 Short Stories: June 13, 2007 Issue [#1756] |
  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Vivian  
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5. A Word from Writing.Com
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Time and time again I've heard the statement, "I don't know where to start. I don't know where to get ideas." The person could be talking about writing a novel, a short story, an article, or even a research paper. Let's discuss some places to start finding ideas.
Viv
Next week's editor will be kiyasama.
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Stealing Ideas for Short Stories
I read an article from the May 2007, The Writer, "Steal from Life" by April Henry, that caught my attention completely. The title certainly wasn't something a reader would expect as a writing tip since plagiarism is a "no-no."
However, Henry didn't mean for us to steal another's writing, another's work, but she brought out good ideas for discovering ideas to use in writing. In fact many of her suggestions are ones I've used for many years. I'm going to use her topic areas and add my thoughts with some of hers:
 Steal from strangers: The idea is NOT to take things that belong to others, but to use their mannerisms, way of dressing, characteristics. I take notes when I see people on the street, in stores, in schools, at ball games if I notice something that could fit a character. I may not have a story in mind at the time, but I know that sooner or later, I'll be able to use some of my notes. This point is closely connected to the next one.
Pilfer real people: In my "tween" book that I'm now writing, the coach of one baseball team is loud, over-bearing, and sometimes verbally abusive to his players. I developed this character after observing a few coaches at youth baseball games over the years. I took their traits and actions and created one of the "villains" in the story. Remember, a novel is just a story that didn't quit soon enough to be a "short" story.
I have a vast file of characters ready to be used from watching and learning about real people.
Eavesdrop on exchanges: One way to create believable and memorable dialogue is to "steal" what you hear when eavesdropping. I jot down interesting bits and pieces I hear and work them into stories when appropriate.
Nick from news stories: I have boxes of articles clipped from newspapers and magazines. One story I plan on writing some day is the fictional account of a person who lost a close friend in the Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City. I have piles of articles, not only presenting the facts, but also giving much of the emotional impact on survivors and the family and friends of those lost.
I have a file of articles about the murder of one of my nieces, the capture of her killer, his trial, and then his death. That will add to my personal memories to create a book some day. Her death has already been the basis of two stories or articles, "I Don't Want to Know" and "The Case of the Missing Cheerleader" .
Henry tells about a news clipping that tells about people committing suicide by jumping from high places. The article says they take off their glasses before they leap. Therefore, if a body is found with smashed glasses close by, foul play should be considered.
Filch from your fears: The author suggestions that if you, the writer, has a fear of enclosed spaces or spiders, then give that fear to one of your characters. This would be one way of writing what you know, too.
Personally, I fear heights. I can give that fear to someone who must climb on a roof to escape a killer or to someone who must climb up a tree to rescue a child.
Walk away with the Web: Googling is a great way to find the information about a subject or sub-topic that could bring your writing to life. Don't be afraid to use search engines, especially to find first person accounts of a theme in your story.
If I were writing a story about an on-line predator, I could search for accounts of young people who were the prey of such "people."
Take a technique: Read, attend classes and workshops, go to conferences. When you find a technique that interests you, try it. If it works, great. If it doesn't work, try something else.
Snatch the source: Find experts in a field, religion, culture, or area that you use in your story. Henry uses the example of an author interviewing a family about their religious beliefs, as she visited them in their home. She discovered details that made a character in her story stronger and more in-depth.
All those suggestions give a wealth of material to be used in finding where to start a story. Writers should have files of ideas simply from observations and study of the world around them.
I hope you find enough material to start, and finish, many stories.
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Words from Our Readers
billwilcox
Congratulations Viv! At least your getting your stuff out there to test the waters. Way to go girl...
Thanks, Bill. When I find something might help us as writers improve, I'll share. Of course if I benefit, I enjoy that, too.
Ronis brain tumor is gone! 
Vivian, awesome newsletter, will keep this for future reference!!
Thank you. I'm always glad when I help.
Mark
Congratulations on your contest win, that is very exciting! Using it as a lesson is so very teacher-ish. Yeah, I know, "eat my broccoli", "edit and revise", "brush my teeth"...
(what would we do without you? )
*deletes broccoli, edits teeth, brushes up story*
Hmmmm, somehow it feels like I'm still learning.
Thanks for keeping my head in the game.
 Now that sounds like some papers I used to get when I taught. Well, not really ... hmmm ... Some of those were worse than the * line *
SantaBee 
Viv, congratulations on winning! That's fantastic. This month's newsletter was very inspirational.
Thanks for the congratulations. I'm glad you found last month's issue worthwhile. I try.
Time to say goodbye for another four weeks. I hope something in this issue helps you become an even better writer than you were.
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