A Writers Workshop: Experiment

Okay so this is just a blog post to sort of share with you how I might start getting an idea for a book or a story.

First, get a brand new piece of paper or a notebook with nice pages. It's always a better thing if you have a nice notebook. College ruled always helps me feel more inspired. But experiment with different notebooks. Maybe wide ruled will work for you. Maybe a yellow tablet would work better for you. Experiment with notebooks and journals. Especially journals!

A great way to start an idea for a story is to look at journals. If you find a journal, look at the cover, especially if it has a nice print on it. While you're looking, try to think about the print...a flowery journal for instance might be a great start to a fairy tale. The flowers could be part of the story. Keep your mind open and make sure to look at prints or pictures. Journals are nice because when you look at the print, and an idea comes to mind, you can write the story inside the journal, and always go back to the cover for inspiration.

Now, if you've found your notebook...find the right writing utensil. All pens are different. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Experiment with pens, pencils, markers, gel pens, anything and everything. And don't stop at black, experiment with colors. Sometimes just using colors like green or blue can really inspire and dramatically improve your story.

If you have all that figured out, the next step might be to listen to music, or talk to a friend. Sometimes they could have some really cool stuff for you to think about. If those two things don't work, brain storm. Remember those circle charts and spider web charts that you used to have to do in English in middle school? Use those! They are really helpful. Start with one word, or one idea and spread it out from there.

A computer is a different tool. If you prefer typing to writing, then I'd suggest experimenting with different fonts. Fonts can often inspire a story or even a letter which you could later put into a story. Another thing a computer can do that writing can't, is give you instant access to thousands of pictures to look at. Search for things that inspire you or things that you like. Fairies, dragons, dogs, cats, anything. Copy and paste the picture to your word program, or more than one picture and start to write.

Once you start to figure out your idea, there are two ways you can write. One way is to write down everything first. Plot points, characters, settings, and then an outline of the story beginning middle and end. I find this works best for me. The other way is to just start writing and keep writing until you finish it, THEN edit it and make the chapters and etc. This way can work really well for some people, and not so much for others.

The big key thing here is to experiment!! Figure out what YOU like and stick to it. This will get you further than trying to mimic other writers. HAPPY WRITING!!