Thanks, Cogito. I am actually in the process of writing a story for Short Story Contest 68 (hope I'm not too late for it?), the theme line - hunter turns hunted - really caught my fancy. Can't wait to discover more writing prompts and themes to get my brain ticking over again! Thanks!
@ HorusEye - Thanks for your tip, I liked it ... and the result? Shallow boost of confidence? I am smiling at you right now. @ Mantha Hendrix - I love doing this! I live in the country, so going for a walk is so refreshing and inspiring. Great tip, thanks for reminding me to do this more often! I should! @ the debate/discussion/argument between Rei and Liquid Nature: I have to smile at the fact that you are getting so caught up on this topic. See, to me, every story is pretty much the same. (Ever heard the phrase, 'there's nothing new under the sun'?) There is always a protagonist, and an antagonist; there is always an introduction, rising action, climax, denouement, and conclusion; there is always some form of conflict that is usually based around the themes of love or power (these two themes can be manifested in many different ways). Every story is the same, essentially, when you get down to the roots. - protagonist introduced - antagonist introduced - protagonist encounters antagonist - conflict arises -protagonist struggles - then succeeds - to overcome conflict - protagonist victorious over antagonist - protagonist lives happily ever after Soo... I guess... every story is plagiarism, LiquidNature, after the first few stories mankind produced. Thank you both for taking the time to discuss this issue [And debate with one another]. It's great to read all of the different ideas and opinions. If it is any consolation, LiquidNature, I am very conscious of plagiarism and copyright, and whatever writing I do will be as original as I can get it (hey, where's the fun in not being original, anyway?). And, I know this will sound dumb, but - what does OP stand for when used in a thread? :redface:
OP= original poster (ie person who started the thread). Yep, no new plots under the sun. What each writer does is hopefully add a unique voice and feel, writing each story in a way that no one else could have written it. That's what makes a story feel original, not the plot.
And I would say that it's not reshaping a sculture. It's more like a pile of beads. If you take a big group of people and hand them a pile of beads of lots of different shapes and colours, as well as several types of clasps, none of them will come out with the same piece of jewelery. So a retelling is like unstringing a necklace, reusing some of the materials, bringing in new ones, and coming up with your own piece of jewelery.
Holly Lisle wrote once that 1,000 workable ideas for $1 would be a rip-off, and I have to agree....there are tons of ideas out there that will work for you, pick any, it's more about how you write it. Even the same boring cliche that has been done to death can be made fresh. I agree with that getting ideas from others isn't plagiarism. I get a lot of ideas from the stories of of games I have played in the past because I am a gamer at heart, and a lot of times looking at videos on youtube of dungeons gives me ideas, or looking up old mythological creatures. It depends on what can catch your interest as to what will inspire you.
Oh boy. For starters, I completely understand where Rei and others are coming from, but I simply have a difference of opinion. I was in no way saying any of that with hostility, or as you put it, "throwing digs". And I don't pretend. Through all the unintended debating, I was simply trying to give the OP a piece of advice that I thought could possibly help her in the future. Maybe if I would throw in an "lol" or smiley face once in a while, people wouldn't react so strongly. But I guess I'll probably get ripped for that bit of sarcasm as well. Sorry if I offended any of you. Good luck with your writing experience/careers. Back to the thread topic.
So does anyone else out there also find that, after beginning to write your book/ novel, it basically starts writing itself. As I'm busy writing, I myself don't even know what is going to happen next, and then I just continue writing as I see it happen in my mind. Does that happen to writers in general, or only "oddballs" like me? Is it a good or bad thing?
If that makes me an Oddball Ro-J then im crazier than a s**t house rat! haha. I plan, like i have done, my novel with notes and a skeleton of the plot and characters and events ect.. and then flesh it out as i go along. But if im just sitting down and start to write, then i just let it flow out naturally. Alot of stuff produced that way, wether people read it or not, is always helpful to you as a writer. Write as much as you can, even if it's only a sentence or a paragraph a day, and read everything you can get your hands on!. But your not alone out there, Ro-J, my oddball matey haha
Of course that's a good thing! That happens for me sometimes. Sometimes, thousands of words will just flow out without me even having to think. Other times though, I'll sit there for days, staring at the cursor, waiting for some inspiration to come.
Be more careful in your choice of words, then, especially when it comes to opinions. Then again, I made a poor choice when I was specific in refering to careers. (sorry guys conversation over now) Anyway, when I was talking to friend last night, I remembered what I think is a Mark Twain quote that is relevant to the discussion. I don't remember the exact words, but it was something like, "A great writer is not one who imitates no one, but one whom no one can imitate." Again, it's like the beads analogy. Thousand of people go to the same suppliers to get their beads, but all come out with unique jewelery. It's the same for authors. They can go to the same stories that people have been telling for hundreds of years and still write something that is genuinely theirs.
Not being one of those who does not believe in writer's block (I have, at times in my life, been a top contender for poster child for writer's block!), I don't believe this is something that can be resolved by others giving you writing ideas. Your biggest problem, if you are anything like me, is that you need to find something about which you are impassioned to be able to write. And, when your brain is on overload and shutdown at the same time ... that can be pretty tough. Even makes it hard to write a grocery list or a check to the utility company or even sign your name on a credit card slip! Yeh. Been there. One time for almost three years. wouldn't wish that on anyone! For starters, though, try writing the story of YOU. Start with your childhood and write your way through to the brick wall you ran into on your way to your next great novel. It may, at least, get you writing again. Good luck.
