Finding inspiration

You can be inspired at any time, but if you’re sick of waiting there are a few good ways to help get you thinking about ideas for your story.

Start Writing! Sometimes the best way to generate ideas is simply to start writing. If you have an idea, even if it’s not the whole story just a tiny piece … start writing! Whether it turns out to be the beginning, the end or the middle of your story … it doesn’t matter. Worry about where it fits in later!

Try Automatic Writing to generate some quick ideas.

A Mind Map can be a great way of getting your story moving.

Where is your story located? In a jungle? Is it hot? Are there annoying insects? Find out more about a sense of place.

Find out what sort of writer you are.

Find out what sort of story you want to write

Try some ‘craft’ exercises to get you started. poewar.comhas some wonderful examples.

Who’s in your story? Who would you like to write about? It might be somebody made up, or a person you know. Start writing about them, what they want, where they’re going, what colour their eyes are and whether they have any deep dark thoughts! Find your character and you might just find your story.

You might try recording your story first to get you started. Use a recordable mp3 player or a dictaphone, and start telling your story. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to start at the beginning … you can work that out later!

If you’re stuck in your story and need a new direction, try Oblique Strategies, a wonderful site dedicated to helping writers generate ideas and break writers block!

Keep a notebook handy for when inspiration strikes! If you want the ultimate writing notebook, Amazon sell Moleskine Notebooks. The same notebook that Hemingway, Picasso, and Chatwin used!