Creative Writing

For those who have stopped by this site in the past couple of days, you may have noticed that I’ve put up a shiny new theme. The reason for this is that the wonderful people here at Today.com are working on a Universal theme for the entire site. However, they are trying to implement options so that we writers can customize our sites to fit our personalities. I’ve opted for this awesome maroon color with various shades of rose accents.

Now, with that being said, I noticed today that everything I did was gone. My header was gone, all my fancy colors were gone, everything. Needless to say, I freaked. But, I’ve gone back in and fixed it all back up. If for any reason you guys and gals come back again and things are missing, please stand by. Today.com is working hard to fix all the little quirks and sometimes things don’t go as planned.

I happen to like the customizable theme, as I like being able to add whatever header I want and put up pretty colors. It’s kind of like getting new curtains for the windows. It also gives me a more creative feel when I’m trying to come up with things to write about. I collect things with roses on them, and love these shades of color. It gives me a boost and makes me want to write.

So, in the near future, please be advised that things may accidentally go back to the basic blah look. If this happens, know that I’ll be running into the back to find the pretty curtains and lovely wallpaper again, and the site will look good as new. I now return you to your originally scheduled blog posts.

What happens when the person who gives inspiration, needs a bit for themselves? I’ve been working so hard on building up one of the my other blogs, and pumping out a ton of articles for others, that I’ve all but forgotten about this one. Well, not really forgotten about it, but I’m beginning to feel stale. So, this post is more a way for me to get some of my spark back.

What are some of the ways in which you gain inspiration for the things you write? Do you have a ton of ideas running around your head? Or do your ideas come from reading the blogs and articles of other writers? I find inspiration all around me, much of which comes from the things I watch on television. I don’t watch soap operas or reality shows, I’m addicted to historic documentaries. And this is why many of the writing prompts I come up with have an ancient flavor to them.

Something I’m learning, the hard way, is that possible to exhaust yourself when writing. When you spend hour after hour writing about many different topics, your brain starts to go on strike. That’s when you’ve got to stop the working process and allow your brain to run free. Just like people who work in an office or those who work as laborers, you’ve got to take a vacation once in a while. I’m finding that it’s the same thing when writing.

Ok, I’m not saying that you’ve got to pack a bag and physically leave your house. I’m saying that you’ve got to allow your mind to wander, let the creative side to just take over and do its own thing. Visit the moons of Jupiter, go skiing in the Himalayan mountains, or simply check out any of the millions of travel sites and take a virtual vacation. The thing is that when you give your brain the chance to do what it wants, you can become much more productive.

If you don’t believe the things I’ve just said, go back and re-read this entire post. Why? Because this whole article is being written on the fly. I’m just letting my brain take over and not thinking about the perfect keyword, or trying to create something that a client will consider worth paying for. No, I’m just letting my mind wander and free writing as I go. And honestly, it feels great.

Well kids, today is the last day of NaNoWriMo, and I am sad to say that I didn’t make the 50K mark.  But, I’m not all that bummed out about it either, as I had a lot of other things going on to keep me busy.  I did manage to make it just over the 18,000 word mark.  It’s not that my story got stale, it’s just that more pressing issues were at hand.

Now, for the cool part.  Even though November is over, that doesn’t mean that all the fun needs to end.  I’ve met a neat lady who is introducing a new portion to the novel writing world.  Tomorrow, December 1st, is the start of something new.  Announcing the first annual National Plot Writing Month , being held by Plot Whisperer, a.k.a., Martha Alderson.

The idea behind this month-long event isn’t going to be about how much or little you can write in a month’s time, but more about taking your basic idea, and shaping it into a creative work of art that publishers would love to read.  Each day, Martha will post a different tip or idea to help your plot line evolve.  Though this event is in no way associated with National Novel Writing Month, it is a creative way to take that first draft to the next level.

