I think it depends on how much help the person is asking for with their plot. If they have a basic outline, with ideas about where they want to go with it, but are just not sure how to develop it, then I think it is fine them asking for suggestions. If they know nothing about the plot, only that they want it to be about .... I don't know, a murder story, then I sort of leave them to it until they have actually put a little thought into it. I do it myself sometimes, I know I need to get from point A to B, but am just not sure how to go about it, I may ask for suggestions on how I could writie that bit. But aye, I would never ask for suggestions on what A and B should be, I figure that out myself. I do agree with you, Maia, on that people do expect things to be easy, as they are used to it being easy. But that is a minority, certainly not an entire generation, or just our generation, and those people who expect the work to be done for them should just be left to it and see how far they will get in life.
so?... i already said that my grandkids are part of the latest generation... and i didn't say or even intimate that they were not just as used to things being easy as many of their peers, did i? wrey, you cracked me up!... so you'd better tell 'em to call for a 'bus'... to all... i'm glad to see this turning into a pretty good range of thinking in re my op, even if some detours have been taken... a consensus may even emerge, at some point, if anyone takes the time to do a tally... love and hugs, maia
intimate? as in the adjective meaning "close or very private?" did you mean insinuate? verb meaning "to suggest or hint slyly?"
I think she means in·ti·mate2 /ˈɪntəˌmeɪt/ –verb (used with object), -mat·ed, -mat·ing. 1. to indicate or make known indirectly; hint; imply; suggest. 2. Archaic. to make known; announce.
...what I've found with dry spells is that I'll always have ideas; however, I'll usually start with one or two chapters and eventually find that I have no drive to write any furthur. With my first "novel," (if you can call it that) I just kind of felt it all there. The characters, the situation...I dunno, I just kind of felt like it was there. I actually finished it, too. Well, after that, I tried a few other ideas, one I got kind of far into, but then got an even better idea, based on my characters from my first novel, and the thing I had started on. I've actually gotten 300 pages into the current one (and am still going strong!) What's the point of this explaination? Well, regardless of where ideas "come" from, they won't go anywhere without drive. And for me, the drive to write is where most of my creativity comes from. So what? Sometimes a person needs a bit of input before they feel that drive, and if they don't? Than there's no reason to worry.
