Writing Prompts

Never fear the aid of writing prompts, because one day they will become your salvation. Just as they were mine after almost a month of writer's block. Yes, writer's block. The bane of all authors and poets alike. So, I suppose the question is : where do you find these writing prompts? 

Good question. Honestly, there are a few places you could look. You could look online, or you could buy a book of novel (not the book, but the adjective) suggestions and prompts. That, is what I did. Well, I should clarify the fact that my father bought me the book for christmas. It was a great present and there are so many ideas that have helped me and inspired me. 

So, all in all, I greatly support the use of writing prompts. Don't be ashamed of having to borrow someone else's prompt to create a new and invigorating novel! Be grateful that someone is allowing it. 

That's all I've got, 

write on.

Do not fear inspiration. Fear the lack of it.

Take it slow, you don't have to tell the whole story in the first page.

Recently, a friend of mine had to remind me that you don't have to tell the whole backstory in the first page or first chapter. You may feel like the reader will be confused if you don't or that they'll get bored if they don't know why every little thing is happening, but this is not true. In fact, the reader likes a little mystery, it's what keeps them reading.

When you begin a story, it needs to be attention grabbing, a hook that pulls the reader in and makes them want to continue reading. Something like, "My name is Casey and I'm fifteen," yada yada just wont cut it in the publishing world. Your very first paragraph, nay sentence, should have that special something that sets it apart from every other book out there.

Be sure that you don't tell the reader everything right away. Slowly reveal the plot, the characters personality and anything else. Keep the reader from getting bored and wanting to toss the book across the room. I am a very judgmental reader and if the story doesn't capture my attention or piles too much information on me right away, I hardly ever finish that book. It gets put in the 'started but never finished' pile and usually doesn't get pulled out.

There really nothing more I can say then read the beginning of your favorite book and determine why you kept reading it.

Happy Writing!

Kailyn

On Camp NaNo :

So, Camp NaNo is here! Personally, I won’t be doing Camp NaNo. I got my fill of stressful writing during NaNoWriMo! But don’t let me discourage you! In fact, I hope you do it! If you’re one of the brave souls venturing on the journey into the writing wilderness, I’ve got a few tips to give you before you go!

       

1.   Always pack lots of food! When you’re writing, give yourself a goal, and rewarded yourself with a treat when you’ve reached that goal! When I did NaNoWriMo, I had a bag of chips and a movie waiting for me every ten thousand words. It felt good to celebrate after sitting at the computer for hours! So, I seriously encourage you to find some treat and award yourself once you reach your goal! (Just remember: you don’t have to make it every 10k! Every 5k or even 1k is awesome if it helps you write!)

2.       Pack a No-Sleep. If you’re like me and you decide to get 20k behind on NaNo, be sure you have a Monster, or coffee, or Redbull, or some form of liquid No-sleep. It will come in handy when you have to pull all-nighters. This leads us to the next helpful tip….

3.      DON’T GET LOST! I mean, come on; don’t fall behind! Like I said earlier, I got 20k behind on my NaNo before I finally decided that I really wanted to finish. Don’t let this happen to you! It will lead to you writing nonsensical stuff at four in the morning! I’d suggest trying to reach 2k each day to make sure you’re able to finish. 

4.      Say goodbye to your family and friends. Oh, you’re brothers birthday is during Camp NaNo? I DON’T CARE! Wish him an early, “Happy birthday, bro!” and be on your way! (Okay, maybe go out for some cake and ice cream…) But seriously, you have to let your family and friends know that you’re going to be crazy busy during Camp NaNo, and make sure they know not to disturbed you.

 5.      Make extra copies of your work. This is another mistake I made during NaNoWriMo: I lost my first 10K. Yes, indeed I did. It was a horrible, horrible feeling. I wouldn’t want anyone else to have to lose their hard work! So make copies of your work! Send it to a trust-worthy friend, save it in your email, your facebook, and in multiple different docs. I don’t care how you do it; just make sure it’s done!

Now, I feel like those are enough tips to send you on your way! Good luck with Camp NaNo, and happy writing!

