[Write On Wednesday] Time Slowed Down

Write A Prompt In The Moment Before An Accident

car crash 1

You know that old cliché: time slowed?

Well, if you’ve ever been in a car crash or any kind of accident, you’ll know exactly what that means: the amygdala (the seat of emotion in your brain) kicks in and calmly starts recording every detail. When you go back over your memories, the moment will seem to have lasted at least 30% longer than it actually could have.

The way to recreate this in fiction Continue reading “[Write On Wednesday] Time Slowed Down”

Best Of The Web For Short Story Writers March 2014

That author is a thousand books to a thousand persons.
Before and After: Do a Little Work, Every Single Day. « The Happiness Project
http://gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2014/01/before-and-after-do-a-little-work-every-single-day/

Guest blogger Caroline McGraw talks to Gretchen about how working a little every day can make big scary tasks (writing a completed work) less scary and less hard.

Tips for Young Writers | Elizabeth Spann Craig
http://elizabethspanncraig.com/1627/tips-young-writers/

This guest post by Aidyl Ewoh could just as easily be called “Tips For Writers”. Great stuff here from “Surround yourself with positive people” to “Consistency trumps quantity” to “Read a lot” and “Find a writing community”… This blogger is singing my song!

Tales from the Den of Chaos: Belief and Possibility
http://www.denofchaos.com/2014/01/belief-and-possibility.html

A rumination on the magic of the “New Year”, which we writers can apply at any point in the calendar:
“…human belief is an incredibly powerful thing. When we believe something is possible, no matter how enormous a task it may be, if we really believe we can do it…we will. As long as we do not succumb to doubt, as long as we are willing to keep getting up after we’ve taken a fall, as long as we see these failures not as hard-stops but rather as learning how not to do that totally possible thing – we will do it.”

Flash Fiction Chronicles’ Favorite Short Fiction list 2013
http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/an-ffc-list-in-honor-of-short-story-month-2013/

Yup, I’m late discovering this post, but if you’re looking for something to read (or for places to send your own fiction) this is a great starting point.

3 Writing Tips You Can Steal From Animators
http://thewritepractice.com/animator-tips/

Three great tips here. Not the usual rehashing of story structure tips or character tips or how to make your dialogue sound real. Instead, this article talks about three great ways to actually make the writing happen.

flax-golden tales: simple steps « erin’s emporium of discount dreams & well-worn wonders
http://erinmorgenstern.com/2014/01/flax-golden-tales-simple-steps/

This is both a short story and an admonition to other artists, from Erin Morgenstern, author of the wildly successful novel The Night Circus. Read it slowly, then follow her advice!

When You’re Feeling Self-Doubt & a Lack of Motivation : zenhabits
http://zenhabits.net/down/

Not writing advice but great living advice that will help you get back to your writing on a day when you’re not sure you’re really a writer. (Hint: you are. Use the steps in this article to get yourself back to a place where you can be)

Action Reveals Character – Books & Such Literary Management : Books & Such Literary Management
http://www.booksandsuch.com/blog/action-reveals-character/

“In real life, it’s not what a person says that shows us who they are, it’s what they do…” Lovely short article on how to make your characters reveal themselves with subtlety.

It Takes The Time It Takes « terribleminds: chuck wendig
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/01/20/it-takes-the-time-it-takes/

Chuck Wendig talks about his 20-year-long overnight success, and gives hope to the most impatient among us.

Ten things you can write in ten minutes or less – Time to Write
http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/2014/01/ten-things-you-can-write-in-ten-minutes-or-less.html

What to write when you don’t have time to write 😉

Strategy of Loophole-Spotting #3: the Tomorrow Loophole. « The Happiness Project
http://www.gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2014/01/strategy-of-loophole-spotting-3-the-tomorrow-loophole/

Do you put off until tomorrow what could be done today?

Write Until You Die
http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2014/01/write-until-you-die.html

James Scott Bell advocates never giving up on creativity, and offers some suggestions on how to do that! (Includes an adorable picture of Herman Wouk)

What Does 2 Billion Book Sales Look Like?: InfoGraphic | Lovereading UK
http://visual.ly/what-does-2-billion-book-sales-look

This is just awesome. Go and look.

[Write On Wednesday] Give Us A Hint


Yesterday I wrote about “Hint Fiction”, a book of stories told in fewer than 25 words.

