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Ideas for Writing
By
Shon Bacon
So you've decided you wanted to try this writing thing, huh? Great! What I hope this column will be is a one-stop place for you to receive advice, suggestions, and virtual
cheerleading for your writing aspirations.
Now that you've decided TO write, you have to find out WHAT you want to write. Below are several suggestions to kick start story ideas:
WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW
I suppose you've heard of the old adage, Write about what you know. GREAT idea. We know more than what we think we do. Take a pad and pen or park yourself in front
of your computer and do some prewriting. Ask yourself, "What do I know?" Write down the skills you have, write down the characteristics that would describe you, write
down the jobs you have had, the experiences you have had, the failures and successes you have had. It's a long list, isn't it? Maybe you realized that you don't have the best
of luck in relationships. Why not write a story about a person with the same trait and try to figure out why? Maybe you will find that you're an extremely given person and
often times, you don't give enough to yourself. Write a story about that character. The point is that everyone has something interesting to write about...and it usually takes
just looking IN.
WRITE ABOUT YOUR FEARS
We all have fears. We all worry about things. Why not conquer your fears, at least in your writing? Create a character that encompasses one or more of your fears and
allow him or her to overcome those fears. Writing is extremely cathartic, and I bet that part of your own fears will decrease once you finish your character's story.
WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW BUT WANT TO KNOW
Is there something you always wanted to learn about? Is there an occupation, or a procedure, or a time period you've always been interested in learning about but never
had the time or the gumption? TAKE the time now. A novel series I'm working on now centers around the various police investigations. I've always been a fan of whodunits, but I didn't know much about the specifics. I bought books on mystery writing and police procedures. I scoured the Internet. I kept a file on my laptop. I immersed myself
into something new so that it would sound like I knew what I was talking about. You can do that, too.
WRITE ABOUT NEWS-RELATED EVENTS
I know, I know. Some of us turn the TV off as soon as the 5 o'clock news begins. We only check out the newspaper for sports and the classifieds. By doing so, you're
missing a great source of information for potential story ideas. Take the time to flip through your local newspaper.
Clip out stories of interest and place them in a shoebox. Keep a running list of topics on your computer. Jot down stories you hear about on the new. One night, you're sitting in your living room, watching the news, and you hear
about the man who comes home and kills his girlfriend. All the neighbors swear they were a loving and devoted couple. They were planning their wedding. There's an
idea. Write it down. Just ask yourself, "What could make a man, who was supposedly very happy in his relationship, kill his significant other?" Your mind will explode with
plot and subplots and before you know it, a story will be born.
FOLLOW YOUR HEART TO GREAT WRITING
I placed this last because it's a biggie. Because I am a writer, everything I encounter in the world becomes a potential source for a story idea. Sometimes, I just don't know
it yet, but I feel it in my gut and in my heart. Example: in March 2004, I was suffering from a bout of being uncreative, and I had a story due for workshop in like TWO days. I was writing the transit home from school, and we passed a playground. There was a colorful swing set there, and I noticed one particular swing was swaying though
there was no one near the set. Instantly, I felt a pang in my heart, then my stomach. I became sad. I was emotionally distraught. The first thought that ran through my
mind was, what is I had a swing set but no child to push in the swing? I didn't know what that meant, but it pestered me for the rest of the day.
The following morning, I got up and got back on the same transit to go to school. On the way there, I noticed how the bus took the same route, every 45 minutes. Lake
Charles is a small town with only four buses. The bus I ride on hits the circle down around the school and back, from 5 am to 5 pm. I thought to myself, what is I had to
drive this route every day and be reminded of "landmarks" that represented happy times in my life when I had a family. My mind was abuzz. The whole day I couldn't function as a teacher or a student. I knew why I had the feelings the day before. I knew that I would write a story about a bus driver whose family died (how, I didn't know
until I began writing), and she was forced to drive a route that held memories of her life back when. Oh, and there was also a swing set in her yard that had been attacked
by growing grass and weeds because she just couldn't go near it anymore.
I ended up canceling a class and rushing home and within a few hours, I had the short story, "Empty Swings." I had one of my best workshops (the last workshop before I
graduated), and I had a story that I knew only I could write because it affected me emotionally, mentally,
physically, and in some respects, spiritually.
We all have these "flashes" of inspiration. Flashes of thoughts that we don't, initially, know what they mean, but we eventually find out. Hold on to those "flashes". Question
them. Listen to them. More often than not, they will lead you to some wonderful writing.
I hope this column has been helpful to you. Check back next issue for another THE WRITE LIFE column. If you have questions about writing, publishing, self-publishing,
editing, or anything writerly-related, send them to me @ chickoflit@hotmail.com,
and I will place my responses to those questions here!
Keep
Writing.
TTFN:
Shon Bacon
Next:
Article #2: I’ll
Get to It Later, Promise: Procrastination
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