Believe in the impossible is to make it possible.

How to Conquer Writer’s Block :

Have you ever found yourself staring at your computer wanting to write, but you just can’t put together an idea? Have you ever found yourself clutching your pen, wishing that somehow it would just write the book itself? No inspiration? No legible thoughts? Lost in the world of writer’s block?

I know how you feel: hopeless, lost. Annoyed that your brain won’t do what you want. You feel like there isn’t any way to get over it. Well, I’ll let you in on a few secrets I use to say, “ADIOS, WRITER’S BLOCK!”

Write. (Ha-ha, good one, Emily. Wait, you’re not joking?) This might sound silly, I mean, you’re in a writer’s block that means you can’t write. Wrong! Writer’s block can’t stop you from writing; it only stops you from gathering enough inspiration needed to write something decent for other people to read. This doesn’t mean you can’t write. Write about anything; the trees, your day, how you hate your eyebrows, how you wish you could be a ninja, your love of llamas. Write anything! Push yourself. Make yourself write.

Music. Plug yourself in and ignore the world for a while. Bust out a few funky dance moves—loosen up! Listen to sad music, happy music, punk, classical, rock, pop, alternative, anything that floats your boat. Turn it up so loud that you block out your dog’s barking, mom calling, neighbors fighting (Yes, you must give up gossip if you want to write). Tune yourself in with the music.

Walks. I always find walking a nice way to clear my mind. Walk to a park and get on the swing, walk to the end of the road, walk past your crushes house a few times until he/she notices you (not too many or you’ll look like a stalker. That would not help!) Walk to a river, lake, stream. Walk under falling leaves, snow, rain. Anywhere. Walk and clear your mind! Breathe in that fresh air and scream out “I CAN WRITE! I CAN DO THIS!” (Note: this isn’t the smartest plan if you’re a) in a public area [the stares you get are just…] or b) with your crush. They’ll probably think you’re crazy.)

If all else fails, there are the last two options: scream into your pillow while narrating a fight scene involving majestic llamas in your head (or any creature/human of your choice!) , or (AVOID THIS ONE!) crying.

Those are just a few tips from personal experience. I hope they help you in some way, shape or form. Good luck and happy writing! 

Instead of wandering in the fog, sit down a moment and contemplate why you're there in the first place.

Introduction to these things called "books" :

Have you ever come close to these shops that have hard bound bundles of paper? They happen to have titles written along the length of the spine? Yes, those are what happen to be called "books". These are creatures borne of a writer's mind and usually involve twisted plots and characters in order to make the reader interested. 

I'm sure you've at least read one or two during your life time, and that may even be because school has a mandatory need for all students to read a couple of choice novels. For instance, "How to kill a mockingbird" is often read during the tenth grade. Well, in Canada at least. 

Now, these books are not to be feared. They are actually quite helpful for those of you on your way to becoming full-fledged writers. (I didn't say author for a reason here). What these books will really help you do is : 

I. develop your vocabulary and your comprehension of character development and plot lines. 

II. inspire your own creative genius to blossom from the depths of your mind.

and III. give you a model to follow after.

I'm not saying that any novel you read should heavily influence your writing, and that you should copy it line per line. I mean to say that this novel that you've just read will help be a guide to structure and a means to help you draw out your own inner voice (more on the inner voice later). 

So, the gist of this post is mainly to explaint that books are not to be feared. 

If you plan on becoming an author any time soon, the thing you need to do most (the most basic of rules) is to READ! Reading is the best way to understand the audience that you will try to appeal to. Reading is the way to try and discern what the writer is thinking and what they did to elicit a certain reaction from their audiences. 

Just remember that.

Best of luck.

One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read it to voyage through time.

Use your imagination and be creative :

Fantasy is one of the most exciting and hardest genre’s to write in my opinion. You have so many directions in which your story can go and there are so many important decisions that you will have to make.

Say you want to write a story about vampires. There are now a million kinds of vampires that you can choose from or you have the choice to make your own. Same goes for practically every magical creature out there. It’s all up to you to choose what you like and what you think will go with your plot the best.

