Inspiration, Part II

Keep your eyes open for story and character. Do you have old diaries or journals or stories written during childhood? Pull them out, dust them off, and read. How old were you when you wrote them? Milk these for inspiration. Memories of people, places, and times offer a treasure trove of possibilities. Maybe the memory doesn’t focus so much on an event as a feeling or an image. Play with it. Embellish it. Draw it into your literary world.

Traveling is perfect fodder for inspiration. New sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures stimulate the Muse. Notice the sound of the howling coyote or crashing of the waves. Listen, really listen, and try to put into words what you hear. Use a metaphor or simile to better clarify the description of the sound. You don’t have to travel far from home. A trip next door or to the grocery store can provide sensory foundations for a story. Look around. Ideas are everywhere. We just have to be cognizant of them.

Write. Freewriting about anything will eventually provide a tidbit that can be used in a story.

Place an idea on the backburner of your brain and let it simmer. I’m at the point right now. As I polish a completed manuscript, I’m playing with the idea for a new story. I have been throwing out possibilities and rejecting them; then going back and relooking to see if the discarded ideas have a nugget of merit. I’ll repeat this process until something with possibility forms, and at that time, I’ll begin writing, brainstorming ideas.

Read a variety of books and authors. Notice how sentences reveal information. Look for ways the author dealt with basics, such as pacing, dialog, description. What did you like? Why? What didn’t you like? Why?

What inspires you to write?

Call for submissions for Young Writers

Imagine magazine invites students to explore big ideas on topics in the sciences, arts, and humanities. Half of each issue is devoted to a broad focus topic, showcasing activities that students can do now to pursue that interest, as well as career opportunities in the field.

Submission guidelines at http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/guidelines/ 

Call for submissions for Adult Writers

Faces. Lively, original approaches to the subject are the primary concerns of the editors of FACES in choosing material. Writers are encouraged to study recent past copies for content and style. (Sample copies are available for viewing at the Cricket Media Store, where you can also purchase a current issue.) Issues are also available at many local libraries. All material must relate to the theme of a specific upcoming edition in order to be considered (themes and deadlines given below). FACES purchases all rights to material.
Read more at http://www.cricketmedia.com/faces-submission-guidelines#eLexPFcOdeCZKKUD.99 

Submission guidelines at http://www.cricketmedia.com/faces-submission-guidelines

Idea to Finished Manuscript, Part III

Try these ideas to develop your story.

Remember moments from your childhood. Fiction writing often draws from real life and what is more real that memories of your youth? Mine these memories for stories and scenes to use in fiction writing. What made you scared, happy, angry, sad, joyful, laugh, jump up and down? Memories are wonderful triggers that inspire a story; however here’s a word of caution—don’t allow memories to tell the entire story. Use them as a starting point then allow the characters to tell their own special tale. Let your imagination take the story in a new direction. Adhering too closely to the actual details limits the scope and potential of a manuscript. Think about the universal appeal of a book. The story should resonate with a large segment of the audience. 

Emotions: The character’s feelings make the protagonist seem real to the audience. In fact, the most powerful way to connect a character with readers is through strong emotions. The interaction becomes meaningful when a character displays a vulnerable side and transforms to become stronger by the end of the story. As in life, people often are in control of their emotions when the sailing is smooth, but when life gets rocky and rough, we see the real person emerge through their emotions and actions. Allow the character to travel a rough, rocky road to fully develop. 

Get back to the basics. A story consists of two elements: character and conflict. The character needs to aim for a goal or experience a problem and must reach the goal or solve the problem on his/her own merit. Ask these questions. Who is the character? What does the character want? What is standing in the way of the character getting what she/he wants? When you answer these questions, you have a story idea. Other elements, such as setting, can be added later.

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Dramatics is an educational theatre magazine published since 1929 by the International Thespian Society, and its parent organization, the Educational Theatre Association. Dramatics is published nine times a year, September through May, in both print and online digital replica versions. It has a circulation of about 45,000. Approximately 80 percent of its readers are high school theatre students; about 10 percent are high school theatre teachers. Other subscribers include libraries, college theatre students and teachers, and others interested in educational theatre.  The primary editorial objectives of the magazine are: to provide serious, committed young theatre students and their teachers with the skills and knowledge they need to make better theatre; to be a resource that will help high school juniors and seniors make an informed decision about whether to pursue a career in theatre, and about how to do so; and to prepare high school students to be knowledgeable, appreciative audience members for the rest of their lives.  Submission guidelines at http://scholtheatre.org

Today, I’m continuing the series “Ways to Improve Writing.”

Play with your memory. Relax. Think back to your childhood. What made you worry? What was fun?  What made you laugh, cry, or hide? The events that evoked your emotions are likely to do the same in readers.

Christmas is a time that floods my mind with memories. The sense of smell is the hardest to incorporate into a story; yet, the sense of smell is a vivid memory, especially when I think of Christmas: the spicy whiff of a fresh-cut tree from the hillside behind our house, the distinctive aroma of oranges, and turkey roasting in the oven. Mmmmmmmm. But one scent ranked above all others. The best smell in the world for this six-year-old gal was the enticing, magical fragrance of a new doll. Today, those enchanting aromas have the power to transcend me back in time in an instance and with only one sniff.

List a few memories from your childhood, maybe four or five. Toss them around to see if they could work as a children’s book. Use the memory as inspiration for the story, not the actual plot.

Mine your memories. Dig deep and write.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Rattle We like poems of any length. Send up to four poems at a time. We’re looking for poems that move us, that might make us laugh or cry, or teach us something new. We like both free verse and traditional forms—we try to publish a representative mix of what we receive. We read a lot of poems, and only those that are unique, insightful, and musical stand out—regardless of style. Since our issues include about 70 pages of poetry, one of the main things we’re looking for is diversity; we have enough room to be eclectic, and we plan on using it. So while most magazines suggest reading their back issues to get a sense of what they like to publish, we’d suggest reading to get a sense of what we’re having trouble finding—if you notice a style or subject matter that we don’t seem to be publishing, send us that!

Submission guidelines at http://www.rattle.com/poetry/submissions/guidelines/

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:  

Clear Creek Writers 2014 Contest: Clear Creek Writers is having their second annual writers contest with hundred dollar prizes for both prose and poetry. As the contest is new, the contestants are limited and your chances are good.

Submission guidelines at http://clearcreekwriters.org/new-contest-for-2014/

Deadline: January 4, 2015