Many new writers often complain that they would love to write
a book, but they have no idea what to write about; they despair and say that
their life isn’t interesting enough and ask who would want to read about
anything they have to say.
The truth is that unless you spend your days hiding in a
cubicle with no contact at all with the outside world – no phone, no internet,
no TV, etc – then there is always something happening around you that you can
write about.
Observe the people around you, see how they act and interact
with the people and things they encounter. Don’t worry about what they may be
saying, just what you THINK they might be saying. If someone you are observing
meets someone else, think of what the story may be: Does it look like they know
each other or are they meeting for the first time? If they knew each other then
what is their history? If they are meeting for the first time do you think this
could be the beginning of a friendship, romance, feud…? There are endless
possibilities and any one of them could be turned into a terrific short story
or novel.
If you watch a lot of TV, even TV news, think about anything
that is going on in the background. Is there some kind of story going on behind
the scenes? Let your imagination run wild. Think about all those people running
behind a news reporter and waving to the camera – who is going to see them?
Will someone recognize them who shouldn’t? Could they be a runaway, in hiding,
or an amnesia victim who has started a whole new life? What would mom say if
that teenager was supposed to be in school? There are so many stories that can
come to mind.
For fiction and especially for blogs, look at current
trending topics. Blogs don’t have to be factual, researched pieces so long as
you do NOT imply that they are. Blogs are a wonderful forum for opinion pieces.
How many times have you had an opinion about ANYTHING you’ve heard or seen?
Turn those opinions into writing. If you want to provide a more reliable
info-network-type-blog, then do some research – online newspapers and print or
digital access history books, encyclopedias and biographies are excellent
sources of information.
Basically everyday that you open your eyes and ears is a day
full of story ideas. Get a small composition book and jot down ideas that you
get every day; it doesn’t have to be more than a few random words, but when you
find yourself “blocked”. For a writing idea, open this book and you’ll have a treasure
trove of writing ideas.
Writing Exercise: Watch
a TV show, movie or even a news broadcast – study a scene where there are
people in the background. Write a POSSIBLE conversation – you can do it as
story dialogue or script style, just be as detailed as possible.
Writing Prompt: Make
a list of 5-to-10 trending (news) topics that you feel strong opinions about.
Just for YOUR eyes, write your opinion and think about what you would say in a
full blog article.
Challenge Assignment:
Choose one of your ideas and write an outline for a full story based on
that idea. Write character descriptions. Make sure that you are detailed about the
setting, the main conflict and resolution in the outline. Write the first
chapter.