The biggest thing that you need to remember when writing fantasy, besides having good grammar, pacing and characters, is that you need to be creative in all aspects of the story. The plot needs to be something new and unique, unlike anything that we’ve ever read before and you need to let your imagination run wild.

Don’t think about what makes sense but rather what doesn’t make sense while still making sense. Confused? Good. Your imagination doesn’t always make sense, but if it gives you this great idea that you don’t quite get, then just go with it and if it doesn’t work of, who cares? There’s still a billion more ideas out there just waiting for your mind to discover.

And if you have a hard time coming up with ideas, then look at pictures. I know it sounds silly, but pictures are the biggest source of inspiration. But if you don’t want to spend all day looking at pictures on your computer, watch movies and listen to music. They are also two big reasons that my head is swimming with plot bunnies. Or just sit there with your eyes closed in a quiet place and let the ideas flow to you.

- Kailyn

It is inevitable that we will, eventually, all die. However, it is up to us how to we use this time between the moment we first live to the second until we perish.

Including love :

Love at first sight? I think not.

Okay, I won’t be a hypocrite and say I don’t like a good love story now and again. In fact, half my bookshelf is full of books with romance as the main plot or sub-plot. But what drives me insane about romance novels is their very unrealistic, cliché way of going about things.

*Clears throat*

Boy teases girl. Girl hates him. BAM they get partnered up in a school project. BAM they fall in love.

Now, I’m sorry to say it, but love doesn’t just happen like that. I mean, I’m no expert, but from what I’ve seen, love doesn’t come around in only a couple weeks. That’s infatuation. Now, love can grow from infatuation, but I really dislike it when, at the end of the book, I haven’t seen true love.

If you are going to make characters in your book fall in love, you are going to have to make them become best friends first. People date/marry the person they’re most comfortable with! (Or should, anyway.) And the person they are most comfortable with is often their best friend.

Best friends first. No exceptions.

And to touch on this love at first sight stuff. No. Just no. If your book has to do with love at first sight (without some amazing explanation to why!) cut it. Now. I’m sorry to say, but that isn’t love. It’s infatuation. That’s lust for someone’s body if you “fall in love” at first sight.

I could go on and on about this, but I think I’ll stop there.  Remember:  love = best friends!

A mask can hide one's identity and make them bolder - whether they become a villain with that mask or a hero is up to them.

More on :

Writing mistakes often made by young writers...

2. The "I-am-only-evil-because-I-have-nothing-better-to-do" villain.

How often have I seen this done in a budding author's novel, often on Wattpad, where the villain is either simply cruel to spite the main character or it appears he had nothing better to do with his time. As an author, you want to make your characters believable! 

"Every villain believes they are a hero in their own minds." - Anonymous

That quote, right there explains everything that a budding author needs to know. In order to have a believable villain you must have that character believe that what they are doing is truly right. In their own minds, they must believe that everything they are doing is for some betterment. 

Take Hitler for example (I know, touchy subject) but when he began to purge the world of the Jewish it was because he believed them to be different, unnatural even, and with this he believed that by ridding the world of them that he would make things better.

Another example could be when in the "Maximum Ride" series by James Patterson, what Jeb and all the other "whitecoats" are doing is believed to be for the betterment and survival of mankind. Even though they have been trying to "enhance" the world with their hybrids and rid the world of the humans, they still believe that everything they are doing is good.

Do you see what I'm getting at? If the villain thinks what he is doing is GOOD then there won't be anything in the world (your magical little world) that can stop him. Well, besides your main character who will inevitably come in and save the day. 

It is often the fools who learn from their mistakes, while the wisemen would rather believe they had made none.

Writing mistakes often made by young authors...

1. A foolproof plot-line, until the wings are grown and things begin blowing up.

One thing that young authors tend to do while they are coming up with their plots is try to show the world just how creative they can be. (No one doubts that you can be creative). These authors need a better means to express their creativity rather than in flimsy portrayals and excessive character building (character building can be a good thing, but too much can make it seem like you're stressing your character to be who you want it to be). Just bear in mind that while you a writing your novel, you cannot have believable characters that fly and cause explosions with but a thought; these characters cannot teleport and be vampires who can sparkle in sunlight - because these things happen to be ridiculous. (The exeption to this being James Patterson who wrote the Maximum Ride series). 

