All Out of Ideas? Tips for Finding Something to Write About...

You're out of ideas and can think of nothing new. You sit and stare at that computer screen or blank paper, and it laughs at you. Your mother keeps telling you all of your ideas are wonderful when you know FOR A FACT they are hot garbage.

Any writers who say they have never had trouble coming up with a new project or have never been stuck on where to take characters are liars.

Coming up with a new idea is hard, especially after you've just finished a project. Many times, you've poured out all of your brilliant brain juice into your previous project, and now you simply have nothing left.

Fear not! Grab some tea, sit down, and listen.

One of the most helpful things to do when you can't write is read.

I have heard so many authors tell new writers, "You must read. It's your best tool."

As a matter of fact, my eighth-grade yearbook quote was about this. Right next to my crimped hair, braces, and overdone eyeliner, it said, "If you don't have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write." –Stephen King.

If only my graduate self would listen to my eighth-grade self. I can go back and look at journals and poem books where I was pumping out some writing every five seconds! It was horrible, absolute garbage, BUT it's better than the blank page I've been staring at for the past few days.

So, my solution? Take everyone's advice and read. I spent the entire weekend in the bookstore drinking overpriced coffee and what I refer to as "rich girl water," which is shaped like a square and fits in no cup holder. Book after book, I explored the store. Some books I saw and thought, "What in the Hello Kitty is this? I never would that thought of this, it's brilliant!" Others I thought, "This, ladies and gentlemen, is why the youth of today are the way they are." Either way, I came back with several ideas. 

Whether it's a character, a setting, a plot from a story you think would be cool to continue or one you want to write a prequel to, you'll find something to write about.

Courtney's Bookstore Tips:

1.     Go alone. You can't possibly form amazing, wonderful, literature-changing thoughts with someone yapping in your ear about how they want to check out the sale at J. Crew. Although the sale is important, your writing is "importanter."

2.     Get an overpriced coffee or water. It just makes you feel better.

3.     Don't bring a heavy purse that you have to carry on your arm. This was my mistake, I couldn't juggle my book stack and rich girl water AND my purse. I abandoned the purse in the car later that morning. Put your stuff in your pockets or if you’re one of those people who must have a purse (me), use a crossbody.

4.     Have a notebook and something to write with. You will see and read through so many things in less than thirty minutes, there is no way you'll remember all of the ideas you have. WRITE THEM DOWN. Forgot paper? Use your phone.

5.     Don't be afraid to look at books you wouldn't normally read. Science fiction? Romance? Horror? You never know what you might discover. Maybe you'll want to create the story of that pathetic blonde girl screaming at the top of her lungs on every classic horror cover. Why is that girl freaking out and not running? Answer that question, and you're well on your way to a thrilling story of your own.

If All Else Fails...

Never fret about not having an idea. Take a step away from your computer or paper, and get involved in life. You'll find something to write about. Also, write anything down, even IF it's hot garbage. Maybe you can clean it up and create a story that will make someone other than your mother proud.

ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Courtney Warren is a writer for her local newspaper, as well as a graduate student at Hollins University where she is pursuing a degree in Children’s Literature. She has a bachelor’s degree from Delta State University, the home of the Fighting Okra (which she is incredibly proud of). She loves to read just about anything placed on the shelves but has a special place in her heart for the Harry Potter series.

When she is not writing about herself in third person, she loves to write stories about middle schoolers with spunky attitudes who intend to save the world, as well as drinking Earl Grey tea from a very prissy teacup.

Check out her blog, Tea, the Spirit, & a Pen.

True Crime Becomes Fiction

For me, it is SO easy to make things up. I begin with a story or character or even a place, and then I just go with it. Most of the time I have no idea what is going to happen, but apparently my pen does.

When I am at school in the summer I can let my imagination run wild through the many assignments given to me throughout the program. I love it! However, when I return home I have to switch my brain back to AP format and a journalist point of view.

When I became a journalist I thought, This job won't be that difficult, I write all the time. Oh, how wrong I was.

Recently I got a phone call from a local law enforcement officer explaining there had been a shooting in a nearby town. Throughout the course of the day, different people called in and gave their side of the story and information they had.

By the afternoon the story was that a man had hurt a younger girl, and the younger girl called her father, so the father flew in from the West Coast to get revenge. A shoot-out began as the two men drove at high speeds down a major highway in our county. One of the men was shot in the shoulder, but managed to kill the other man and another woman before he was shot in the head. He still got up and walked afterwards.

