Write Your Novel Now! Getting Your Book Started

A Photo to Keep You Going

2010-08-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of: http://www.falcbooks.com

When you finally get your book published, it will appear on bookshelves everywhere and be assigned one of these.

But first, you need to have something worth reading. You need to write something worth publishing. You need to craft something worth buying.

Are you ready for the challenge?

Time to Review Your Notes!

2010-08-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

It's time to do a little soul searching and merciless editing.

Go back to your notes and your exercises. Arrange everything chronologically, and read your work from the time that you started your writing exercises. Read your work carefully and note the following:

1) Your writing strengths. Do you write using a wide variety of words? Do your conversations sound real? Are your characters almost literally jumping off the page?

2) Your writing weaknesses. Is your vocabulary limited to the point of your work sounding repetitive? Are your conversations stilted? Do your characters feel two-dimensional or even one-dimensional?

3) Improvements in your writing: are your sentences becoming more simple, lucid, and readable? Is your grammar getting better? Are your characters and stories feeling more real?

4) And, the reverse: is there anything that you haven't improved on or gotten worse at?

Take note of all of these. You need to know what you need to work on, and you also need to have encouragment in the form of the good things that you already have and also worked to achieve.

Keep this list and be a better writer on a daily basis.

Good luck!

Writing and Reality

2010-07-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

- Ray Bradbury

Plagiarism: One of the Biggest Ills of Writing

2010-07-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

What makes people copy others without properly recognizing the original author? Does it have something to do with how society functions? How people are educated? Read more in this article, and take heed:

DON'T COPY WITHOUT CITING!

Here's Your Last Triad!

2010-07-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Your final triad exercise is an essay, and it will involve three things that you might want to keep in mind as you embark on your year of novel writing.

1. An old book on your bookshelf
2. The novel that you intend to write
3. A book that is comparable to the novel that you want to write.

How you will put all these together is up to you. You can compare the three different books, or you can vow to trump the other books and come up with a revolutionary literary piece.

When you are done, post your work in the Comments section. You have as many words as you need at your disposal, so feel free to write as much (or as little) as you please.

Good luck, and happy writing!

This is still NOT Your Last Unblocker

2010-07-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

A lot of the exercises are going for their last run, but you will always need your unblocker to keep you in the race. You need to clear out your mental cobwebs and get yourself prepped and ready for your next round of writing.

Today's unblocker is your preparation for the next few months (days, weeks, or years) as you write your novel. Take a sheet of paper or open a blank document on your computer and use this as your prompt:

"I am going to start writing my novel soon."

Don't bother about grammar, spelling, punctuation, or syntax. Forget the rules and just write without stopping to think. Clear your mind by pushing all your frustrations, fears, and insecurities out. Don't stop until you're huffing, puffing, and too tired to proceed.

Your year of novel writing is about to begin.

Your Last What If

2010-07-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

It's time for you to get your novel started, so it's also time to get rid of all your exercises and get working! Today's exercise is fairly simple. You only need to find a mirror and talk to yourself.

Now, don't be afraid. Find a place that has a mirror where you can be alone for at least 5 minutes. In this exercise, you will pretend that your novel has already been published.

"What if my novel was published and it made me famous?"

Pretend you're on a talk show. Talk about what you did to get your novel started, what you did to keep the momentum, and what you did, in detail, if possible. Be candid. Be funny. Think of the future.

Your novel will be finished and you might actually be famous because of it. Think of this exercise as practice.

Two Questions Before You Begin

2010-07-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

This will be the last creative, mind-digging Complete It before you start off on your journey toward literary greatness (or at least before you start off your journey to a big literary exercise). Complete the two sentences below:

1. The thing I fear the most about writing my novel is ____________________.
2. The thing that excites me the most about writing my novel is _________________.

Examine what you fear the most and see how you can cancel it out what excites you. Moreover, find a way to feed on that excitement. Your reason for writing will change from month to month, perhaps even from hour to hour, depending on how well your novel writing is progressing. This exercise will appear several times, and it will help you examine how you are doing and what you may need to proceed further.

Good luck! It's almost time to get started!

The Usual First Sentence begins with...

2010-06-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time...

Now, change it. You are about to start on your best journey: through your senses, your emotions, and your life. In the same way that you can't simply begin your life knowing everything, you can't start a novel with a first sentence.

Sounds weird?

Your first sentence has to draw people in, and make them want to read your work. Can you do that immediately without agonizing over it, and therefore crippling your chances of going forward? If you can, by all means, write your first sentence and go from there. If you can't, admit that you can write your first sentence later, and just write.

What do these two scenarios have in common? You just need to write. Whether your first sentence comes out all polished the first time, or you decide to write it when you're done with your novel, you simply have to write.

Go and make your mark on literature! Write!

Your Very Last Goo!

2010-06-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

Are you ready to write your novel? Are you ready to get your head wrapped around ideas, your life wrapped around your characters, your thoughts wrapped around your story, and your past all unwrapped for the world to see?

Sounds complicated, doesn't it? Here's some goo for you to see how much work you will need to do:

plot characters challenge/conflict
setting point of view grammar

These are only a few things that you will need to look at. Your plot, characters, and conflict all take place as your story moves, but you need to have a setting and a point of view from the very beginning, and these latter two elements need to remain constant. Your grammar has to be polished. Everything has to come together into a heap that is as beautiful as it is representative of the complexity of life.

Ready to write? You'll ready as you'll ever be, so start thinking of these elements and start getting your story off the ground! It's time to write a novel!

Does this last sentence sound familiar?

2010-06-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

The End.

It's not "And they lived happily ever after," but an abrupt end that leaves your readers thinking about the future of your characters. It might be the closed end that finishes your characters' lives forever. In any case, it's an end, so how will you begin it?

It's time for you to work out a story. Write an outline, or a summary of your novel. Talk about the major characters, their motivations, their back stories, their wants and needs. Describe them if you can. Talk about how they deal with their problems, and then, bring a problem hurtling into their lives. Talk about how they pull through it. Add a problem if you like; add two; heck, add a hundred. Who survives? Who doesn't? What is your story about.

When you are done, tack on "The End" to the end of it. Get your story ready. It's time to start writing your novel.

Today...

2010-06-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

...is the rest of the day of your writing life.

Cliche it may be, but today, it's time to start thinking about your novel and start directing all your energies toward writing it. You've worked for years on exercises to get your mind going, and you're ready! All you need is a story. All you need is to sit down and write it.

You don't need to produce a perfect manuscript. You simply need to get a story started and not stop until you free it.

This Means WRITING!

2010-06-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

It's not war with anyone, but a battle with your creativity. In a month, you need to churn out at least 50,000 words, and a story, to boot. You need to let your inhibitions loose. You need to type like a maniac, think like a genius, and find a way to not be a madman.

National Novel Writing Month is in less than half a year!

Are you ready?

Most of this blog's exercises are now concentrating on your novel, and not so much on the preparatory exercises that go into it. From now on, you need to concentrate on building your novel, peopling it with a host of characters with their own unique personalities, and, if possible, use NaNoWriMo this November as a way to get your writing started.

Good luck!

One Last Orchestrated Search as a Writing Exercise

2010-06-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is your last writing exercise using a search. After this, all searches will be for things in your novel, whether characters or lines of dialogue, punctuations or words. Because this is your last writing exercise, you also need to make it count!

In this orchestrated search, you only need to search through your memories. Cook up a memory mix this time: it's a memory that you never had, but it will have to involve people, places, and things that you remember. For instance, you could remember your best friend, your visit to Venice, and your cup of coffee. You could then write a story involving all three of them, even if your best friend has never been to Venice and/or despises coffee.

So, let's start the search! Scour through your memory and remember:

1. The first person who ever gave you a right and proper scolding
2. The last person to say hi or hello to you
3. Your lunch yesterday
4. The last place that you visited that made you never want to go home

Incorporate all these into a 1000-words-or-less story, with your own plot and the characters from your memory. They don't all have to be in one scene, and you don't have to make things happen over lunch. Find a way to creatively put everything together. When you are done, post your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it.

Good luck in your last orchestrated search - and happy writing!

Let's Fantasize a Little Bit...

2010-06-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

Authors pose for their novel bios. They can be dressed in a period costume, sitting on their favorite lawn chair while gazing into some far away dream, or simply staring at the camera and right at their reader. Your exercise consists in dreaming up your author bio and photo.

First, draw up a 100-200 word bio, which will appear in your novel. What are the things that are most important to you? What part of your identity are you willing to share? What do you want your readers to know? Save this bio and keep it in a place where you can access it easily, say, while working on your novel.

Second, set the timer on your camera and take your own pictures. This will take more than one try, and if you're way too amused with the exercise, you could spend the entire afternoon trying different poses out. Try out different clothes or costumes, and pose in different places with different expressions on your face. Upload your photos to your computer.

