Hi guys. As you can see, I'm new to the forum. Normally I'd take the time to do an introductory post and get to know you all a bit, but I wanted to get this off my chest while it's fresh in my mind. Firstly, a bit about me. I'm a 20 year old university student from the UK. I've been working for various companies doing contracted journalism (on competitive gaming) for the past few years, and I've always enjoyed it, despite not pursuing it as a career. Recently I've had minor aspirations of writing something a bit more creative, but I have no idea where to begin. I've not really got any experience in it, other than the obvious experiences everyone has (school work, essays, etc), and I'm struggling to find a coherent idea to write about. The thing is, I've got hundreds of things I want to write about. Things I've felt, experiences I've had, people I've met, places I've been to, but I have no idea how to work it all together into one grand piece. I don't want to write about a war, or a space mission, or a parallel universe, because none of that means anything to me. I want to write about things people can relate to in real life, things that mean something to normal people. I think the main reason I'm struggling is my aim with this. I don't want to write to get published, I don't even want to write for anyone's approval, I just want to write. I want to create a log of my perspective on the world. Logically, my best option would be a journal, but it's far too restrictive for me. If I see a film that inspires me to write about Vienna, I want to be able to write about Vienna. If I reminisce about a day at the beach as a child, I want to be able to write about it in the same story. I'm not really sure what I'm asking for here, or what kind of replies I'm expecting in all honesty. I'm basically looking for some general advice on the best way to approach something like this, and whether I'm doing it from the right angle so far (i.e. - I have the topics I'd like to cover, I just need a story to incorporate them). I'm sure there are thousands of people with way more experience in the field than me, so if anyone could give me even a sliver of advice it would be hugely appreciated. Thanks.
Hello. Im fairly similar to you as well. Just recently i thought "why not try writing a story" and it was quite liberating to do so. I didnt do it out of aspirations to get published, i just did it as a sort of exercise. The story wasnt very good but since then i feel i've improved. If your asking for ideas for a story to incorporate all your ideas then i can tell you that i get my ideas from everyday life and whats going on around me. I also get them from tv, radio, films, books, music, and newspapers. Using other peopes work to inspire you can be a big help.
You know, a journal needn't be as restrictive as you think. I think maybe you're thinking of a diary, which is generally used to relate everyday occurrences. Journals, on the other hand, can often be used for more than that--I use mine to relate everyday occurrences, to share my thoughts on things (for example, what I think of Vienna ), to recount past events (like being at the beach as a child), to rant or give my opinion on hot topics, to respond to things I've seen or read elsewhere, to mull over writing ideas, even to write fictional news articles or Wikipedia entries or some such. You can honestly do whatever you want in a journal. If you start writing an entry about what you think of Vienna and it somehow ends up with you reminiscing about the beach, that's perfectly fine. In fact, if you start out trying to use a journal in this loose way, it might help you come up with a way to tie some of your various unrelated ideas together...sort of a "stream-of-consciousness"-type thing. The lack of restrictions on format or subject or transitions can help bring it all together so you can possibly write it in a more coherent manner (like in an actual story) later. It's a thought, at least.
Welcome from another 'new guy'. I'd say you have a good perspective on the whole thing. You want to write because you want to write, and you already have ideas. That's a large part of the struggle for some people. I agree with what's been said. You may want to find some way of retaining all these ideas flying through your head by writing them down. I'm not good at keeping journals, but I tend to keep all my fully or partially formed ideas on my laptop. (Although, depending on my mood, I will do some writing the old-fashioned way (pen & paper) if I want to step outside for some outdoors inspiration) It's whatever works for you as far as organizing and learning the best way to take the idea out of your head and pasting it onto paper. But all in all, it sounds like it's time to start writing. It's not nearly as easy as it sounds to 'just do,' but it looks like that would be the next step.
