Tag: Writers

Do you know where to look?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell4 Comments

For that next book idea?

There’s nothing new under the sun.

In other words, no new ideas. Even inventions are the result of a previous idea or invention. One thing always leads to another.

So where do other writers get their ideas?

They steal, from each other and everyone.

From movies, books, TV, newspapers (a great source for SF), or their great Aunt Fanny.

 

Remember, everything old is new again! That’s where.

I know, enough clichés. But you get the point. Click and read this terrific article about Michael Crichton and how he turned the ideas of others into best-selling books with his own twist.

HOW MICHAEL CRICHTON MINED CLASSIC LITERATURE TO WRITE MODERN SCIENCE FICTION by tylermillerwrites

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Now, how about you?

Have your ideas been sparked by a favorite movie or book?

Could you take a kernel from it and make it your own?

Keep Reading – More great articles ahead!

How To (Legally and Ethically) Steal Ideas 

Borrowing, Stealing, and Building Upon Other People’s Writing Ideas by

Why You Should Steal From Other Authors by K.M. Weiland

 

Can a bad idea make a good story?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell15 Comments

Of course! At least I think any idea can make a good story.

Because are there really any bad ideas? Or just bad execution?

We all have that one friend who when they start with, “Let me tell you…,” we cringe. Yet a different friend can call, and we can’t wait to hear the ending of “Let me tell you…” Because this person will leave us laughing or crying.

What’s the difference? One is dry as dust with the telling, and another is entertaining.

A few weeks ago I posted about fleshing out ideas. But I was assuming the idea was a good one.

But what if your idea doesn’t sound all that good to other people? What then? Do you throw it out and search for another subject?

No, not necessarily. Everything is in the delivery.

After reading How to Develop Any Idea Into a Great Story at Writers Digest, I began to understand more about why some of my story ideas seem to die on the vine. 

I need to feed them differently, shine light from a different angle, but rework the idea until it sizzles with energy.

Here are the things I gleaned from the article.

  • Bend it by-
    • Getting primal, give your character an inner yearning that drives him.
      • Now take that urge and bend it to an uncomfortable level.
    • Taking the familiar, turning it on its head, make a paradox. A lover of women who kills women
    • Have fun with a little crazy. Who is the crazy one?
  • Amp it with-
    • Emotions/feelings
    • Action
    • People
    • There are no minor characters. Make sure the story gives each character their due.
    • Inflict Pain. Add a truth teller, a flesh ripping, spine-tingling character.
    • Let your characters feel pain.
    • Remember blood is thicker than water. Family trumps all. Add conflict of kinship.
  • Drive it-
    • 0-60, hit the gas. Start with blood, guts, tears, fears, danger, broken lives and don’t slow down.
    • Let the normal dissolve and barrel like an out of control train toward disaster.
    • Make your victim complicit in her dilemma.
    • Give your protagonist an impossible choice.
  • Strip it-
    • Quality over quantity
    • Don’t tell the emotions, let the reader feel the emotion.
    • Use small, everyday things to bring the story to life.

What do you think? Can a bad idea really be turned into a good story?

Have you ever taken a bad idea and turned it around?

Do you have an idea that’s sitting on a back burner?

I’ve got a notebook full!

Need more tips to turn your idea around?

Keep reading – great articles below.

Leave me a comment – I love comments.

Please head over and “like” my Facebook page at Facebook at jeanswriting . Or to connect with me, click the “write me” tab. Don’t forget you can follow me on StumbleUpon,  on Twitter @jeancogdell , and Amazon.com.

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How to turn an idea into a story (Free workbook) Tera Lynn Childs

How to Turn an Idea Into a Story – Luc Reid

How to brainstorm your story idea into a working concept – Veronica Sicoe

Do you think it’s important to hook fast?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell25 Comments

A reader that is.

How soon should a reader expect to feel the tug of a hook? That ah-ha moment that keeps them turning the page?

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First paragraph, page, or chapter?

At times I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I’ll mess with an opening until I feel that tug myself. Then I can continue writing. Often I’ll rewrite the beginning of a story a dozen times before I feel happy with it. I’m not talking about grammar mistakes. Those are easy fixes by an editor. I’m talking about that “feeling.”

There are a lot of do’s and do not’s but the most important rule to me is “feeling” that tug. That knowing hook.

I’ll be buzzing right along in the middle of a scene when bam, I know something is wrong. The line broke. I have to go back and fix my hook and bait. Wiggle the line until once again I feel that familiar tug.vintage-1817338_640How about y’all? Do you write until the opening tugs at you to go on or do you just wing it?

As always I’ve left you some great reading at the bottom of my post. Let me know what you think.

Leave me a comment – I love comments.

Please head over and “like” my Facebook page at Facebook at jeanswriting . Or to connect with me, click the “write me” tab. Don’t forget you can follow me on StumbleUpon,  on Twitter @jeancogdell , and Amazon.com.

Please stop by and say, “hey!” I’ll leave a light on. 

How to Find the Start of Our Story

10 Ways to Start Your Story Better

How to Set Up a Story’s Hook

The 21 Best Tips for Writing Your Opening Scene

Image Source from Pixabay.com 

Are you ready for the unvarnished truth?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell10 Comments

About blogging?

road-humps-ahead-246_960_720Not many of us know what lays ahead of us when we begin blogging. The bumpy road is a surprise and we are never ready for all the strange things we encounter.

However, the following post The Ugly Side of Blogging by Elena Peters, is a must read for anyone ready to take the blogging plunge. Or a confused blogger.

Ms. Peters lists 21 truths about blogging that many of us didn’t see coming before we were hit like a truck running a red light.

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Image Source
  • #4 – Please, I have fiddled with my format, theme, and pictures so much this blog had an identity crisis to rival Sibil.
  • #5 – As a writer, don’t most writers think about quitting every single day? Maybe it’s just me.
  • #7 & #15 & #17 – Lies, Free & Trust. Oh yes. The internet is floating in lies, freebies, and people to be trusted. Right, best keep a lifeboat handy when you launch into the deep waters of blogging. And one last thing, before you pay big bucks for a writer’s course, make sure it’s sold by someone who as actually written a good book.

I enjoy blogging. It’s fun to put my thoughts out in the world and see what pops back to me but I’m not making any money. That would be lovely but not necessary.

Now selling my books, that’s a different balloon of another color. I’d love to make money with my books.

Did any of Ms. Peters “truths” speak to you?

Which ones?

Any surprises?

Have you been burned since you began blogging? How?

Leave me a comment – I love comments.

Please head over and “like” my Facebook page at Facebook at jeanswriting . Or to connect with me, click the “write me” tab. Don’t forget you can follow me on StumbleUpon,  on Twitter @jeancogdell , and Amazon.com.

Please stop by and say, “hey!” I’ll leave a light on.