Pick out your best photo, find a way to resize it, and add it to your bio file. Now, your bio file is easily accessible, and it may look like a professional biography. Feel free to share it with your friends and ask them for suggestions on making it better.

Keep this file. It might serve as inspiration as you plod through the moors and thickets of the world of novel writing. You have something to aim for! Go for it!

Some Stuff's Out of the Way...

2010-06-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

But that doesn't mean that the learning ends. In fact, this is your time to think of what reviewing books and movies has taught you. Think:

"What is the one lesson that I will take away from reviewing books and movies, and how can I apply it to my writing?"

Remember this one lesson as you finally start to write your novel!

Good luck, and happy meditating!

The Last Book Review: The Little Prince

2010-05-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Little Prince is a slim volume that is rich in wisdom. On this very last book review, it is your job to read The Little Prince, and then go forth with encouragement as you embark on your own novel writing journey.

Review The Little Prince by concentrating on one of the stories or storylines within it. Do you relate to the rose? The Little Prince himself? The fox? Your job is not to decipher what the story means, but to disclose, in your review, what the storyline means to you.

Because this is a little more personal than all your other reviews, you do not have to post it. The key is to read the book and see how a few words can make all the difference. If you have that kind of power, you have it made!

Good luck as you begin your novel-writing journey!

The Last Movie Review: Take a Summer Blockbuster!

2010-05-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

It's time to focus all that you've learned as a reviewer and apply it to your work, as a writer. This is your very last movie review, so make it count!

Summer blockbusters aren't exactly brain fodder, but they do cater to the senses. The visuals have to be stunning, the sounds have to be real, and everything has to be larger than life.

Pick a summer blockbuster, whether it's about the earth ending, aliens invading, or an adventure in the past. Review this movie on two levels:

1) As a feast for the senses: how did it appeal to you, and what did it make you feel? What have you learned about awakening the senses, and how can this help you write a better novel? The key here is not to cross genres, but to learn how some elements of art cross the boundaries of the medium used.

2) As literature: all senses aside, how was the screenplay? How good was the story? what about the dialogue? The characters? How could the story, dialogue, and characters have been improved?

When you are done, post your multi-layer review online and provide a link to it in the comments section.

Good luck, happy watching, and happy writing!

2010-05-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

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"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—
not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon."

E.L. Doctorow
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Pick Up a Bit of Thursday Next

2010-05-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

Jasper Fforde's stories on the adventures of Thursday Next are more than just tales of a parallel universe - they are a tribute to the most unforgettable characters in literature. Read them for the sheer pleasure of revisiting characters and settings, and see what a world full of fiction-obsessed people would be like.

For information, you can download or buy the first book here: http://www.amazon.com/Eyre-Affair-Thursday-Novels-Penguin/dp/0142001805

It's All You: A Schizophrenic Triad

2010-05-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

It's time for you to talk to yourself - and characterize yourself! One of the greatest powers of the best writers is in turning every single person in a novel into a character - a real, living, breathing, almost three-dimensional person that seems to rise out of the page and drag you into the story. exercise your characterization by making three kinds of people talk to each other:

1. You - as in YOU, right now.
2. The person that you want to be.
3. The worst version of you.

What will the three of you talk about? What are the three of you doing? Make sure that you have distinct characters. Write them out in about 1000 words, and make your own plot and story. When you are done, post your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it.

Good luck, happy characterization, and happy writing!

Now, Break Down those Bricks!

2010-05-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

You can think of your creativity as imprisoned: a little ball of light, a child full of wonder, a molecule of darkness. You can think of it as imprisoned in a house in your head, where it treads through halls that are as comfortable as they are crippling. You need to take out the comforts that hamper your creativity. You need to break down the bricks of your house!

Unblockers can help you remove cobwebs from your head, and they can help you unleash your creativity as well. Take the creativity out to play, have it to go to town for the day, or set it free for a little vacation before it returns to the hallowed, comfortable halls once again.

In this exercise, you will pretend that you are taking your creativity out of the house. You can be brutal and talk about breaking down the bricks. You can be gentle and coax your creativity out. Whatever the technique, your aim is not to write a story, but to blabber. Talk about your creative moments, make your creativity run loose, and start writing without worrying about grammar, syntax, or punctuation.

To help you, you can start your work with: "I want to be more creative...."

Good luck and happy unblocking!

2010-05-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

"What if you had to talk to people in song?"

Some people chide Broadway for portraying an unreal world: one where people break into song and dance numbers spontaneously, one where nearly all conversations rhyme, and one where stories are brought forth and resolved in three hours or less.

But what if Broadway happened to YOU? What would your day of song and dance be like?

Write a short story with at least 1 song and detailing at least 1 dance number. This exercise will not only hone your poetry and movement description skills; it will also allow you to flex your muscles when it comes to integrating song and dance into your stories. Pick your plot and stories, and when you are done, post a link to your short story in your Comments section.

Good luck and happy writing!

A Vacation Complete It Exercise

2010-04-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Where do you most want to be right now? Allow your imagination to take you there, and be more aware of how a place can actually make you feel better. Could it be the fresh air drawing the insecurities out of you, the sunlight making you smile wider, the simple change of scenery serving as inspiration for a new novel?

Take a shot at the complete it exercise below:

1. The place that I most want to be in right now: ______________

2. A place that I would never want to visit: _________________

3. My ideal vacation would be in ________, where I can __________ and ___________ all day.

4. I like going to _________ because I get to _______ with _________.

5. My last vacation was at ________, and the thing I remember the most about it _____________.

6. If I could go to one place and stay there forever, it would be _________ because _____________.

7. I want to get away from ________________ and ___________ would be the ideal place to do that.

8. My house is ______________ and it needs ____________.

9. If only I could spend one night _________________!

10. I wouldn't want to be stuck in _______________.

A First Sentence for a New Season!

2010-04-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

In many parts of the world, spring has come into fullest bloom. Bring forth the spring of your own writing by starting off with this sentence:

"The world began to die."

Yes, it's not exactly the happiest start - but here's your challenge. You need to make a HAPPY story, not a sad one. Your story has to end happily even with the sad start. You have only 1000 words or less, your choice of characters and plot, and your choice of setting. You only need to have a happy story.

This exercise should allow you to flex your writing muscles as you shift from a sad start to a happy ending - effortlessly. When you are done, post your work in the Comments section, or provide a link to it.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Some Spring Goo to Undo

2010-04-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

It's time for you to disentangle and colorize your life! Work on the following goo by pairing up the objects in the first line with the colors in the second line. Do this for different combinations of objects and colors.

roses grass water
red green colorless

That is, your roses can be red, green, or colorless. Your grass can be the same color, and so can your water. Your goal is to write three stories, incorporating all three colors of the object into a plot developed in 1000 words or less. That is, you need to write three separate stories about red, green, and colorless roses; red, green, and colorless grass; and red, green, and colorless water. The roses, grass, or water can be central or incidental to the story. They must simply be there.

When you are done, post your best story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it.

Good luck, happy un-goo-ing, and happy writing!

A Last Sentence for the Month of Showers!

2010-04-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

It's time to write a 500-word-or-less story. Pick your plot and setting, but have only ONE character. Your character should not be human.

You read that right. You can have one animal, one fairy, one dwarf, one pencil, what-have-you. Whatever you pick, you need only ONE non-human character.

You also need to use this as your last sentence:

"The rain began to fall."

When you are finished with your work, post it in the Comments section, or provide a link to it. Good luck and happy writing!

You Have to Keep on Learning

2010-04-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

A lot of professionals, whether they are writers, directors, managers, actors, dancers, singers, or scientists, often reach a point in their lives where they think that they know everything and they don't need to keep on learning.

As a writer, you need to recognize that this is a dangerous point in your career, and it is not one where you can simply interpret your realizations as the signal that you no longer need to learn more about your craft.

No writer will ever be perfect, and that includes you.

Stamp this on your mind: you need to keep on learning.

You need to keep on honing your writing skills. You need to attend workshops. You need to get your work critiqued by others. You need to critically examine your characters, plot, and settings. You need to learn and keep on learning. You need to read and keep on reading. You need to write and keep on writing.

Writing is a lifelong process of learning. May you learn new things every day.

7 Months to NaNoWriMo!

2010-04-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

True, it's still a long way to the novel-writing frenzy of November, but you can't simply slack off. Keep your writing talons sharp and precise. Keep your power of calling up words from nowhere. Keep your ability to weave stories. Keep exercising!

If you've already written a novel, and if you missed National Novel Editing Month back in March, now is the time to catch up! Who knows - you might be able to send it to an editor before next NaNo and get your name up in lights!

If you didn't finish your NaNo novel, you could try your hand at it again. You might see things that you never saw before, whether they're grammatical errors, logical loopholes, or even characters that were once cardboard cutouts and now so real to you!

Who knows what you'll discover about yourself?

A People-Watching Activity

2010-03-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's time for you to step out into the world.

