25 Things I Want To Say To So-Called "Aspiring" Writers

Ways to Arouse Your Creativity (46-52)

from Amy Ng of Pikaland

46. Experience sights, sounds and smells. Sitting still won’t bring new ideas in; experimenting and trying new things will.
47. Maintain a certain pattern to the day. A morning bath can start your work with a fresh mind and spirit.
48. Jot down notes every night before bed and actively place worries onto paper.
49. Keep a box labeled for each project. Toss everything in the box, and don’t worry about misplacing things or ideas.
50. Keep a different sketchbook for different topics and ideas.
51. Try and find the pattern between things, and connect the dots between random things just for fun.
52. Practice, practice, practice.

(Source: writetodone.com)

Ways to Arouse Your Creativity (19-45)

From Joel at Lifehack

19. Surround yourself with creative people.

20. Develop a morning ritual.

21. Do an info-dump so your head is clear enough to create instead of worry.

22. If you’re a crime writer, read fantasy. If you’re a productivity writer, read something about slacking off.

23. Imitate the real world.

24. Drink too much coffee.

25. Play chess. Go outside. Sing in the shower.

26. Don’t be too precious about your work. If the doctor and the garbage man can do their jobs every day, then those in a creative line of work can too.

27. Consume information by the bucket load. The more you know, the more you can create from that knowledge.

28. Meet new people from different walks of life. Strike up a conversation on the bus.

29. Shut out the world. Instead of sucking in new information, sit quietly.

30. Creativity is a muscle. Exercise it daily.

31. Carry a notebook everywhere.

32. Write down a list of ideas and draw random arrows between them.

33. If you’re not on a tight deadline, walk away and do something completely unrelated.

34. Create a framework. Instead of trying to rely on pure inspiration, think within the box you create for yourself.

35. Remove obstacles to creativity. That friend who calls to complain about their life can wait until you can afford to get stressed about their problems.

36. Don’t judge your ideas until you have plenty to judge.

37. Keep a journal. It can get your mind working.

38. Stop telling yourself you’re not creative.

39. Don’t be a workaholic. Take breaks.

40. Experiment randomly.

41. If one thing isn’t working, try a new strategy.

42. Choose a topic and write about it as wonderfully or badly as you possibly can.

43. Trash what you’re working on. Start again.

44. Exercise every day, before you sit down to be creative.

45. Spend time with your children. Or someone else’s.

(Source: writetodone.com)

Ways to Arouse Your Creativity (1-18)

From Merlin Mann of 43 Folders

1. Talk to a monkey. Explain what you’re really trying to say to a stuffed animal.
2. Do something important that’s very easy.
3. Try free writing.
4. Take a shower; change clothes. Give yourself a truly clean start.
5. Write from a persona. Lend your voice to a writing personality who isn’t you.
6. Get away from the computer. Take pen and notebook, and go somewhere new.
7. Quit beating yourself up. You can’t create when you feel ass-whipped.
8. Stop visualizing catastrophes, and focus on positive outcomes.
9. Stretch. Maybe try vacuuming your lungs.
10. Add one ritual behavior. Get a glass of water exactly every 20 minutes. Do push-ups. Eat a Tootsie Roll every paragraph. Add physical structure.
11. Listen to new music. Try something instrumental and rhythmic that you’ve never heard before.
12. Write crap.
13. Finish something.
14. Write the middle. Stop whining over a perfect lead, and write the next part or the part after that.
15. Do one chore. Sweep the floor or take out the recycling. Try something lightly physical to remind you that you know how to do things.
16. Make a pointless rule. You can’t end sentences with words that begin with a vowel. Limits create focus and change your perspective.
17. Work on the title. Quickly make up five distinctly different titles. Meditate on them. What bugs you about the one you like least?
18. Write five words. Literally. Put five completely random words on a piece of paper. Write five more. Try a sentence. Could be about anything. A block ends when you start making words on a page.

(Source: writetodone.com)

Vodka

/ˈvädkə/

(noun)

1. The healing elixir for writer’s block 2. My justification for writer’s block

The Shakespeare Insult Kit

100 Most beautiful words in the English language

A Simple Novel Outline – 9 questions for 25 chapters

Just as every tree is different but still recognizably a tree, every story is different but contains elements that make it a story. By defining those before you begin you clarify the scope of your work, identify your themes, and create the story you meant to write.

At Norwescon 2011 I sat in on a session called Outline Your Novel in 90-minutes led by Mark Teppo. I’ll give you the brief, readable, synthesized version. Answer 9 questions and create 25 chapter titles and you’re there.

Here are the 9 questions to create a novel:

1.) Why did you choose this particular protagonist? (What’s so special that it HAD to be this person for this story?)

2.) What is the protagonist doing right now?  (Enter the story as late as possible, as Kurt Vonnegut said. Don’t start with the back story, you’ll filter that in later.)

3.) What external stressor is applied to the protagonist? (What outside force changes everything for the protagonist?)

4.) What is the protagonists goal? (You must be clear on this. Honest.)

5.) What are the obstacles along the way? (Some structures say there should be 3.  Remember, things must get worse after every obstacle.)

6.) What qualities of the protagonists help or hinder him/her to overcome these obstacles (Your protagonist must operate at the best of their abilities, or the reader will call them idiot and bail. Are the obstacles truly hard enough to show your character’s best?)

7.) How will the protagonist change over the course of the story? (That is, after all, the story.)

8.) What are you trying to say? Why are you writing this particular story?

9.) What sacrifice levels the playing field? Remember, this journey is hard and the protagonist must demonstrate she/he is worthy to win. (Remember to show the protagonist’s reaction to the sacrifice. This is the moment of black despair– drag it out for all it is worth. Bigger the disaster, the longer you can extend it.)

Now, with those 9 questions answered to your satisfaction, try to fill in a 25 chapter, 75,000 word outline. Chapters 1-6 are the introduction to the world and characters. By chapter 5 the protagonists must have his goal (Q. 4). Chapter 5 is often the big obstacle.

Chapters 7-18 are the middle of your book. This is the fun, meaty goodness with your obstacles (Q. 5). Mark Teppo told us that if you get stuck while outlining, often around chapter 12, simply write “sex”. The chapter after that is, “things get worse.” and move on. He claims it really works. Let me know what you think.

Chapters 19-25 depict the heroic act to victory. Remember the sacrific at chapter 23 (Q. 9) and to demonstrate the change the journey of the book has brought about in chapter 25 (Q. 7)

Wasn’t that easy?

Okay, sure, the work isn’t done yet. But the right questions are being asked.

(Source: fracturedhorizonnovel.com)