Creative Writing

I am a huge fan of visual aids in my writing.  Though I very rarely add pictures to my posts or my writings, I find a lot of inspiration in pictures.  I’m sure you’ve heard to old addage, a picture is worth a thousand words, and it’s more true than you might think.  A good picture can be the basis of a good story, or even a great article.

There are hundreds of stock photo sites online.  Most of them are free to use, but that’s only if you’re planning on posting them with your work.  You can find thousands of pictures through search engines, and a variety of other places.  A friend of mine has just started a new blog displaying his own photos, which give me a lot of ideas for my writings.  I’ve written stories based on landscape photos, articles from advertising photos, and have even written a couple of poems from pictures in catalogs. 

Look through some of your own family photos and see if there isn’t a ton of ideas right there in front of you.  I’ve got a lot of pictures of old cemetaries that my dad took many years ago.  Looking through them gave me the idea to write a story about a girl searching for her roots.  On the other hand, someone else might have taken those same pictures and created a horror story or even a story about a lost love. 

If you’re suffering from writer’s block, photos can also be a good way to get past that.  Choose any picture and write something about it.  It doesn’t have to be good, just something to get those creative juices flowing.  Keep going until your muse takes over and creates a whole new world.  There a million stories out there, all you have to do is see them in order to write them.

Ok, I know the title sounds like a “how-to” guide, and in a way it is.  But, it’s not about going out and doing something immoral or illegal.  I’m talking about getting stuff off your chest without starting a brawl.  Have you ever met someone, or knew someone you just wanted to smack?  I’ll be honest.  I’ve known a lot of people that just needed a good butt-kicking, but I wouldn’t do good in jail.  So, rather than doing something that would get me put away, I put it in writing.

First of all, as a creative writer, you can do anything to anyone.  Now, I’m not talking about sitting down and writing out a plan to rid the world of them, I’m talking about using their persona in a story and making them the patsy.  For instance, I knew a woman who was more than just a little interested in my husband.  Trust me, it was all I could do to keep from knocking fire from her ears.  But instead of doing any physical harm to her, I wrote a story about the whole situation.  I used fictional names and places, but in my mind’s eye, she was the antagonist of the story.

This is also a great way to get all those pent up frustrations out of your system.  You can make yourself the main character of a story and anyone who has gotten under your skin during the day is a potential villian for your story.  Do you work for a jerk?  Turn that person into your arch-rival and become the hero.  It’s a great way to get your revenge and not end up in trouble.

Now mind you, I’m not condoning violence.  I don’t believe that any human has the right to bully anyone else.  However, we all have a few people in our lives that we’d like to smack.  Don’t Do It!!!!  Instead, write it.  It will make you feel better and will make for a great story.

I’m happy to announce that I’ve made it back from Boy Scout Camp.  I gained so many ideas to write about.  Everything from how to feel like a kid at any age, to interesting ideas for campfire meals, to natural remedies for poison ivy.  Yep, using that one on myself.  LOL.  I have to admit though, that I had a blast.  Even though it rained almost the whole time we were there, the whole poison ivy thing, and the fact that I’m covered in bug bites.

The best part of coming home, other than sleeping in my own bed, was that I got a really cool package in the mail.  That’s right boys and girls, I got my Today.com t-shirt in the mail.  I’m so happy that I had to have my daughter take a picture of me in it right away.  I’m going to post the pic, but please understand that I usually look better than I do in this pic.  LOL

A big thank you to the people at Today.com for the new t-shirt.  The only problem with the shirt is the fact that my husband and my son are both already scoping it out.  LOL

I apologize for not posting for a couple days.  I’m in the middle of getting ready to go off to Boy Scout Camp.  I do this every year around this time, and it’s a great way for me to come up with writing ideas.  The best part about it is the fact that I get to go out in the country and get some much needed fresh air, as there is no Internet access where I’m going. 

Each day at camp is inspiration for a variety of stories.  There is so much going on, that it’s sometimes harder to stop the ideas from flowing than finding them.  A couple of years ago, I tried my hand at the C.O.P.E. course, (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience).  One day, I was a pirate walking the plank.  Another day, I was a superhero standing upon the highest point in the land.  On another, I was part of a team of specialists repelling down a steep cliff face. 

Ok, so I wasn’t really all those things, but the experiences I had created characters for each event.  Each area of camp has it’s potential to be part of a great adventure story.  From the archery range, to the nature hut, to the mess hall.  There is a story in each and every corner of the place.  Even the people you meet at camp, are potential characters.  Just remember to change the names.  LOL

This is something anyone can do while their on vacation.  Really look around you while you’re on vacation, and pick up on the subtle details.  Everything from the condition of the roads, to the color of the sunset, to the sounds you hear.  They are all pieces that will make your story pop.  Are you going driving somewhere for vacation?  You could use that to create an adventure story about a road trip, or a fast getaway.  Are you flying somewhere this year?  Write a story about a jet-setting, do-gooder.  The possibilities are endless.

Everything around you can be used in the making of a great adventure story.  And remember, adventure stories aren’t just for kids.  Some of the best “romance” novels I’ve read had a lot of action packed within.  You might think you’re life is mundane, but you can always live the life you dreamed of, in your stories.

I had someone ask me what the difference between a story and a novel was, the other day. It made me wonder how many others had the same thoughts. I guess I take it for granted that not all bloggers know much about the writing industry. Since I’ve spent most of my years online in the writing community, I forget that it’s just one small neighborhood of the Internet.

So, here’s my take on the whole thing. First of all, if your story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending, it’s a story. Now, the rest depends on the number of words your story holds. If your story has several thousand words, it’s more than likely a novel or at least a novella. If your has only a few hundred words, or just a couple thousand words, it’s more than likely considered a short story, or “flash fiction”.

What constitutes flash fiction usually depends on the publisher. Some sites want flash fiction of no more than 800 words, some as much 5,000. It all depends. When I joined in the NaNoWriMo challenge this past November, they considered 50,000 words to be a novel. And I’ll tell you this, 50,000 words is a lot more than it sounds like.

Anyway, a story is a story, no matter how many words it contains. A good story doesn’t necessarily have to span 800 pages and run in the tens of thousands of words. I’ve read some stories with as little as 500 words, that were fun to read. My advice is to write the story first, and worry about the particulars later.