All you need to do is write about the life of the very first person that you meet on the street. This can be your mailman, a cab driver, a bus driver, someone on the bus, a jogger - take your pick. All you need to do is single this person out and map out this person's day.

You can use only 1000 words. Avoid turning the story into a grocery checklist of activities, or an enumeration of other people that your lead character meets. Try writing a story that makes this person's life less boring, more exciting; if you have to turn your lead character into a super villain or a fantasy hero/heroine, go ahead. Your story doesn't have to be plausible; it just shouldn't be boring.

When you are done, post your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it. Happy People Watching and Happy Writing!

A Colorless Exercise in Writing

2010-03-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

http://utopiankitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/snow.jpg

Your first job is to go to the link above to access the picture for this exercise.

Your next job is to write about that picture and describe it WITHOUT using the word "White," and without referring to any kind of color. There are many ways that you can go about this: you can describe what the picture makes you feel, what it reminds you of, or what led to the picture being taken. Whatever you do, you have 500 words or less to describe the picture without any reference to color.

This exercise should help you look for other ways to describe scenes without referring to color, and by utilizing all other senses. Some of the world's best writers can describe such a scene so that you make the colors in your head, simply because the scene is so vivid and real.

When you are done, post your work in the Comments section, or provide a link to it. Happy Writing and Good luck!

Read...Read...and Keep On Reading!

2010-03-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

The best writers might tell you this exact same thing: The best writers are also the best and widest readers.

This blog post will not be long. It will only encourage you to constantly sit down with a book, whether it's on your ebook reader or a real, published, pages-and-cover book. This blog post asks you to prepare for your novel by reading novels.

Reading allows you to see how words are used, how paragraphs and sentences are put together, how characters are molded and developed, and how a plot unfolds. Reading allows you to see what work has been published, what people like, what publishers like, and, consequently, what you like or don't like in terms of literature.

By reading, you appreciate how difficult it is to write a book. By reading, you can see the world of literature, and perhaps your place in it.

Happy reading! Now go get a book and prepare yourself for some writing!

Reviewing an Anthology: Single Author

2010-03-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

A collection of short stories is harder to review than an entire book. After all, writers need a different skill set in order to produce great short stories. Critiquing an anthology requires that you be cognizant of these skill sets. One such skill is the ability to condense a potentially long, drawn-out story into a few words without losing the essence of plot, characters, and setting.

It is your turn to review an anthology. This exercise should help you recognize themes in writing, as well as appreciate the difficulty of writing a short story. You might also find out what makes good stories, especially since a short story could contain what you might see as the "meat" of a potential novel.

Choose an anthology that is written by only one author. While reviewing your chosen anthology, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What theme runs throughout the short stories in this anthology?

2. What is the best story in this anthology and why?

3. What is the worst story in this anthology and why? Would you have removed this short story had you been the publisher of the anthology? Why or why not?

4. What kind of short story (plot, characters, setting, etc) would you have added if you were the anthology's writer?

5. What skill, overall, do you think the author uses best? Such skills may include good dialogues, character development, plot unfolding, etc.?

6. In connection with question #5: Which skill should the author continue to develop?

These are only a few questions that you should ask as you write your review of your anthology. Happy reading and happy reviewing! Good luck!

Let's Review a Movie One Piece at a Time: The Script

2010-03-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, reviewing a movie can be easier if you focus on only one aspect of the movie at a time. As a writer, you may have experienced critiquing how the story is told, and what characters say (and how they say it). It's time to harness that skill and look specifically at the script of a movie.

Pick a movie and stick to the movie as we carry out this series of exercises over the next few months. Watch the movie and ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is the script written well? Were there errors in syntax or grammar, and if there were any, were these appropriate to the character and/or setting?

2. How replete was cursing in the script? Was it necessary for the situation or scene? Was it characteristic of any of the characters or of the setting and plot in general?

3. Do the individual characters talk in character?

4. Is the writing appropriate to the setting, ESPECIALLY with regard to the time setting? This is especially problematic for period films, where screenplay writers try to bring the movie to the people by modernizing the dialogue - and effectively removing the atmosphere that the period film should have.

5. Is the script appropriate to the situation, or are smart-alecky, unnecessary lines running through the script?

These are only a few questions that you can ask yourself while carrying out your review. Remember, you will need to look only at the script and how it affects the movie, as well as how it is affected by the elements of the movie. Focus your work on the script and you can gain insight into how you, as a writer, can improve your craft.

Happy watching and happy reviewing!

Here's Why You Have to be Fearless

2010-03-05T12:51:00.001-08:00

“A writer must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid.”

- William Faulkner

Wisdom from a Published Author

2010-02-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

Published author Jasper Fforde, of Thursday Next and Nursery Crimes fame, did not have an easy life. He faced rejections and had to work another day job if only to get his savings in order. He has been writing for far longer than he has been published.

Read his NaNoWriMo pep talk here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/node/3437712.

Life is not all rosy for the writer, but with perseverance and an openness to actually sitting down and writing, the art of writing becomes more fun and less tedious.

A Love Triad - NOT!

2010-02-23T12:50:00.000-08:00

It's time to write a story about a triad that you would normally associate with love - but you have to do your best to NOT write a love story. Incorporate the following elements into your story.

1. An anniversary
2. A movie date
3. A promise

You have your choice of characters and setting, but your plot SHOULD NOT BE A ROMANCE. This is an exercise of your creativity in writing stories that break molds and conventions. You have only 1000 words or less to do the job.

Good luck and happy writing!

Letting Go of Your Blocks

2010-02-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

Unblocking can be a great exercise if you're feeling distracted and unable to write. One distraction could take the form of your irritation with someone, or your anger with someone, or simply just being mad about little things that people do. Unblocking may not necessarily get rid of the madness, but it can help you talk it out with yourself.

You do not have to watch your grammar or syntax, and you do not have to make complete sentences. All you need to do is write without fear. Start your unblocking by using the following phrase as your first few words to lead you into writing:

"I get so mad whenever...."

A Sad, Frightening "What If?"

2010-02-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

On this occasion of Valentine's Day, it's time to think of a question addressed so often in the publication world, it seems so difficult to answer it in an original way:

"What if the person you loved the most died before you could tell them that you love them?"

Answer this What If from a first person point of view, with your choice of character and settings, and with 2000 words or less. Allow this exercise to awaken your creativity in answering an almost trite questions. Allow this exercise to make you aware, as well, of the value of people in your life.

When you are done, post your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it. Good luck, and happy writing!

And don't ever forget to tell your loved ones that you love them, no matter what day of the year it is.

A BItter "Complete It" Exercise

2010-02-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

Filling in the blanks can be cathartic. It can allow you to be aware of your own biases and emotions. You don't have to let go of your biases; being aware of them can simply help you harness them when you have to craft your stories. Moreover, being aware of your emotions can actually help you become a better writer. If you can't feel what your characters feel, then in all likelihood, your readers won't.

Fill in the blanks for the following numbers. Happy answering!

1. If I were to ______ someone, it would be ________ because _____________.

2. ________ is such a ______________, and I would love to _________________.

3. Looking at _________________ makes me want to _____________.

4. I would break up with ______________ if he/she were my _____________.

5. ____________ would be good if he/she were more ______________.

6. A word of warning to anyone wanting to be with _________: He/she __________.

7. I was not a priority in ________'s life, and it made me feel _____________.

8. I would never get back together with ______________.

9. I wish ___________ a life full of __________.

10. __________ made promises but never kept them.

A First Sentence for a Bitter Story

2010-02-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

Pick your plot, characters, and settings, and get set. Here is the first sentence for your story.

"He was a liar of the first class and was fooling her - while she had a good heart."

You have 1000 words or less to write your story. When you are done, post your story in the Comments section or provide a link to your story.

Good luck and happy (bitter?) writing!

Undo these Adjectives and Adverbs

2010-02-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

It's time to unglue your goo. In this exercise, you will need to use the three adjectives and three adverbs below. Pick one adjective and use it in the same sentence as one of the adverbs. Pair another adjective and another adverb for another sentence. Use the last adjective and adverb as your final pair.

lazy sleepy indifferent

cruelly pathetically unambitiously

When you are done, use these three sentences, each containing an adjective and adverb, and form a story. Your sentences do not have to follow each other. Simple use these three sentences and fashion a story with plot, characters, and settings of your choosing. You have only 500 words at your disposal.

When you are done with the first pairings, return to the goo and make up different combinations of adjective-adverb pairs for your sentences. Try your hand at a new 500-words-or-less story.

When you are done, post your best story in the Comments section, or provide a link to your story. Good luck and happy writing!

A Romantic Mystery, All of Your Own Making

2010-01-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

Your mission in this exercise is to come up with your own characters and setting to fit the following as your final sentence:

"She knew, deep in her heart, that now was the time to kill him."

Use this final sentence to end your tale of romance, love, and murder. You have 2000 words or less to write your story.

When you are done, paste your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to your story. Good luck and happy writing!

And Speaking of Titles Still...