Oh, and another thing. If a writer is stuck, it's sometimes out of being self-conscious. Sometimes a writer just needs to give themselves permission to write something that is totally random, something that makes no sense, or just just plain bad. The bad stuff you can fix later, and the random non-sensical stuff may lead to a happy accident that you never would have come up with otherwise.
I haven't read the other posts on this thread, but to answer your original question, Eternity, I don't think you should ask other people to start you off. Having people help you develop an idea is one thing, but to have people give you your starting point is quite another. You should be writing for yourself, using your own inspirations; basing it off of other people's ideas isn't the way to go. Having other people help you along the way can help very much, but first you need to decide for yourself why you're writing this story. If other people give you your starting point, you have no personal reason for writing that particular story other than that other people said you should. You need some other motive; otherwise you're not really in control of the story. The exception would be if you're participating in a contest, in which they give you a starting point you need to work with. But in that case, what they're testing is your originality in a confined situation, a way for you to create something with limited resources. No matter what, it must be yours. For instance, my stories tend to have a very dark, ominous, mysterious tone. I incorporate this into virtually every piece of fiction I write, as well as my ideas, no matter what the subject matter. It's my own, and no one else's.
Cracking writer's block Here are two ways to get ideas: Go to a thrift shop (with paper and pencil, of course,) browse through all the objects and begin thinking about who the owner of those objects was, what he or she used them for, why did he or she have to get rid of them (or it), etc., Another great way, providing you don't get spotted doing this and end up getting punched in the nose or something, go to a resaurant or shopping mall or someplace public where you can observe people. Sit down, start describing the people you see on your piece of paper. Pretty soon, your mind should begin developing stories for some of the people. It's amazing how this exercise greases the imagination. One thing I know sometimes trips me up when I sit down to write something new is that I have to get away from myself, from my experiences, to generate really fresh ideas. As we know, no matter how far out your idea comes from, how far away from you, it will always wind its way back to you once you have a solid idea of what you're going to write (i.e., pieces of you end up in your writing no matter how hard you try otherwise.) Hope this helps.
For me, Ro, it's a partnership: my psyche and me. I maintain the majority control and find myself planning and plotting - even as now part of my mind is working on one of my ms. But, as often as not, once I sit down at the keyboard, my brain vacates the bone bag and the psyche takes over. When such as that happens, I try not to interfere. Though I do go back to see what the other me wrote during my out of body experience!
This was really good advice. Thanks a heap! Yes, my mind is on overload and shutdown at the same time right now...
Thanks, Aeschylus. You're right, of course. I was just at such a low point as far as inspiration goes...
I have to agree with an earlier poster. Pick an idea, character and place, or just simply a place and add in a character. In the sense of fantasy, give that character a "quest" and role play from there. Stay true to whom that character is and give him/her everything and anything to do. If your good start multiple characters and have them meet. Those stories are something of a wonder to me
why not try rewriting a classic fairytale/myth with a new twist? think of all those new books that are turning classic lit into horror tales. eg, sense and sensibility and seamonsters, etc.
Many times I sat in front of my monitor with a blank word document open. I would rack my brain for ideas, yet I wouldn't be able to come up with anything. So what I then tried was to take my mind completely off writing: go for a walk, have lunch with a friend, etc. I noticed something. Sometimes I would find that an idea would pop in my head when I wasn't looking, but if I went looking for it, nothing would come. I found that if I set out and looked for ideas, I would look 'too hard'; but if I took my mind off it, I would notice little subtleties and quirks in life that would provide that little inspiration or spark. May or may not apply to you, but this is generally what I found . So maybe, go and look at the environment around you, and take notice of the little things: eg two people having a coffee together. Whether writing is on your mind or not, only you know, but just thought I'd offer some advice .
For me it's the opposite. My block comes from having too many ideas. I start one story and then get lost on many different tangents. I have a box in my wardrobe, half full of exercise books which have notes and ideas on current novels I'm writing and also ideas for future novels. I try to incorporate a lot of the ideas for new novels into stories into my current novel, as I do not want to start new ones but finish my current one. It seems like I am never short of stories or ideas but at times I feel they are at a cost, as I have to rewrite whole chapters and even worse the whole novel itself. The reason why I have built up a hefty collection, is because I bring a notepad to write with everywhere I go. So as soon as an idea pops in my head, down it goes. The other thing it does, is it drives me to come up with more ideas, as I always get a high from coming up with original thoughts. Plus it means I'm not concerned that I will forget an idea and I can relax. As I am always thinking about what I am writing, I tend to get over anxious about it due to actually not writing or not coming up with new ideas. This anxiety can cause your mind to be clouded. I believe you need clarity in your mind in order to focus on the world around you. You will then find the ideas will flood into your mind like water cascading from a waterfall. Reading through the posts many have given excellent examples of ways that you can come up with new ideas. The fact really is that everything and anything can give you ideas. There is no one place which is better than another, no magical place which will conjure more ideas than others. If there is truly a magical place, it's your mind which is the harborer of ideas. You probably have thousands but you're probably not in tune with it. You really have to believe this is true, otherwise you are been overly self-critical and not allowing your ideas the light of day. Let's say for example you have 1000 ideas and you write a 1000 stories. Let's say of those 1000 stories, 999 are garbage, so to speak and one of them is good. That's still one good story. One good story is better than what 99% of people come up with because most people those do not have time or have the passion to write, let alone a thousand stories. This is the main reason I write. I have too many ideas and I would go completely mad if I didn't find some way of justifying it. My point is that writing should be fun and not feel like an assignment. You should be wanting to write all the time, so if you have a writers block than you must free your self from the shackles of deliberation and allow yourself to freely express yourself. Doesn't matter what it is, write.