The Prompt

Write A Story In No More Than 25 Words

Tips

    • Remember that, in short fiction, you are collaborating with the reader. Make them supply a lot of the detail by leaving spaces for their imaginations to fill.
    • Feel free to write a longer story first and cut it down
    • Don’t expect this to be easy or quick: 25 words is almost nothing!
    • Read this review of the book Hint Fiction to see some examples of how this can be done well.
    • Choose a moment that has some ambiguity in it.
    • Make the title count.

Here’s mine:
The Moment That Altered The Course Of Her Life

Her arm, casually draped across his chest, felt a sudden, pounding footrace: his brain vainly chasing the escaping heart-words. Her pause, a lifetime. Then: yes.

Go!

[Reading Room] Hint Fiction

UPDATE: Hint Fiction is launching a second anthology: deadline April 30, 2014 (thanks to Flash Fiction Chronicles for the update)

This week I bring you not a story but a collection of stories.

However, each story is only 25 words long.

In the introduction, editor Robert Swartwood says that short fiction,

“…should be complete by standing by itself as its own little world”

Here’s one of my favorite stories in the collection:

“Jermaine’s Postscript to His Seventh-Grade Poem Assignment,” by Christoffer Molnar.

 

“Ms. Tyler, the girl part was about Shantell. Please don’t tell anyone.”

Writing a 25 word story seems like it would be easy, but reading through the more-and-less successful stories in this collection three things stood out

  1. A lot of thinking goes into a short story
  2. Creating a compelling main character is essential if you’re not going for the quick, humorous, punch-line story.
  3. Finding ways to do that in so few words is a fascinating challenge.

To distill the essence of a moment, a person, an interaction, down to 25 words takes a lot of effort and these writers have done an amazing job!

Kind of makes you want to try it, doesn’t it?

Where Do You Write?

“…I only have to turn up at my coworking space 10 times a month to make it cheaper than a coffeeshop…and here I don’t have to ask a stranger to guard my gadgets while I run to the loo… “and other, cheaper ways to carve out a writing space

Over at my personal blog today I wrote about my love for the coworking space I rent in my town. I jokingly call the old industrial building my ‘writer’s garret’ and my post was called “Everybody Needs A Garret”.

Which got me thinking. While it’s important to be able to write everywhere and any time and in long or short increments, it is incredibly powerful to have a space or a routine that helps you focus on your writing.

Where Do You Do Your Best Writing?

Some people, like me, have the luxury of time, a hip hometown and a little extra moolah, and can rent cheap, shared office space as a writing garrett.

Other people carve out space in a disused closet or the space under the stairs, jam headphones on their ears and pound away at the keys there.

Some people write in bed, on buses, in libraries and coffee shops.

If you haven’t set up your own writing space yet, experiment with some of these ideas until you find out what works for you.

Your Own Writing Space – Some Tips

If you want to try out having a writing space here are some tips:

  • Search your local area for a coworking space or a writers’ collective with desk space for rent. You might be surprised at how much flexibility you can find for relatively little cost (I worked it out. If I spend a morning working at a coffee shop I’ll buy a fancy coffee and probably a breakfast sandwich or something for lunch, to assuage my guilt at hogging one of their tables all morning. I might buy a bottle of water or a second coffee too. That’s probably $10-14 per trip. I only have to turn up at my coworking space 10 times a month to match that…and here I don’t have to ask a stranger to guard my gadgets while I run to the loo.)
  • Office Nook In The MorningCarve out a space in your home. It can be as little as an under-used corner of the kitchen, under the stairs, below an awkwardly sloped ceiling, in the space between two doorways. Pick up a cheap desk or, if you want a standing desk, pop this lap desk on top of a sideboard/buffet and call it your ‘desk’. (This really cuts down on the amount of space you need, as there is no chair to worry about). Maybe order an lightweight room divider screen that you can set up around yourself while you work and fold up when you’re finished. Get a desk lamp to illuminate (and focus) your little corner. Let everyone know that, when you’re in your writing space, this is Writing Time and tell them how long they have to leave you alone before they are allowed to have their next emergency. [2. It will probably take a long time and some persistence before this lesson kicks in at all, even with other adults.]
  • Carve out an Aural Writing Room by picking up a decent pair of big, obvious over-the-ear headphones [3. Make them big and obvious to signal to the world that you are Not Available] and a White Noise or ambient sounds generator (White Noise is ok, but I really like the Study app for iOS, which has soothing spa-like music and birdsong that is supposed to make you smarter).
  • 20140312-112836.jpgRemember, a Writing Garrett isn’t an office. You don’t have to have filing cabinets and lots of shelves [4. You already have books all over your house, don’t you?]. I keep my essential writing supplies for the major current projects together in a backpack. I grab that, and go – whether my writing space for the day is the Garrett or ‘back under the covers’.