2010-01-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

Do not judge a book by its cover, sages tell us; they should have continued with, "And not by its title either."

How would Jane Eyre have been treated differently if it had been titled Rochester? Or A Gothic Romance of Heartbreak and Love? Would today's bestsellers have sold better if their titles had been changed?

All the questions above imply that a title and cover do not a good book make. However, it would do all of us a great deal of good to admit that a title can catch attention and make people pick up a book and actually read it. If anything, the title is the hook; the bait is the first few sentences; taking a reader hook, line, and sinker means that the reader dives into the book headlong and revels in every single word and sentence of its literary richness.

So what does all this mean? Balance.

Don't concentrate on your title too much. You want to catch your readers with a great book, not have them slavering over your title, and then disappoint them with your poorly written content. On the other hand, don't disregard the power of your title: You want to catch people's attention, not turn them away from a potentially great book.

Sometimes, a great title will just pop into your head, forcing you to write a story. At other times, you will need to finish your book before you even get an idea for a title. Whichever the case, don't think too hard. Let the title come to you. Work on your writing skills first.

Speaking of Titles...

2010-01-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

Have you thought of a title for your NaNoWriMo novel yet?

True, it's still months away from this year's big novel writing escapade. And true, you shouldn't base your work around a title - much less belabor yourself with a title if you have no plot yet. But you can also think of titles as an exercise: thinking of a title can actually make you excited to write because you need to have a title that encapsulates your characters, plot, and setting.

Your title can make or break your book: you can wake up one day, stare at your title, and find yourself encouraged to move on and keep writing; or wanting to vomit.

Your NaNoWriMo exercise is simple: think of single words that could be titles for books, and then construct plots around them. The catch is that you can use only 50 words, at the most, to construct a plot. For instance, you can use the word "PEN" and your plot could read "Marigold has never used a pen to write, but she weaves stories like a pro. When a mysterious man hands her a pen, she is unprepared to write with it, especially when the pen has a mind of its own."

Use as many words and construct as many plots as you want. You might also want to use a single word and construct multiple plots around that word. Think of this as a creative exercise - and you might end up with a plot that you could actually use!

Good luck and happy plotting!

Random Blog Writings

2010-01-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

What's in a blog title? Plenty, apparently, if you know what to do with them. Here's an exercise to get you thinking.

1. Go to your favorite search engine.
2. In the Search window, type in "blog" and then your first name.
3. Click on the first result. If you keep a blog and the first result is your blog, go to the next one. If the result is in a language other than the one that you know best, then go to the next one.
4. Look at the name of the blog. If the blog has no name, use the title of the latest entry. If the blog has no entries, use the URL name of the blog.
5. Use that title as the first few words of your short story. You have 500 words at your disposal. The plot and characters are all yours.

This exercise should help you think on your toes. Not all blogs have sensible titles, but it would be a great and deep mark of your creativity if you can turn a nonsensical title into the first few, intelligible, and engaging lines of your short story.

When you are done, post your 500 word story in the Comments section, or provide a link to your story. Good luck and happy writing!

Pick Your Own Christmas Photo

2010-01-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

It's time to go back to your old Christmas albums and get a Christmas photo out. The younger you are, the better. Make sure you pick a photograph that shows you clearly - you can be with other people, but you need to be seen clearly and not blocked by anybody else in the shot.

Relive that moment. Why was that picture taken? What was going on? What did you feel? Tell your readers about it in less than 500 words. Writers can recreate memories that they never had: this exercise should help you recreate your own memories and prepare you to create scenes later on.

When you are done, share your writing and picture in the comments section, or provide a link to your work.

Good luck, happy reminiscing, and happy writing!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T14:16:00.001-08:00

It's 2010, and it's a new year - a new year for writing, for great ideas, and for great exercises.

It's time to really think this year through: what are you going to do in January so that you can get your novel up and running by December? How are you going to do NaNoWriMo this year? Are you going to write your novel yet?

Start preparing for 2010 - a year of novels and writing.

Happy New Year!

And Now, for the Peer Review...

2009-12-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

No, you're not reviewing a published book. You're reviewing a friend's book - and a friend is reviewing yours.

Welcome to peer review.

Scientists and researchers do it all the time: they hand their raw research articles to publishers and editors, and the publishers and editors hand the articles to the scientists' peers. These peers edit the work, sniff out possible frauds, and send in reviews to make the paper better (or send an order for it to be tossed out altogether).

In this review session, you and your friend will help each other achieve literary greatness. Your job is to pretend to be a mere reader to a writer friend's work. Review that person's work as though it were already out in the bookstore. You don't need to do any editing. Your job is to look through the work, review it, and suggest (VERY GENTLY) how it might be made better - in other words, this is just like any other review that you do, except that you know the author personally and the work isn't out on the bookshelves yet.

In the same vein, be ready to accept suggestions and criticism about your work. Be open to these suggestions because they may actually make your work logical, readable, and - who knows? - publishable!

What a way to end the year!

Good luck, happy reading, and happy reviewing!

Reviewing Christmas Movies

2009-12-27T13:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas movies are probably either syrupy enough to give ants diabetes, or sad enough to dehydrate the Pacific ocean. Now, it's time to review them, and you may either need to exercise your smile muscles to keep them from breaking, or keep a big box of tissues handy.

Use the same review tools that you would for all your other movies, but this time, try writing two different reviews. Review the Christmas movie as a movie: what are its cinematic merits? How is the acting? The cinematography? The direction? The shot framing? The music? Does everything come together into a coherent whole?

Next, review the Christmas movie as a CHRISTMAS movie. Does it have the spirit of the season that it portrays, or can you move the plot to any other season and still have it work? Does it use the Christmas season to its advantage, or does the movie end up sappy and look like it's trying its hardest best to warm your heart?

This exercise should help you see how your book can be reviewed, too: you can be reviewed in terms of your skill as a writer, and you can be reviewed in terms of your skill as a weaver of imaginary worlds. Both these reviews can exist in one review, but you need to be aware that you also have two major skill sets to develop. Recognize it in another art form, and you can get a greater grasp on how you can improve your craft.

Merry Christmas! Happy watching and happy reviewing!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

2009-12-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

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"Christmas is the keeping-place for memories of our innocence."

- Joan Mills
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Look Back on Your Year

2009-12-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

2010 is coming fast - but don't let 2009 fall behind without looking back at what you've accomplished.

Today, your job is not to soak yourself in Christmas work; you don't need to read writing tips and tricks either. Your job is to look back on all that you've written and ask yourself: how far have I come, and where should I go?

How has my writing improved in 2009? What else should I do to improve my writing?

Are there bad writing habits that I still haven't shaken off? How will I shake them off? What good writing habits have I picked up this year? How will I keep these habits up, into 2010 and beyond?

Writing may be an art and a craft, but it's also a lot of work. See how much you've learned and plodded through in 2009, and you can get a good idea of how good 2010 will be for your writing life.

Happy Reading!

A Triad for All the Shopping!

2009-12-18T19:46:00.000-08:00

Do you have the time to write a 300-word story? All you need are the three elements that follow, all of which should figure in your work:

1. candy cane
2. candle
3. wreath

These three things should fit into your story, along with your own plot and characters. Another rule: DO NOT MAKE IT A CHRISTMAS-THEMED STORY. This exercise should help you craft your own story without being influenced by the hubbub and ruckus all around you.

When you are done, post your work in the Comments section, or provide a link to it. Good luck and happy writing!

Unblock to Relax!

2009-12-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

The holidays can truly be stressful, and you will want to escape the crowds and noise if only to find yourself again. You can get drowned out in the hubbub, but you don't have to; try an unblocker when you find a 15-minute window of spare time.

An unblocker is not only a good way to help you get your writing started. It can also relax you and make you feel that you still own something, that you are not being drawn away by an untamed tide.

Are you ready? Pick up a pencil/pen and paper, or open a blank document on your computer. Use the following sentence as your prompt, and then write on and on and on.

"I would like to get away from all this."

You don't have to turn the entire thing into a story. All you need a few thoughts, and you can simply write until your 15 minutes run out. Don't go back and edit, don't look at your grammar, and forget all the rules of punctuation and spelling. This is no publication quality work; this is an unblocker to help you get the day out of your hair.

Happy writing!

It's the What If That You Might Want

2009-12-12T20:36:00.000-08:00

December is the busiest time of the year, and it's not just about Christmas. People wrap up work, get ready for travel, close accounts, close books, and, in general, get into a lot of scrapes and messes. But what if it was calm?

What if the world went all quiet in December?

"All quiet" means so many things. It can mean that the malls close and no one can shop, or it can mean that people aren't rushing to get their work done. What it means is up to you. You can choose a plot and your characters, but you can't write anything beyond 1000 words. When you are done, post your short story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it.

Good luck and happy writing!

Complete It for the Holidays!

2009-12-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a questionnaire that you can print out or fill out when you have that little pocket of spare time. Keeping your creative juices flowing can actually make your holiday more exciting. So don't balk at the prospect of working on your writing: you're just taking the humdrum out of your December!

