Do you want to improve your writing this summer? Are you an ambitious writer who wants to make friends? Perhaps you want to get out on Wattpad and just have some fun?
You've come to the WRITE place ;)
Welcome to Summer Workshop 2017! Registe...
This week, we'd like to start with the basis of every story that has been composed by human minds, one of the most integral pieces of any work of art:
The Brainstorm.
Cue THUNDER.
Whenever authors finish a book - or as is my issue, while I'm writing a book - they often feel the need to start something new and fresh, to write something that can satisfy what their last creation couldn't.
In our first session, we explored the steps to creating a story, but now's the time for confronting the issue of even thinking up that first idea.
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1: Write down any and every idea that comes to your head
The first rule of thumb about brainstorming is that no idea is a bad one, at least not initially. A haunted piano? For now, sure. Nobody is going to see this but you, so why not get every idea out of your head first so that you don't get annoyed with it later on in the process.
I know that some people don't often have tons of ideas to hash out right on the bat, so here are some tips on coming up with ideas:
1a. Evaluate what's going on among other people where you are.
Put yourself in a public place like a park or a store and people-watch. Listen to what's going on with passersby, watch what they do and how their story unfolds. Imagine what story theirs must be that they ended up here, why they're here, and you have the sort of general idea that is fit for a brainstorm.
1b. Think about what you've wanted to see in books but never come across in publications.
A big thing that drives my own stories is the fact that I want to see certain realms of representation among areas that I relate to strongly. For me, as someone of partial Native American descent who struggles with mental illness, as well as part of the LGBT+ community, I always want to see accurate and nondemonizing content of such people. This led to me writing my book, A Girl Named Wednesday, which contains all three of those themes.
So, what don't you see in literature? Do you want others to see it? Write that out on your list, too.
1c. Let your thoughts flow.
Again, no idea is a bad one for the time being. Whatever comes to mind, write it down and move on until you really hit the brick wall.
1d. Find some writing prompts.
One of my favorite Instagram accounts, writing.prompt.s, is constantly posting short story prompts. While many of these are far-fetched, the idea in this case is to use these to fuel your brainstorm and give you a boost. As of writing this, the most recent prompt is:
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From here, there are a million different ways this could be taken. Personally, I would use the themes of luck rather than the infliction of good and bad, mostly because I'm a realistic fiction writer and not one of fantasy or sci-fi.
1e. Research a variance of topics.
You know what really gets ideas flowing? Wikipedia articles.
Find yourself an article - doesn't matter what - and along the left-hand side are many hyperlinks, one of which reads "Random Article." Click this until you get an article that you find interesting.
After a couple clicks through very short, uninteresting articles, I found one entitled "Snooker world rankings 1996/1997." I don't know what snooker is, but the name catches my eye. Now I want to read the article and maybe write a character who battles it out in games of snooker to get to the top of the ranks. (I now realize that "snooker" is just what non-Americans call "pool."
2. Narrow down your choices.
Explore how you could develop each story. If it doesn't feel like enough, scrap it. No haunted piano.
3. Sketch out what each of the remaining ideas would look like.
If you're left with a few ideas, hash out what each one would look like, plot-arc-wise.
4. Pick your favorite one.
This is where you thoroughly examine every idea and decide which one you want to tell the most. Perhaps the remaining tales can be reserved for a later date, or - if possible - you could merge some of the ideas.
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Time for this week's assignment! (I apologize for sounding like a primary school teacher.)
This week, as we're focusing on brainstorming, that's exactly what we'll be doing.
Take about ten minutes to jot down every idea you have. As your assignment, comment three to five of the best ones you come up with and with your favorite one, write out the basic storyline. Try to keep it less than seven sentences. Make sure you label which one you're outlining!
Example:
Brainstorm:
1. Two boys meet on a rooftop every day because no one else in the township sees them as normal.
2. The city has become an experiment center for an army of young adults that will lead Rebellious marches against the corrupt government.
3. After waking up in a forest alone, one boy has to survive the night to have any chance of getting out.
4. When a young man decides that his time is up, a woman saves him from an untimely death.
Storyline:
3. The MC wakes up in a forest just as the sun is setting. Upon emptying his bag, he finds a note that is essentially a riddle telling him that he must survive the night. He's left without memories so that he doesn't know what he has to fight for, as is part of the experiment. The forest in which this test is taking place is filled with obstacles such as artificially-bred "monsters" that threaten to kill the narrator. Told in an hour-by-hour format, the MC fights for his life, hoping while he runs and hides that what's beyond the sunrise is better than dying.
The last day of submission for this assignment is 12:00 p.m. EST on July 26th, 2017. Any entries submitted after that date will not be considered for our reflection. We will be picking the three winners based on the outline of your story.
Just a note: please do not steal other people's ideas!
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We hope you've enjoyed this session! Don't forget to comment "seen," and don't be afraid to support each other and lift one another up!
