Okay, rarely do books start out that way, but I want to see what you can come up with when it starts like this:

It was my worst nightmare coming true, my parents…

You finish the sentence and let us know in 100 words or less what the nightmare is.

Have fun.

Bookmark This

Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

---

So, I’m not one to outline. I’m not one to plan—except for who my main character is and what the general story is, along with an ending. I guess that’s an outline of sorts, but it’s usually all just a bunch of random notes in journals or scraps of paper or scenes playing over and over in my head just waiting for me to write them.

Then along comes NaNo. Yeah. Whole new experience for a so-called organic writer. In essence, it’s a rather primal type of expression, but at the same time, you only have thirty days and you need a plot. Plain and simple. Yeah, a character is great, but a plot is what’s gonna get you through the thirty days of mindlessness. Plot…mindlessness. The two don’t seem to go hand in hand, but they do.

I’m a little behind on my goal as of this moment, but I’m about to catch up by doing what I always told myself I’d never do. I’m gonna pull a gun on my character. Something crazy and horrible happened in my hometown—just down the street from me—a couple nights ago, and it resulted in a death. Real life, meet NaNo book.

My character, Kyle, is just kind of dragging at this party. Of course things have happened and she’s just a big ole mess as far as people go, so there’s a story there. But, I was finding I had no clue where the story was going.
Well, since I’m not a plot/outline gal, I’ve decided to be a gun gal. 

Do y’all do things like that? Or is it a cliche that people suggest, yet no one really does? Like, if you’re having a problem with a character and s/he is going nowhere, not pushing the action along, kill him/her off. Make something crazy happen.
See, I’ve never made anything happen. But I’m about to. I’ll let you know how it goes, but I’m also interested in how you guys deal with situations like this. I also wonder if, by doing this writerly thing, am I growing as a writer? Am I learning what needs to be done to make things work? Or am I so desperate I’m becoming less of a writer? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not insecure or doubting this plan of mine. I just wonder….

Do you use writers’ tricks? If so, have they worked? Let me, and all of our readers, know. I’m in the mood to learn something and who better to learn from than fellow writers, right?!?

Image Credit

Bookmark This

Since winning her first writing competition at a young age, Eden Tyler, has only fallen more in love with the written word. She uses her English, Psychology, and Sociology backgrounds to create depth to her own stories and novels while contributing to and running websites about writing. This is what fulfills her, along with working as Co-Editor for Fuel Your Writing, but she also enjoys the freelance work that puts food on the table (and that ever-essential roof overhead) for her family.

---

I will come to you
In the still of the night
And I will crush you
With the burden of sight
And you will understand
The shadows in my heart
The fury of my conviction
Will cause your heart to quicken
And then, my dear
You will see you want me here
~~ Haunted — Jewel   ~~

* * *

What would your character do (your current one, an old MC, or a brand new one you create today) if s/he knew a stalker was in the house?

I want to go dark for the end of the week. I’m in that kind of mood….

Try to keep it about half the length of Suzanne’s prompt from yesterday. We’ve had so much advice lately (which has been fabulous), but I’ve missed the writing part of this blog. So have at it!!

I’ll post mine in the comments, as well.

Image Source

Bookmark This

Since winning her first writing competition at a young age, Eden Tyler, has only fallen more in love with the written word. She uses her English, Psychology, and Sociology backgrounds to create depth to her own stories and novels while contributing to and running websites about writing. This is what fulfills her, along with working as Co-Editor for Fuel Your Writing, but she also enjoys the freelance work that puts food on the table (and that ever-essential roof overhead) for her family.

---

Space the final frontier…

You’ve all heard these words many times. Right? So today, we’re writing about space. Whether it’s looking out you window and imagining yourself there, or your characters live there, doesn’t matter, you write the story about space.

The first picture is self explanatory, the second is of our solar system, and the third is Cone Nebula, located in the H II region in the constellation of Monoceros.

I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with in this writing exercise.

Bookmark This

Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

---

I have added, as a comment, my ‘new’ first five sentences of my WiP.
Sarah and I discussed it, and we think it would be a great idea for everyone to show what they have done to better their book beginning based (alliteration, anyone?) on the critiques you received from this site.

I, for one, would love to see if this was a useful exercise. Not that I’m doubting it…I just adore seeing progress!
My first five changed drastically. The comments I received made me realize that my initial instinct was right and I had tried too hard to make my beginning what it ‘should’ be.
You’d think I would already know this, as my guest blog on here a while back was all about going with your gut. Hmmm… Maybe I should take my own advice.

Anyway, we’d love to see those revisions!
Just post them as a comment to your submission–don’t be afraid to own up to which one was yours. They were all great =)

Thanks to all who participated!

Bookmark This

Since winning her first writing competition at a young age, Eden Tyler, has only fallen more in love with the written word. She uses her English, Psychology, and Sociology backgrounds to create depth to her own stories and novels while contributing to and running websites about writing. This is what fulfills her, along with working as Co-Editor for Fuel Your Writing, but she also enjoys the freelance work that puts food on the table (and that ever-essential roof overhead) for her family.

---

There have been times when I’ve felt a need, a hunger to write, just to get something down on the page. It didn’t matter what, and so I would pick up a pen, open the notebook, and start writing.

Three months ago I was having one of those days. You know the kind, when frustrations number more than the breaths you take. Well, sitting there in the coffeeshop, I started writing and a story emerged. I didn’t expect it, didn’t know where it would take me, but I kept writing.

First there was lightning. Okay, that’s cool. So what happened then? There was a girl, running, trying to get rid of something. She wanted to bury it. Interesting. What did she have? A necklace. But it wasn’t an ordinary necklace. I wasn’t sure why yet, but I went with it, eventually getting to the point where the girl is struck by lightning and the necklace was fused to her skin, becoming part of her.

Wow. I’d never even thought of it before, and yet an entire story opened before me. Three weeks later, I had written a 50,000-word book with plans for two more.

And it started one night when I was so frustrated I would have screamed had I not had a pen and some paper handy.

———

Now, I want you to grab a pen and some paper or a notebook. (If you can write on a computer without going back to edit, that’s fine too.) Then start writing. Don’t think first. Just write.

Then, once you’ve got it all out of your system and the story ends or you have to stop to take a breath, I want you to come back here and tell us what happened.

Bookmark This