Be as creative as possible when you fill out the blanks:

1. The best gift that I ever received was _____________ from ___________.
2. I think the best gift that I've ever given was the ______________ I gave to ___________.
3. ________ the ___________ with _________ of _________.
4. The ___________ on a __________ symbolize __________.
5. My favorite _________ movie is _____________ and I would love to watch it with _________.
6. If I had a Christmas tree, it would be colored ______________, filled with ___________, and with a __________ on top.
7. I want to get ___________ this ___________ because I can't ___________.
8. When I ___________ a __________, I like ____________.
9. One day, when I __________, I can ___________ as many times as I want.
10. It's fun to ___________ if you're not _____________.

A First Sentence on the Heels of Christmas

2009-12-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

The holidays are upon us, and if you aren't careful, you could end up not writing anything and getting into Writing Muscle Atrophy. Make sure that you take time off from shopping and greeting card writing/sending to write just a little bit and keep your creative juices flowing.

You need to write a story now, and you don't have to go very far. In fact, you have only 200 words, and no more. You need to write something on the basis of this first sentence:

This December is going to be hot.

You need to write in first person, and you can have as many characters as you like to people your 200-word masterpiece. When you are done, post your work in the Comments section, or provide a link to it. Good luck and happy writing!

A Bit of Holiday Goo!

2009-12-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

The holidays are upon us! And they can squash your writing too!

Just before you head off and shop, here's some quick goo that will keep you on your writing toes. Below are three everyday objects, followed by three characteristics of any everyday object. Pair each of the objects with each of the characteristics (making nine total possible combinations). Use all these nine combinations in your very own advertising spree!

You have only 100 words at your disposal to share a story about your experiences with the object (with its assigned characteristic). It doesn't have to be a true story: but it has to be convincing enough to make a sale! This exercise should help you stay alert and still have a great sense of humor, no matter what time of the year.

Ready? Here's your goo!

mug blanket turkey
red warm cheap

When you are done, post your best story in the comments section, or provide a link to your work. Good luck and happy writing!

Take a Rest!!

2009-11-30T19:19:00.000-08:00

At last, NaNoWriMo is offer! And at last, you can rest!

What should you do?

1. Do not edit your novel. Step away from it and allow your plot to still simmer in your head. Do nothing with it. Have nothing to do with it!

2. Attend a Thank God It's Over (TGIO) party and share war stories. Get tips from the veterans and mentor some new enthusiasts. Whatever you do, do not write your novel! Step away! Rest!

3. If you can, DO NOT READ YOUR NOVEL. You might think that this will be a harmless process that will allow you to enjoy your month's efforts. It will either force you to edit or leave you going "Huh?" at your story. True, some writers can produce a masterpiece in a month, but some will simply come up with drivel. Resist the urge to read your work because you might be tempted to judge yourself too harshly and too early.

It's time to reward yourself with free time. Rest, and you'll find yourself happy to jump into any kind of fray again.

A Not-So-Last Sentence

2009-11-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

You have your choice of characters and plot, and you can use as many words as you want. You only need to come to an ending so that your story will end with the following sentence.

"It was not finished yet."

Last sentence exercises always aim to make you focus your story and to find the many ways to reach an ending without looking like you are forcing the words out. Happy writing, and good luck with the story!

When you are done, post your work in the Comments section, or provide readers with a link to it.

Love Can Move Mountains (Or Make them Land On You)

2009-11-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

Having a love life can build up your writing life or break it down. Your husband or wife can bring you a surprise gift, or they can insult you without speaking a single word. Your boyfriend or girlfriend can be indifferent one day and affectionate the next. You can be on an emotional rollercoaster, and the stories that you tell could be affected by your love life.

That isn't to say, however, that every writer has to give up his or her love life for better writing. In fact, you need to think of the exact opposite. A love life - or, for that matter, a real life - can only enrich your writing and make it more poignant, more real to you and your readers.

You can actually take advantage of the emotional rollercoaster that you may find yourself in. Boyfriend not paying you any attention? Write about it. For added vindication, construct an imaginary boyfriend who can teach your boyfriend a thing or two about relationships.

Girlfriend sent you a sweet text message that made your day? Write about it. Better yet, send her a sweet text back.

Husband cooked you dinner? Write about it. Make it a happier occasion by writing an actual novel about the struggles that your husband went through to put the dinner together. Feel free to add fight scenes with other cooking-for-their-wives-husbands and negotiations on vegetable prices that end in cursing and shouting.

Wife didn't kiss you goodbye this morning? Write about it. Get some bigger revenge with a short story about how your day still goes well - and even better than any other day - even without the kiss.

A lot of people will tell you to ignore the emotional rollercoaster. Try riding on it - and you may find yourself rich in more plots, more characters, and more stories.

An Ebay Search Can Buy You a Story!

2009-11-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

It's time to get on Ebay and buy a story! All you need to do is follow the steps below.

1. Visit ebay.com - you don't need to have a log in.
2. Look for the search window.
3. Do a general search: type in the first letter of your first name and search for it.
4. Pick the first object/product that you find. Take note of it.
5. Do another general search: this time, type in the first letter of your last name.
6. Pick the very last object/product on the first page of your search results.

Now, construct a story around these two objects/products. You can pick your characters and plot, but make these two objects/products pivotal to your story. You have only 5,000 words at your disposal. When you are finished, post your story in the comments section or provide a link to it.

Good luck and happy writing!

Back to School!

2009-11-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.cambridge2000.com/gallery/images/PC1617872e.jpg

Raphael's School of Athens is painted on one of the walls of the Vatican Museum. Filled with various characters from history, this painting could well be embedded with stories and legends.

What story can YOU pick up?

Look at all the characters and pick at least 3. Set your work in the School of Athens. What was life like? What are your characters like? What are their motivations? Where did they come from? Where are they going?

You can use up to 10,000 words for your story. Be as true as possible to how the characters appear in the painting, and if you can, do some historical research! When you are done, post your work in the Comments section, or provide a link to it.

Good luck and happy writing!

The NaNoWriMo Plunge!

2009-11-07T23:03:00.000-08:00

Life bites.

Writing a novel is difficult enough when you have to do it over a period of years, but when you have one month to do it, it can be disastrous. A lot of writers who do the NaNoWriMo exercise every year will tell you that the best way to write is to lock yourself up in your personal dungeon (attic, basement, broom closet) and stay away from the world.

But how realistic can your novel be when you are cloistered and kept out of reality?

If you are planning to join National Novel Writing Month, prepare yourself for real life. Prepare yourself for the interruptions of school, work, home, and friends. If you are prepared for interruptions, then you may be less likely to respond insanely to a well-meaning friend/family member/boss, and you could successfully juggle writing a novel and your non-novel-writing life.

After all, won't winning NaNoWriMo be even more exciting and rewarding when you get past the 50k word mark, complete all your household tasks, finish up at school, and still keep all your friends without any of them worrying about your sanity?

Good luck with the race this year - and don't be afraid of real life! It may bite, but you can always bite back.

The Abridged, The Shortened, the Condensed, Part 1

2009-11-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

A few decades back, Reader's Digest decided to put out large volumes of condensed works, where they whittled down novels to their barest minimum so that people could still read the classics without having to sit down for hours (days, months) at a time. But how do condensed/shortened/abridged versions compare with the original?

Your job right now is to read a condensed version of a book that you have never read before, but whose full, unabridged, and complete copy is within reach. The objective of this exercise is to get you to see the difference between the condensed and full version of a book, not just in how the story flows, but what apparently editors hold in higher regard. Do editors go for character development but not the actual plot, or do they go for plots and then leave you to find out the characters' lives and motivations?

Your job is to read the condensed version of the book, and, as you are reading, write your thoughts down. In particular, write how the book makes you feel, how it strikes you, and what you are looking for. What are the questions left unanswered? Which characters do you want to see more of? What assumptions should you be making about the characters or the plot? In other words: speculate.

When you are done reading and taking notes, do not write a full review yet. Keep your notes and wait for the next exercise on book reviews. Good luck and happy reading (and speculating)!

This Blog's Disclosure Policy

2009-10-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

This policy is valid from 29 October 2009

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Now, for that Horror Movie You Don't Even Want to See...

2009-10-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Not everyone likes horror movies - and even if some people do, there are just horror movies that they avoid like the swine flu. Slasher flicks, zombie movies, vampire tales, and all sorts of creatures go bump into the cinematic night. Are you brave enough to get past your fears (or unwillingness) and watch a horror flick?

Your job is to widen your repertoire to include even films that you may be horrified or resistant to watching. This time, you need to watch a horror movie and tell your audience what you think of it, ABOVE AND BEYOND THE FRIGHT AND GORE. How was the acting? How was the plot? What did you like about the movie? What did you dislike?