Sounds a little crazy, right? That's because a lot of it is. It would make an interesting murder mystery, but in the world of journalism and reporting the news, the truth is key.

This is where my job begins. Because the case was spread over multiple small towns in the county, I first talk to each sheriff. If I can't get in touch with them, I call the police chiefs in each of the towns. Most of the time, with cases like this, I get turned over to the bureau of investigations, which opens up another can of worms, in that they have a press department to deal with reporters, which means I typically don't get much information.

Piecing together a story that is accurate takes a lot of time, and people don’t want to wait. If they hear of a shooting, they want to see an immediate story on our Twitter or Facebook page. If they don’t, they wonder why on earth this is not being reported. This is news!! It is, but every single detail in this story MUST be confirmed, which is not so in creative writing.

The beauty of my job is, I not only get to gather information and figure out what actually happened in a jumbled-up case like this, but I am inspired to create new characters.

We can find characters all around us. I love turning people I talk to on a daily basis into characters. Not everything has to remain the same, but if I think it's funny that the local police chief enjoy hunting and prank calling his friends, I might use that later for one of my characters.

It's always a good idea to write down interesting places or characteristics because you never know what you might need later on for a story. While I have to work hard to find out the truth, the original rumors are much more interesting and can be turned into something later through my creative writing once I leave the newsroom.

So, here is a challenge: Go to dinner alone; try a fancy restaurant. Why not treat yourself? Be sure to bring a notebook and watch the people around you. Try to describe everything the girl several tables down does. Does she use her cell phone throughout her meal? Does she have fancy shoes on? Maybe she looks as if she’s dressed for a date but she’s alone. Take those descriptions and create her character.

PS: I did this in a restaurant a few weeks ago, and the family a few tables over thought I was so strange for eating alone (why is that? I love it!) and talked about me the entire time. The result? I created a nosy woman who talks too loudly about others because she has a hearing problem. See? It's not that difficult! Now, let's see what you come up with!

ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Courtney Warren is a writer for her local newspaper, as well as a graduate student at Hollins University where she is pursuing a degree in Children’s Literature. She has a bachelor’s degree from Delta State University, the home of the Fighting Okra (which she is incredibly proud of). She loves to read just about anything placed on the shelves but has a special place in her heart for the Harry Potter series.

When she is not writing about herself in third person, she loves to write stories about middle schoolers with spunky attitudes who intend to save the world, as well as drinking Earl Grey tea from a very prissy teacup.

Check out her blog, Tea, the Spirit, & a Pen.

Characters You Love to Hate

In my "Giving Voice to the Voiceless" class we were told: "To be heard is to have power over one's life. To be silenced is to have that power denied. Throughout history many have been silenced and children most of all." In this course, the goal is to read "young adult and middle grade novels where authors have given voice to the truly voiceless, where speaking is not possible or perhaps permitted, and study how the creators of these texts created an authentic narrative experience so that we can apply the same approaches in our own writing." So far this has been a great experience, and I have loved every book we have read. This past week I was assigned to read the book Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg.

 What is Between the Covers?

  

Silent to the Bone was a challenge for me because the author chose to allow the narrator to have a very mature mindset, despite being only thirteen. While it was a challenge to picture this young boy speaking the way he did and having such a large vocabulary, Konigsburg painted a perfect picture of a child with highly educated parents (his father was the registrar at the local university). This allowed the character to be believable. I loved the word choice. It's a breath of fresh air to read characters that have a large vocabulary. It seemed that most of the characters were well educated and through my reading I was able to learn a great deal. 

Connor captivated me from the beginning. Branwell Zamborska, one of the main characters, is the best friend of Connor, the narrator. After an incident involving Branwell's baby half-sister Nikki being sent to the hospital and put on life support, Branwell stops speaking. A mystery surrounds what happened that day and the young au pair, Vivian, paints an ugly picture of Branwell's unnatural obsession with his little sister and claims that Branwell shook and then purposefully dropped Nikki. Branwell is sent to Clarion County Juvenile Behavior Center where his only visitor is Connor. Connor has to figure out a way to communicate with his best friend, and through their communication he begins to untangle the web the Vivian has cleverly created.  

What Did I Think?

