Wouldn't the readers like to know! Answering such questions in writing class always earned me an "A" in school. However, that remedial crap has never helped me formulate a good novel or gotten me published in the real world. What about a biography? Ooh, I could base my characters loosely on the loved ones in my life. Oh wait, no no no. To keep particular identities safe and concealed I couldn't reveal the real events. So here I sit, still, staring at a blank page waiting to drop some sh*t.
The who what where when why and how questions (kipling's 6 questions) is a good place to start for a brain dump Who: Name the characters, describe what they look like, give them a personality, what is there job, how are they seen by others etc. Do this for as many of the main characters you can come up with. Where: Draw a map of your world if it is a fantasy world. If it is set in a real place, get a map of the place. Do some world building, what towns, cities etc there are, then assign religion, culture, festivals etc. When: What era is your story set? medieval, modern? etc. What: What do you see happening in your story, what obstacles do the protagonist needs to over come?, What are the conflicts, what are the solutions Why: Why does the protagonist need to overcome the obstacle? Why will the solution help? How: How will the protagonist overcome his flaws, obstacles? If you ask these questions 5 times for each aspect of your story and note them down, you come up with something that looks like a plot map. After that you need to start your novel off with a hook, the beginnings you mention in your post will not inspire any new budding readers. The first sentence needs to stand out. Hence the first 3 sentence thread on this forum. Hope this helps.
I know what I’m doing. I know who my characters are. I know where I want to get them. I just don’t know how to get them there. I’ve attempted three different introductions. They all come out clunky, forced, and just wrong. I don’t know how to start my story, and with no jumping-off point, I don’t know how to go further. That’s why I’m not writing.
Wrote a little something and looking for any and all feedback, thank you. For a while now, I've told myself over and over again to put my thoughts to paper but sadly every time I get close to writing, something always seems to come up. For instance the other day I was in the lounge, sat down with my laptop ready to unleash the contents of my imagination unto the physical realm when I heard a strange sound from upstairs. My first thought was my roommate had probably fallen out of bed or something but quickly discard it remembering he'd moved out 2 days ago. Instead of letting some irrational fears get to me I just ignore it. Not even 5 minutes had passed and there it was again, louder and infinitely more frightful similar even to a predator making its presence known to its pitiful prey. At that point the fear had already taken root but instead of giving it free reign, I worked up as much courage and false bravado as possible, stumbling up the stairs to meet my foe. Reaching the top of the stairs, I hear scuttling from my roommates old room. As I'm walking towards the room the door swings open seemingly unassisted, bringing with it a putrid and rancid smell as if something in there has died. At this point I'm baffled by this sequence of events but refusing to back down I walk into the room. What greets me are the emerald eyes of my roommates black cat and not 2 paces behind is the source of the smell, a now dead rat. Cat -1 rat -0.Not surprisingly my roommate had managed to forget his cat and even remind me of it, good thing Raphael is a fierce little hunter.
You won't believe this shit but I swear to god it's all true. I sat down at my laptop to start working on my novel when suddenly a hawk crashes right through my window. I get up to go check on it but before I can get over there suddenly a mongoose with a machine gun comes jumping through the hole in my window and begins unloading his clip. The hawk jumps to his feet and pulls out a pistol. He's firing off rounds as he runs to the bathroom and slams the door shut. The mongoose empties all his bullets until the door has more holes in it than wood. He kicks the door down and enters the restroom but after looking around he can't find any sign of the hawk. He notices the water is the toilet is splashing around so the mongoose jumps into the bowl and crawls down the drain. I of course call the police but when I try to explain what happened no one believes me. The guy on the end of the line just laughed and hung up. I went back to my laptop and saw that it was full of bullets. I still have to wait three more days before I get my next check and can get it replaced. Why did this have to happen the day after the warranty expired?
I can't write because my mind is totally blank. I try to dig deep to come up with ideas and all I find is emptiness. There is nothing there. Nothing! I can't even find my own self in there. Scary! I was sure I was in there somewhere? At least in some shadowed corner where I could be accessed. Yet nothing. Not even a hint of me. How can I write if I don't even exist?