This exercise should help you appreciate even the strangest types of art, and to see the redeeming points even in art that is seemingly created for the sake of awakening our basest fears. Remember, if you can awake fear - among other emotions - in your readers, you are a better writer than most. Explore how such a phenomenon can be brought about by other art forms, and you could also enrich your own writing.

Good luck, happy watching, and happy reviewing!

(And don't forget to keep your lights on!)

Is There Really, Truly One Story?

2009-10-24T01:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

It's time to listen to a writer, and to dig, deep into your soul, to see if you believe in a single story - or your own story to tell. Watch as Chimamanda Adichie talks about opening your heart and allowing your soul to take flight through your writing.

A Good Tool for Writers: The E-Book Search Engine

2009-10-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

A lot of good writers are also good readers: they expose themselves to authors of varied styles, and they know which books to go to for research or improving their craft. But if you're a writer with a lot of work on your hands, can you still find time to read books?

If you're online a lot, you can still get electronic books, or e-books. However, e-books can be difficult to find online if you don't know where to go. Thankfully, you can search pdf files and books through the E-Book Search queen at http://www.ebook-search-queen.com/.

You can use your precious time to write more and read more, instead of spending hours looking for a download link that works. All you need to have is the book's author, an extract from the book, or simply the book's title.

The good thing about E-Book Search Queen is that it has books from all over the world. If you love reading fiction from a host of different countries, this is your chance to search pdf files for them. And if you haven't read books from a wider variety of cultures and expertise, now is the time to do so!

Reading books can be both enjoyable and educational. With the advent of the information age, reading books can now be as easy as searching, clicking, and downloading.

Happy reading and happy exploring!

Some posts on this blog have been sponsored by third parties. This entry is one such post. For more information, you can visit this blog's disclosure page.

A Special Halloween Triad

2009-10-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

Your job is to make a short story out of three elements of Halloween. You should have only 1 (ONE) character. The choice of setting is yours, the plot is entirely your own, and you have only 1,000 words at your disposal.

You also need to incorporate these three things into your story:

1. a pint of blood in a really big mug
2. a tombstone with nothing written on it
3. a white sheet

Whwn you are done, post your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it so that other readers can look at your work.

Happy Writing, and good luck with your story!

A Halloween Unblocker

2009-10-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Unblockers help you clear your head and get you past writer's block. They can also make you aware of things about yourself, and they can uncover a lot about what you believe in, what you know, and what you value.

Here's an unblocker that will help you dig out a few things. Start your work with the following sentence, and keep on writing, non-stop, for the next 15 minutes.

I am most afraid of....

Your goal is to simply write without checking your grammar, without editing your work, and without caring for syntax or sense. Just write and clear your mind. When you are done, relax! You've just written something that you should be proud of - something that you don't need to keep, but something that might allow you to write something else without worrying if you can get past writer's block.

Good luck and happy writing!

It's Time for Halloween What Ifs!

2009-10-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

Halloween is just a few weeks away, and it's time to get into the Halloween mood. Try out this What if for your short story:

What if zombies ruled the world?

The plot and characters will be your own, and you need to describe the world, in detail, with zombies at the head. You have only 3000 words (or less) to write your story. When you are done, post your story, or a link to it, in the Comments section.

Good luck, and happy writing!

A First Sentence that has enough prose in it...

2009-10-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

...for a whole novel altogether.

Your job is to use the following first sentence as the basis of a short story that is no more than 1000 words long (including the first sentence!). The plot and characters are entirely yours. When you are done, post the story in the Comments section, or post a link to it so that people can read your work.

Here is your first sentence:

"There were many ways to get lost at the farmers' market, especially when you had to go through a maze of turnips, eggplant, peas, peanuts, green beans, and lima beans; when you had to listen to your thoughts above the negotiations on prices for gourds, squash, zucchini, mustard, and radish; and when you had to balance a bag of tomatoes and garlic on one hand, and a basket of onions and ginger on the other."

Good luck and happy writing!

A Little Storm of Goo

2009-10-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

It's time to rearrange the weather and your characters. Your job in this goo exercise is to pair up the following rain variants with a character, and write how that character is affected by the weather. Is the character happy? Sad? How? Why? Elaborate on the character's mood in no more than 300 words.

downpour drizzle hail thunderstorm
professor scientist poet painter

This exercise should help you say the most about your character in as few words as possible. It should also help you explore how your characters can be the product of the weather that surrounds them.

At the end of the exercise, you should have 16 short text snippets. Pick the best one and post it in the Comments section, or provide a link to your work. Good luck, and happy writing!

A Last Sentence for NaNoWriMo

2009-10-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a dream sentence for you NaNoWriMo enthusiasts:

"I finished my novel early, and that was that."

True, this is rare, but what if it really did happen? What if you finished your work early? What could have led to your success?

Your job is to use this sentence as the very last one in your short story. You have only a thousand words, at the most, to write the tale. The plot will be entirely your own. When you are done, post your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it so that other people can read how you achieved your novel writing success.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Be a Stickler for All Things Accurate and Precise

2009-10-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

A lot of people might not care about accuracy and precision, especially when it comes to historical or scientific fact. That doesn't mean that you should jump on the bandwagon.

Precision: saying what you want to say; avoiding vague terms that turn your writing into a nebulous blob of "Huh?"

Accuracy: sticking to the facts as closely as you can. You can take some literary license now and then, but when you've taken one too many, you're just one lazy writer.

Be a stickler for precision. Start with grammar. Don't leave your work to an editor who might not catch the spirit of your writing, and who may simply blot out a few words and punctuation marks.

Be a stickler for accuracy. Start with research. Be as accurate as you possibly can, whether it's historical information or jargon, you need to tell a story. Tell it as accurately as possible. True, people will see the truth in different ways, but that shouldn't stop you from doing research! Hit the balance between good grammar and good storytelling; hit another balance between good grammar and good research; and hit the balance between good storytelling and good research. The latter may be the most difficult to do, but with practice (and prudent nitpicking) you can do it!

Last, stamp precision and accuracy on your mindset. When you start concentrating on being precise and accurate in your work, it may soon come naturally to you.

Be the best writer that you can be.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Reminder: National Novel Writing Month is coming!

2009-10-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

When November 1st strikes, it's time to start typing!

National Novel Writing Month is coming!

If you still haven't heard of this cool enterprise - comprising people who decide that they want to get carpal tunnel in a full-fledged, 30-day writing party - then you might have been living under a digital rock for the last decade.

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as it has been fondly christened, is a challenge to writers everywhere. You have 30 days in November to start a novel and get past the 50,000 word mark. Your prize: the fulfilment of having gotten all your words on paper.

This is a month of zero edits. You only need something to work on in the future, so get those words out!

For more information, head over to http://www.nanowrimo.org. You can register as a new user - or if this is your umpteenth time to get your word count up, up, and away, log in and register!

Happy writing - and happy researching for your November novel!

Clean Out a Cupboard!

2009-10-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Cleaning up is hard to do, especially when you have so many other things to take care of. But if you do clean up, then it's one less thing to do, right? Today's focus is your kitchen. You may or may not have cleaned it up, but you need to focus your attention on your cupboard - in particular, a cupboard where canned or preserved goods are kept.

Ready? Your job is to get to that cupboard. Now:

1) Pick up a can or bottle at random. Make sure that the can or bottle has nutrition information and information about ingredients.

2) Under the list of nutrients, pick the 3rd nutrient. It could be fat, sodium, potassium, or anything under the sun. Write down what this 3rd nutrient is.

3) Under the list of ingredients, pick the 3rd ingredient from the last. If you have only 1 or 2 ingredients, pick the last one. If you have only three ingredients, pick the first one. Write down this ingredient.

4) Write a story of 1000 words or less about how the can or bottle of food got the nutrient. Was it from the farm that it was harvested from? Was it from the cannery or bottling facility?

5) Write a story of 1000 words or less about how the can or bottle of food would taste WITHOUT the ingredient in #3.

When you are done, post your stories in the Comments section, or simply provide a link to your work. Good luck and happy writing!

A Disaster in Pictures: Tales of a Flood

2009-09-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

Credit: AFP/Xinua Photos

On September 26th, 2009, Typhoon Ketsana (local name: Ondoy) ravaged the Philippines, pouring down rain for hours. At the end of half-a-day's worth of rain, the Philippines had received the equivalent of one month's rainfall, and was submerged in water. Several areas were flooded heavily, and families were forced to flee their homes.

There are many stories that emerged from the disaster. An 18-year old boy swam to rescue 30 people before drowning in the flood waters. Movie stars helped their neighbors move out of their houses. Students sprang to action, joined task forces, and helped clean streets and gather donations. Aid is pouring in, but with more typhoons coming into the country, aid will never be enough.

Donate to the cause. You can visit http://purdueondoy.wordpress.com for details.

You can also post a creative essay on your blog about the photo above. What might have been going through the little girl's mind? What was that day like in the Philippines? Limit your entry to about 500 words and please repost the picture (along with its credits).