 I tend to latch onto a story when there is a character I can hate, and that character was Vivian. Once I figured out that Vivian was a young woman and not a Mary Poppins or Mrs. Doubtfire type of nanny, I disliked her even more. As the story played out and I discovered that she had Morris over while Nikki was sleeping or that she paid no mind to Branwell being there, the fire only grew. I truly enjoy when an author can create a villain like this and not overdo it. Some in other books seem somewhat overdone, but Vivian reminds me so much of these women I'm seeing on CNN lately---using sexuality to get ahead or out of trouble. 

Konigsburg uses physical signals to reveal more about Vivian as a character.Her physical signals were more angering than anything she \said. Examples: “Vivian had another cigarette with her coffee. I volunteered to light it for her. She held my wrist again. Same wrist. Same place. And then before I pulled my wrist away, she smiled shyly and lip-synced, “Thank you, Connor.” (108) Here she is playing with the emotions of a prepubescent kid. It makes one wonder if she acts this way with Connor, how did she act with Branwell—this question is revealed later in the book. 

She knows she can get her way with men, yet we don't actually see her attempt this with any grown men other than Morris, who obviously is infatuated with her because he lets her stay with him. Maybe Vivian's powers only go so far, and she can only control the younger men; however, it's evident that if a male is around, she will get what she wants. She seems obsessed with being the center of it all. Why hold his wrist in such a way? The focus must be on her. 

Another example: "Vivian laid her wineglass down on the coffee table and took a small handful of peanuts in her right hand. She opened her hand and studied the peanuts for what seemed like a minute before choosing one" (93); “Vivian plucked a single peanut from the bowl and held it between her thumb and forefinger and studied it for a while. […] Vivian put that peanut—no, placed that peanut—on her tongue and slowly closed her lips” (98). NO ONE EATS PEANUTS LIKE THAT. It was at this point I began to feel sick. I was ready for Margaret, whom I believe was my favorite, to slap her in the face and knock those peanuts to the floor. Once again, through physical movements and signals, Vivian is taking the heat of the crime off of her and attempting to get the focus on her sexuality.  

How Did This Help My Writing?

I have a little trouble creating a villain that doesn't come straight from a cookie cutter. It was so great to watch how Vivian began as an au pair, a character who wasn't mentioned much in the beginning, to a character who became front and center in Branwell and Connor's mission to show the truth of what happened to Nikki. It was Vivian's motions, rather than her words, that made her seem like a predator. These slow motions of having Connor light her cigarette, or how she treated Branwell in regards to the Jack-and-Jill bathroom in Branwell's home, showed that actions read more loudly than dialogue. 

Konigsburg tackled scenes that allowed me to challenge my own writing. There is a particular scene where it is revealed that Vivian truly does use her sexuality to control Branwell. This scene was a difficult one to digest. I can only imagine attempting to write it as tastefully, yet honestly, as Konigsburg did. How Vivian acts when being watched versus how she acts when she thinks she is not, plays into the recurring messages that all is not as it seems. When Branwell finally speaks and reveals who Vivian truly is, I was ready with my pitchfork and torch to attack. Vivian was definitely a character I loved to hate.

 Do I Recommend This?

Whether it's for pleasure or an assignment, Konigsburg has painted a captivating picture of two friends from worlds that children don’t read about often. It has become the norm for kids to talk in text lingo or pepper sentences with expletives, however these two boys enjoyed using larger words that needed to be defined. This would be a great read for a middle school or early high school student and is loaded with juicy words that sometimes Connor unveils for readers, but other times it is up to the reader to thirst for more and pull out Webster's.

Using the Techniques in Your Writing 

Think of someone you love to hate and use them as the basis for a character. Change the character's age, gender, and identifying details. Come up with a situation where the character's true colors are revealed through subtle actions.

Ties to Leap Books

A recent release, Deep in the Meadows by Lisa M. Cronkhite, has a character you may love to hate. Read it online and tell us which character or characters you thought were creepiest and you'll win a chance to get a free Leap Book.

ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Courtney Warren is a writer for her local newspaper, as well as a graduate student at Hollins University where she is pursuing a degree in Children’s Literature. She has a bachelor’s degree from Delta State University, the home of the Fighting Okra (which she is incredibly proud of). She loves to read just about anything placed on the shelves but has a special place in her heart for the Harry Potter series.

When she is not writing about herself in third person, she loves to write stories about middle schoolers with spunky attitudes who intend to save the world, as well as drinking Earl Grey tea from a very prissy teacup.

Check out her blog, Tea, the Spirit, & a Pen.