Now, to help you rather than chastise you I will explain how to write a good plot-line.

• First and foremost, what you must do (under no circumstances is this step able to be skipped) is brainstorm - this is something that needs to be done if you even going to bother writing something. If you don't brainstorm, you'll have a lack of ideas, and a lack of ideas makes for a rather short novel.

• An informal second step would be to search for your inspiration. Look around the bookstore, open a couple books and read their beginnings, then take some others and read the middle. Never forget to check out some dialogue - if you want to create great character conversations then check out some who've done it already. You wouldn't want a conversation that ends up sounding like a bunch of onomatopeias. 

• Third step? Ah yes, the basic characters that you need to create in order to have your players. Think of it as a football game - your main character is the prize quarter back, and the others are secondary, third and fourth characters that help the quarter back get the ball to the end of the field. This is what you need. (While some authors like to do long and structured character builds, you won't need that until later on).

• The last thing that I will give you, that you need, would be the understanding of the cause and effect which the understanding of chain reactions. A chain reaction is when a cause - the main character has just stolen a prized jewel from its hidden underground placement - elicits a reaction - the underground tunnels begin to collapse -. 

I'm sure you can go on from here, yes? Just remember that a horrible plot-line and a missing plot-line are much the same things: they both do not keep a reader's attention.

Behold fear as an oportunity.

Teenagers :

I do not know how many times I have seen teenagers, as depicted in novels, to be so easily fooled and all for giving up their virginity. I mean, how often have you seen a teenager fall madly in love with the tall dark stranger at the back of the room? Multiple times I bet.

If you want to include a teenager in your novel, and you happen to be one, try not to let your wishes and fantasies get the hold of you. Teenagers are often lazy, tired and usually self-conscious - but don't let yourself think there aren't those certain ones who are wonderful students, who excercise daily but who are secretly the avid party-goer. See, what you have to remember is that not one teenager is the same- not every teenager you meet will be timid, or the beautiful girl who thinks she's ugly - and if you write like that, your reader will certainly grow annoyed.

You have to be careful while writing a teenager in your work - they are tricky, often changeable creatures.

In the end, love may be a lie - but many fools believe in lies.

Plot bunnies :

Everyone knows that rabbits are quick to breed when the season comes, right? Well some are quicker than others. Okay, let me slow down a moment so that I can explain to you just what I'm talking about. 

You have all heard of the dreaded - and yet sometimes welcome - plot bunny? No? Well, alright. A plot bunny happens to be one of those millions of ideas that just float around within the confines of your mind and come out to play only when there is an inspiring image. 

Example : 

This image has inspired a plot bunny (one that I have already allowed someone to adopt - more on that later -). That means that this image has inspired an idea of mine, or rather a plot to a story that is yet undeveloped. 

Need another example? Alright, how about I tell you about one of my plot bunny novels that I will be working on soon? Alright, the plot bunny that I am currently scratching the surface of is hereby named Chrysanthemum and was actually inspired by the definition on one of those name websites

(www.behindthename.com, www.babynames.com, etc.) The definition of the name Chrysanthemum - it is a name inspired by the Japanese plant said to have poisonous origins. Yes, I know. It's a tad strange but if I explained the plot to you then I'm certain you would understand. 

Chrysanthemum - a young woman has been dead for two hundred years, since after Antargnanté's war and she has witnessed the tragedy that had been the automaton war and the revolt against Olivier Shardé. However, having died during such a war, she has never forgiven those who long to deliver death. After years of roaming the earth suffering a terrible curse, she has finally come to terms with what she must do in order to continue her hell-bound life. 

That is the jist of what I can give you. I don't exactly want to give away too much of the idea - but that's what happens. I'm sure many of you have experienced this as well - you've all watched a television show or seen a commercial for perfume and thought "Whoa! What if ... and she did this ... and he did...! I've got to write this stuff down!"