People all over the world need to be aware that so much has happened, and so much help is needed. Your story can be part of the global move to give the disaster more coverage online.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Take a Hike!

2009-09-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a long, quiet walk to get your brain cleared of cobwebs.

There is a time for all things, novel writing included. There is a time to unblock, and a time to sit back and relax. Now is that time for you.

Instead of sitting down at your computer today, walk away, put on a coat if it's too cold, bring an umbrella if it's going to rain, and put on some sunblock if the sun is going to shine. Pack nothing with you, except maybe some money and ID's. Don't bring an MP3 player or an iPod. Don't listen to music, podcasts, or anything that will distract you from the noise of the outside world.

All you need to do is walk.

Walking in silence (or in the noise of the outside world, if all else fails) can actually relax you and keep you away from the storm of words that comes with writing. By stepping away, you can actually see your novel from the outside, looking in. If you don't have an idea for your novel yet, a walk can probably a good way for you to get ideas. You can stumble on a plot as you walk through the woods; you can get one if you overhear an interesting conversation; or you can simply get an epiphany at the weirdest, most unexpected times.

So go. Take a walk. Leave the novel. Take this advice seriously when you're feeling burned out.

Burn bright when the words come; shelter the flame when you lose your writing breath.

A Review for Choices

2009-09-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

"Choose Your Own Adventure" Books were popular once, before the advent of video games, the Wii, and other things that have torn children away from books. Most bookstores still sell them, however, and your mission is to find one and review it.

The advantage of such books is that it contains a wide variety of plots that can be twisted, intertwined, and mixed up, so that every read could potentially lead to a different story. Such a book is easy to read over and over, but even individual "Choose Your Own Adventure" books can be different in this respect. Some are easy to read, others are dense; some have an amusing sense of logic in their plots, others have no logic at all.

While reviewing the book as a whole, look at the plotlines that you come across. Are they plausible? Exciting? Engaging? Were there plotlines that could have been removed? Plotlines that should have been added? "Choose Your Own Adventure" books can be a lot of fun to review, and they could take you back to a time in your childhood where books reigned supreme, and where one little packet of paper could potentially hold several stories in its few thousand words.

A Short Film, a Good Review

2009-09-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

Short films, in comparison to feature films, are not only short in terms of time; they need to compress all their main ideas in a short amount of time without appearing rushed, and still getting their story through. Short films, around an hour long (or much less!), can be thought of as the short stories of the movie world: hard to write effectively, difficult to make effective characters for, and of course, difficult to find interesting plots for.

Your job is to review a short film. You can check them out through your Netflix account, download them online, or simply wait for them on your favorite movie channel. Although it may be tempting to get a short documentary, your job right now is to look at a fictional short film. You can check out http://www.indymogul.com/bestshorts or http://www.shortfilmcentral.com/ for ideas.

The short film can be of any length, and your review can be of any length as well. One main question that you need to consider is the ability of the short film to pack a punch: was it able to use all the time it had for a great story, or did you feel rushed? Conversely, was the story too slow, so that the short film felt like it was much longer? Should it have been made into a feature film instead? Could it have been made shorter? Were there things missing that you wanted to see? Were there things that should have been taken out?

Watching short films should help you understand how difficult it is to distill stories into a small amount of film time - and it should help you feel the burden of being a writer as well. You may write a novel, but you don't have thousands of words to tell your story. The best novels are those that pack a mean story punch in the few words that they have.

Happy watching, and happy reviewing!

Something to Read for Inspiration, Especially Number Plate Fans

2009-09-19T16:20:00.000-07:00

Personalised Number Plates can make a story more interesting. Think of James Bond traveling down the winding roads of the French Riviera, his 007 plate shining in the sun. Think of any big celebrity, any holder of public office, and all the names and numbers attached to them. Such plates can define characters and add a wee bit to how quirky or exacting they can be.

Why not add a little pizazz to your writing life? Visit Northumbria Numbers, a website where you can pick out (and even register!) the plate of your choice. The website is easy to use: when you come to the front page, you can simply type in your name, your nickname, or your car model.

You can also choose to format the plate number in which way you choose. This can be advantageous if you want more flexibility in choosing your personalised number plates, since you don't need to scour through a computer-generated list of possible plates.

You can even sell plate numbers on the website, make your own plate; and, when all else fails, contact the owners. The site can also give you suggestions on which plates might work best for you. This is good on two counts: you are provided with flexibility and the opportunity to automatically register your plate; and you now have a source of information for your lead character's number plate!

This website should part of the entire package that consists in you learning how you can fashion your stories around a single concept. In this case, you can use a personalised number plate to drive your story forward (no pun intended)or add spice to your characters. Some search results that come up, however, might seem unimaginative, but don't let the results stop you. Even ordinary plates can carry extraordinary stories.

Chew on this dream...

2009-09-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

.
“Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life.”

-George Sand

It's a Salon Triad!

2009-09-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Your job today, dear writer, is to be creative; and today, you are going to the parlor.

Mind you, this is no ordinary parlor! You are going to write a horror story - whether it's a slasher, ghost, zombie, vampire, or whatever story - and you have to set it in a beauty salon/parlor. You have 10,000 words to write your story, and the three objects below must figure significantly in it:

1. a hair dryer
2. a fine tooth comb
3. hair straightening fluid

When you are done, post your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it if the story is too long. Good luck, and happy writing!

Open Up Your Sense of Smell!

2009-09-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

There’s nothing like the smell of oranges. I see orchards, stretching for miles and miles, swelling with fruit, and burnished with the gold of the sun. Light, airy, without the sting of artificial scents, or the heaviness of flowers, oranges can make me feel feminine. Perfumes are meant to enhance an outfit, not cover it up or mask it. Oranges seem to do just that: they seem to call up images of a kitchen bursting with life, clean markets bustling with noise, and a countryside sweet with the sounds and smells of summer. When I smell oranges, I begin thinking of sweet little tales that talk about stolen kisses in the fields, where the grasses run high; or about embraces beneath groves of oak and maple; or sweet nothings whispered in afternoons heady with the sunset.

What is your favorite scent? What does it make you see when you smell it? What stories come to mind when you smell it? Work on this unblocker by either catching your favorite scent, and then writing to your heart’s content; or trying to remember what you feel when you smell your favorite scent. Smells can bring back memories; see if you can write these memories down. For scent ideas, you could also visit Scent.

The key is to keep on writing to remove all the cobwebs in your head. Who knows? You could come up with a great plot for your novel!

Happy smelling, and happy writing!

A What If of Nightmares....

2009-09-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

Not everyone thinks that nightmares are bad. They can give you warnings on how you can make your life better. They can prove to be the breeding ground of ideas that could drive your work. In fact, if you can get beyond your fear of nightmares, you could wake up screaming...for a pen and paper to take down your ideas, that is.

You have about 1000 words to talk about the following "What If?"

What if you could never wake up from your worst nightmare?

When you are done, post your story in the comments section, or provide a link to it. Good luck and happy writing!

Complete This Lovey-Dovey Entry

2009-09-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

It's time to get some love into your writing! All you need to do is fill in the following blanks: but you MUST NOT be cheesy or mushy. You can be funny or silly, BUT DO NOT BE LOVEY-DOVEY.

This exercise should help you think out of the box, and above and beyond the usual, cliche-ish image of love portrayed in the mass media. Be creative! Be your own person, and have your own voice! Good luck, and happy completing!

1. ______ is a many-______ thing.
2. ______ is all you need.
3. I feel it in my _________; I feel it in my _________; ________ is all around me, and so the ______________.
4. _____ can be better than ______; but ______ is much worse than ________.
5. ______ is ______; ______ is ________
6. If you have no _______, then what good is _______?
7. When I _______ in ______, it will be _______.
8. Wise men say ___________, but I can't help ___________.
9. I wish ______ would not ______ when I ______ the ______.
10. ________ is good.

Some Insects Have All the Fun

2009-09-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

You could be reincarnated as the next millionaire, or the next dung beetle. You can be born a pauper or a prince. You can wake up with a silver spoon in your mouth, stuck right there when you utter your first cry; or you can be spanked by your local midwife until you were aware that you would be spanked for the rest of your life. But...

What if you were born a bee?

Write a story of no more than 1000 words. You are in charge of where your plot will go, who your characters will be, and where your story is set. You only need to write in first person, and you have to be a bee. How would your day go? What would your life be like? What would make your life exciting, and what would make your life a living pain in your stinging bottom? This exercise will help you take on the personality of another living thing, which, not being a human, will require you to use your imagination.

When you are finished, provide a link to your story in the Comments section; or, if it's short enough, post it for other readers to read. Good luck and happy writing!

A Quick Little Unblocker

2009-09-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's time for another unblocker, and this time, it will be about one person – and what that one person can do to your head.

Now don't mistake this for obsession. You want to simply start off your unblocker with the following sentence:

He is...

