Getting inspiration from the physical world The physical world The physical world can inspire, whether it’s the Appalachian Trail, or your bedroom, or the Himalayas. And while not everyone can live in Paris or visit Yosemite National Park, we can all be inspired by our own personal universes. Moreover, if your world can inspire you, […]
Getting inspiration from exercise Exercise Exercise should be a vital part of anyone’s life. And you don’t have to be a gym rat to get inspiration from your workout or from what happens while you’re exercising. As we have seen in other instances, exercise is just another vehicle for inspiration if you look at it […]
Character Sexuality A look at character sexuality can take you in any number of directions. First of all, you need to listen to your characters. Are they telling you who they like? Maybe they are, or maybe they’re a little shy about that. Can you see your characters with someone of the same sex, or […]
Personal Writing Process My personal writing process may or may not help you. After all, mine differs from, say, Stephen King‘s. And while he is a bestselling author several times over, that still doesn’t mean his method is better than my own. Furthermore, his method will not work for me. And that’s not a failure […]
Getting inspiration from visual artists Visual artists and the visual arts can be a source of intense inspiration. Because their struggles can be a lot like a writer’s. Consider how a piece of art makes any of us feel. Does it inspire? Or are you puzzled? Can it move you emotionally? And what’s happening around […]
Children Children characters can present their own set of challenges. And I wrote a bit about kids before in the Aging post. However, now it’s time for a deeper dive into what it means to write about children. Infants and Toddlers The very young can change in rather rapid and surprising ways. Fortunately, several developmental charts […]
Writing Better Dialogue Better dialogue can elevate any piece. And it can even help to salvage a bad or otherwise forgettable piece of writing. Consider, for example, the works of Aaron Sorkin or Robert Altman. While these are examples from television and film, they should give an idea. Sorkin is known for excellent dialogue, from […]
Getting story ideas Getting story ideas can sometimes be difficult. Where do your story ideas come from? Harlan Ellison often quips, “Schenectady.” I wanted to use this image for a blog post about getting story ideas because it is perhaps the oddest thing. Because I really did see this dirty plate in the sink a […]
Exposition Exposition works. First of all, exposition basically means a literary device intended to describe a character’s background, or “our story so far”. It can be done elegantly, with flashbacks or dialogue or even a character finding something or other. It can be clunky, like when characters say, “As you know, …” and then proceed […]