For more ideas each month, check out Martha’s newsletter, Blockbuster Plots.  This monthly e-zine gives you more tips and tricks each month that can help with just about any storyline you’ve got in mind.  You can find the link on the homepage of Martha’s site and the e-zine is free.

I’m pretty excited about getting in on the ground floor with this idea.  Martha, herself, isn’t quite sure where this whole idea will go, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be fun getting there.  I’d like to think that somewhere down the road, this will be another one of those things that we writers look forward to each year.

Ok everyone.  It’s time for my first NaNo update.  First of all, I need to thank everyone who gave me the willpower to go ahead and work on my NaNo novel.  I am so happy that I did, as it’s only the 7th of the month and I just hit 10,088 words.  Granted, I should have about 1,600 more than that, but I’m not going to complain.  Fortunately, it’s the weekend, and even though I have a couple of writing gigs to get done, I will still have plenty of time to work on the book.  I am so happy about this.

So, here’s what my book is about.  The title of my book is “A Life In Ruins”.  It’s about a female archaeologist and her old college professor.  There is no romance between the two of them, he’s more like an older brother and she still works on all of his digs.  Anyway, they are looking for some old stones that have symbols carved into them.  They are starting out in a small village in Africa, south of Egypt, and are currently looking through the archives of the church which has been in this location since the early 1200’s. 

I know there are a lot of people who spend days before NaNo starts, working on characters, creating outlines, getting their plotlines worked out.  But that’s just not me.  I’m letting my characters write the story themselves.  It’s so much more fun that way, as I really have no idea where they’re going to take me next.  I do know that eventually, they’re going to take me to a tiny island off the coast of Croatia, called Susac.  But that’s still a long way away. 

I’m also doing a things a little different this year.  The past 2 years, I always tried to end my day’s writing at the end of a chapter.  This year, I’m not worrying about chapters, I’m just letting the story go on and on.  When I get to the end of a really good scene, then I stop writing, or when my fingers just can’t go on anymore.  But, I’m having a blast this time.  Last year, I forced myself to finish my story.  I think that’s why it’s still sitting in a folder on my hard drive.  Once NaNo was over last year, I put the story away and I’ve never looked at it again.  Kinda dumb, but that’s just the way I am.  LOL

There is something different about the story I’m writing this year too.  I can’t explain it, but it seems to actually be writing itself.  I mean, last year, I was well into the second week of the month before I hit 10,000 words and had to really cram and jam toward the end to make the 50K mark.  This year, I might actually be done before the end of the month.  I won’t say that I will be, cause sure enough, that will cause the story to end in my head.  LOL. 

Thanks again to everyone who encouraged me to go ahead and write my NaNo novel.  If I keep up the pace I’ve been going, and continue to let my characters write the story, I might actually go for it and try to get this one published.  I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one, but you never know. 

I’m quickly learning that you’ve got to be pretty creative when it comes to writing articles. Not because it’s such a competitive field, but because there are times when you’ve got to create many different articles about the same subject. I recent weeks, I’ve been writing articles for an outside source, all based around the same product. To date, I’ve written about 50 articles around a single subject.

This might not sound like a big deal, but when you’ve got a client or website that centers around a single topic, you find that most of what you have to say is repetitive. The trick is to word it in such a way as to make the reader think they’re getting new information, and that takes a lot of creativity. You’ve got to find fresh angles, updated information, and little tidbits of information that makes your article look like new.

The good part about this is that over time you pick up enough information that you can add little details throughout each post and make it seem like a one of a kind. The down side is that you find that most of the information is the same as every other article. But, if you can find a way to merge the two sides together, you can come up with some pretty interesting pieces.

I challenge you to come up with as many titles as you can based around a singular subject. You can choose any topic you’d like, but the challenge is to come up with a specialized topic. For instance, a particular sport or a single celebrity. The narrower your topic, the more creative you have to be. Once you have your topic, see how many ideas you can create around it. You’ll be amazed at what you can do when you really put your mind to it.