And then, you will want to write more...and more...and more...disregarding all notions of grammar, syntax, punctuation, sense, and sensibility. Moreover, EVERY SENTENCE HAS TO START WITH "HE IS." That is the only rule that you need to follow.

You will want to either have a typewriter by your side as you do this, and a way to get your paper in quickly. Or you can have your pen and paper handy; or have your laptop/desktop computer up and running so that you can burn the word processor with enough words to clear your head. In any case, just write, and don't think. Let the words flow.

Good luck, and happy writing!

And Now, for Some Food in Threes...

2009-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Your challenge for this triad is two-fold. First, you must not set your story in a kitchen, in any Mediterranean country, or in a garden. Second, you must not talk about cooking at any one point in the story. If you still don't get why, here is your triad:

1.Oil
2.Tomatoes
3.Garlic

You have five hundred words at your disposal to write an ultra-short story involving these three things. You are in charge of the plot and characters, and you can take as many liberties as you wish as long as you follow the rules stated above. When you are done, post your story in the Comments section, or provide a link to it if you want to take readers to your site.

Good luck, and happy writing!

How to Not Write Weird

2009-08-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, a comma or an apostrophe can make all the difference. You could also change the order of a few words until you’re sure you’ve gotten your point across without your readers first going, “Huh?”

Misplaced modifiers can turn your work inside out. If you say “the purple blouse buyer is here,” am I supposed to expect someone painted violet from head to toe? Look for more misplaced modifiers (and possible remedies) at http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/mismods.htm. By exposing yourself to discourse on common mistakes in writing, you could end up a better writer yourself.

The Secret to Writing Well

2009-08-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret.

- Matthew Arnold

It’s Time to Review a Documentary!

2009-08-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

It’s time for you to look at something from real life, and something drawn from nature. There are many different documentaries for you to choose from. You can stick with nature documentaries and look at your world, from the mountains to the seas, from the smallest insects to the biggest whales. You can cling to your favorite biographies and look at how people live and who they truly are behind the public façade they show. There are many documentary types, so all you need to do is look for them online, rent them out, or wait for them on TV.

When you finally have the documentary on your hands, you can review it as you would a movie. There will be some changes, though, especially where acting is involved. You may want to rate the script that the narrator uses, or you may want to critique how the issue at hand is being handled in the documentary. You might also want to talk about how you could improve the documentary.

By widening your movie menu, you can expose yourself to more cultures. And by reviewing documentaries, you can increase your knowledge base and give yourself a greater bank from which to draw ideas for your novel. Happy watching, and happy learning!

Let’s Try Some Non-Fiction This Time

2009-08-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

Non-fiction authors sometimes have an easier time selling their work to publishers. After all, they have a built in audience, and they need only worry about a little more marketing than the average novelist does. This doesn’t make them slackers, though: non-fiction is difficult to write without a great degree of research, and it can be difficult to word non-fiction books so that they appeal to as wide an audience as possible without cheapening or oversimplifying content.

What makes non-fiction books so special? Now is your chance to find out. You have your pick of histories, biographies, true-to-life accounts, inspirational books, and religious books. You cannot use cookbooks, travel guides, or books that do not have a narrative. The key is to review a narrative that is drawn from real life, or that employs little or no fiction.

Critiquing a non-fiction book will also entail asking questions about how well-researched the subject matter is, how logical the book’s flow is, how engaging it is, how much you have learned, the book’s high and low points, the book’s format, and the book’s style. Be sure to write a balanced review, and don’t forget to tell your readers a little bit about the book’s content before you dive headlong into criticizing it.

These are only a few things for you to watch out for when you get that non-fiction book for your review. So pick it up from the bookstore, get it from your library, pull it out of your bookshelf, or simply borrow it from a friend. By reviewing a non-fiction book, you also widen your reading base and add to your knowledge. With a bigger knowledge base, who knows? You might write a better novel in the future.

Good luck, happy writing, and happy reviewing!

Having Fun With Your Cover

2009-08-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

People think that designing a book cover and a spine before or during your novel-writing process is putting the cart before the horse. However, I have also found that designing my cover is fun to do: it’s a good way to step away from the book for a moment and to relax; it’s also a good way to exercise other creative parts of my brain that don’t require me to use words or construct sentences.

If you’re feeling down and out, and if you’re getting that strange sensation of “I can’t write anymore!” then you might want to try, sit down, and think about your book cover. For one, it can inspire you to keep on going because you have a visualized goal ahead of you. Your book has a cover! Now all you need to do is write the content.

Second, it can be a test of how well you know your novel. A book cover should encapsulate the theme and content of your book, and summarizing your story visually could be a good exercise that will show you how well formed your novel already is.

There are several ways for you to design your cover. First, you can sketch it. Have colored pencils ready for a better novel-cover-design experience. You might want to browse the shelves of your local bookstore or library to see what cover designs are appropriate, especially for novels that have the same plots or are in the same genre as yours.

Second, you can use a graphics design program on your computer. This way, you can also add the summary text to the back of your book, design your book’s spine, and even cook up your own blurbs! You can write little reviews of your work! How’s that for encouragement from your imagination?

Don’t overdo the design process, though. Be sure that you have some time for fun with your cover, and a lot of time for your writing, too. Remember, you may have the best cover in the world, but your novel has to be written well so that people can go beyond the cover and truly remember you as the author.

It’s Time to Go Colorless!

2009-08-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

Can you describe a scene without using a single word that refers to color? It’s time for you to exercise your ability to go without color in this photo exercise. You can use similes that refer to other things; you can talk about scenes in terms of smell and sound; but never, ever use color.

The objective of this activity is to strengthen your ability to use a wider variety of words to describe your surroundings. Remember: show, don’t tell. You should therefore be able to call up images of a scene by showing, not telling your audience what the trees look like. It will take a lot of skill, so take your time and be patient. If you like, you can have a thesaurus next to you to help you pick out your words.

You have only 500 words at your disposal to describe this scene:

When you are done, post your “colorless” description in the Comments section, or provide a link to it. Good luck and happy writing!

It’s Time to Google Your Plot!

2009-08-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Ever find yourself scrambling in the dark for a perfect plot? Try this orchestrated search through Google. All you need to do is be creative with whatever is thrown into your lap. Follow the steps below.

1.Go to Google Search

2.Type your first name

3.Search for it. Look at the first entry.

4.Write about how that entry came about. Who wrote it? When? Why? You have only 500 words at your disposal to write the history of the first entry. You can click through to the page to see what it contains so that you can write your story better.

5.Go back to the list of search results. Look at the second entry. Write how it is related to the first entry. Do the people who wrote or designed the web page know each other? Was the writer of the second entry inspired by the writer of the first entry? Think of a creative connection between the two entries. You have only 500 words to write the connection out.

When you are done, post the stories (along with links to the pages) in the Comments section; or provide a link to your work. Good luck and happy writing!

More Than One Novel in a Month?

2009-08-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

One year was a double NaNoWriMo novel for me. I took on two novels in one month: I created another NaNo account, kept my two accounts active, and wrote the novels in tandem. Both novels went past 50,000 words.

My reasons were far from vain. I had two plots that I wanted to pursue: one was an Apocalyptic novel that had ghosts taking over the world; another was about my characters’ flight to her home country after a messy breakup with her fiancé. They couldn’t be tied in, and I was hungry to write both. So I wrote both; both are still unfinished; but both passed the required word count.

I’m not showing off. I’m sure there are other people who have done more than one novel for NaNoWriMo season, and for reasons that span the range of vanity and sheer excitement. All I’m saying is that it’s possible. If there are plots that you want to put down into writing and you can’t wait until the next November to do it, then by all means, try your hand at putting two novels to paper.

It’s double the fun (or double the torture, depending on who you ask); when November ends and you win for both your works, it’s also double the fulfillment.

There are a few things that you need to do, however. You need to truly plan both novels out if you are hoping to get them published in the future. The storm and speed of NaNoWriMo are already enough for you to forget who your characters are and what your setting is; don’t compound it by diving into your novels unguided and writing.

You may want to do some planning by sketching your settings, writing about your characters, and keeping a journal. Planning pays off, even in the short term. You won’t mix your characters up between your works and you will end up with strongly established plots for your novels as well.

Try your hand at it one November. Have two (or more) NaNoWriMo accounts, open two (or more) files on your computer, and try writing two (or more) novels for the month. Who knows? You could end up with two (or more) complete, ready for publishing novels when December 1 comes along.

A Very Short Last Sentence

2009-08-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here’s another challenge for you: you need to build your story up to fit a very short last sentence. You need to use only 10,000 words (or less) for your story. You have your choice of style, plots, characters, and points of view. You also need to use this as your last sentence:

Yes.

This exercise should help you strengthen your ability to write a story that can lead up to a last sentence as short as the one provided. If you are creative enough with this exercise, you can make up your own endings (happy or otherwise) and work your way to the ending that you want.

When you are finished, post a link to your work in the Comments section. Good luck, and happy writing!