Do you have a space where you write? Post a comment (or share a picture) below.

[Write On Wednesday] The Glitterati

Writing prompt: what if a bunch of glamorous and exciting people came to your podunk hometown?

Paparazzi

Does your everyday life seem pretty unglamorous? What about your town?

What if you walked down the street one morning and discovered that a whole bunch of glamorous, exciting people had come to town for a spell?

The Prompt

Write a story about a small town invaded by glamorous/exciting people

Tips

The exciting people could be movie or pop stars on a location shoot, or high-profile politicians in town for a rally, or scientists flocking to study an unnatural phenomenon (think: Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver), just as long as it upsets the status quo.

Who are they? Why are they there? Who do they meet?

What do the local people think about all this?

What does your main character feel about them at the start of the story? At the end?

Who learns something from this visit? What?

Also, if you have only ever lived somewhere exciting, seeing celebrities at every coffee counter, write instead about someone really ordinary coming into a situation filled with glamour. Ask the same questions as above?

Go!

[Reading Room] Flax-Golden Tales by Erin Morgenstern

Flax-Golden Morgenstern
Every Friday Erin Morgenstern (author of The Night Circus) posts a Flax-Golden Tale: a ten-sentence story inspired by a photograph by Colin Farrell.

The stories themselves range from quirky to thought-provoking to funny and back again. Often the story gives a character to an inanimate object. The narrator’s voice is always strong. The writing is poetic, concise, efficient and a great model for how you might approach a short-short story, yourself.

 Steal From Erin Morgenstern!

Not the words. (That would be plagiarism and that would be bad.) But we can learn from her practice.

  1. She is doing it week after week after week, which is both challenging and freeing. Knowing she doesn’t have to get it right this week (because there is always next week) must be freeing, even as having a weekly deadline is challenging.
  2. The ten-sentence format is wonderful. Knowing that she has to write ten sentences every time removes one of the many, many decisions a writer must face when sitting down to create something out of nothing (and decisions are often barriers to ‘getting stuff done’). Ten sentences is just enough space to tell a tale, but not so much that you get bogged down or lost. It is not intimidating. Setting small goals (except for during May, of course!) is a valid path towards success and fulfillment.
  3. She is doing this for fun and for practice. She seems to have no desire to write these for publication, other than to post them, free, on her site (and I suspect that’s more about commitment and accountability than anything else). Writing for the love of it is something easily lost once you start practicing (and reading websites that urge to to publish, Publish, PUBLISH!)
  4. This is a collaboration. Every week the photographer in the partnership has committed to providing a picture. Every week the writer writes a story. If one of them is having a bad week, their commitment to the other artist is a wonderful incentive to work, instead of waiting for inspiration (or putting off the act until ‘someday’).

What about you? Could you commit to a writing exercise like this? What would yours look like? Would you work with a collaborator? Leave a comment->

[Write On Wednesday] Misunderstood

Write a open letter from a misunderstood character

Paris Traffic Wardens

Nobody loves the traffic warden. Or the referee. Or the person who tells you that yes, it’s going to be a root canal. But these people are, well, people, aren’t they?

The Prompt

Write an open letter to the world from an unloved character

Tips

  • You can use one of society’s whipping boys, such as the traffic warden, or you can use a fictional character (such as the witch from Hansel and Gretel — try to stick to characters that are in the public domain if you’re going to publish/post this anywhere)
  • The story can be a ‘day in the life’ story, where we *see* the character in a more sympathetic way, if you don’t fancy the idea of the open letter format.
  • The open letter could be in the form of a list of things we didn’t know about the maligned character or it could be an impassioned defense of their kind.
  • The character can be sad, angry, arrogant, pleading…whatever seems right.

Go!