I was recently a ROW 80 sponsor. This is a re-blog of the post I did for Row 80, in case some of you didn’t bop over there. Enjoy!

So, how are we all doing? Having trouble getting started? Ugh! I hate that too.

Personally, I don’t believe in writer’s block. What you need is just a little inspiration. Where do you find inspiration? Well, anywhere.

A good solid writer can make a story out of anything. You just need to take that first step forward.

But how do you take that step?

Did you see a billboard or magazine advertisement this morning? Take the person in that picture and write about them. Are you stuck in the middle of your novel and don’t know where to go? Read on, my friend, read on…

Here is my method of getting started. It has never failed me. You need to start with a character or a setting. Who or where does not matter. Just start.

If it is a character, have them take a step. If it is a scene, just show your reader where they are. I am going to grab a name out of the air, and see what happens. Okay? John is the name. Here we go:

“John shivered as the cool breeze slapped at his cheeks. The walk ahead was long and hard, but he needed to make this journey. More than anything else, he needed to find Geraldine.”

Now, I had no pre-conceived idea in my head when I started. I just grabbed the name “John” out of the air, and added a setting element. Within a few seconds, he was looking for someone named Geraldine… and that was completely unplanned.

Now, I just need to let the story “happen”. The seeds have been planted. John has to walk in the cold. Where is he going? Dunno, but I know it leads to Geraldine. Isn’t that exciting?

The way I’ve use this method in the middle of a novel, is I take a character, have him sit outside a door, and actually write his thoughts as he figures out what he needs to do. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen… you don’t know what’s going to happen either. Just work it out together.

Now, you might not actually be able to use that 2-3 paragraphs that you write in that character’s POV, but just writing and “getting into their head” will start the creative juices flowing.

The important thing is to get words on the page. Once they start flowing, you might be surprised how hard they are to stop.

Unfortunately, now I’m DYING to know more about John and Geraldine. Ugh. Another story begging to be written.

Good luck!

My Writing is driving me Crazy! (thewritersadvice.com)
Where do Characters Come From? (kristinastanley.net)

I need to interrupt my normal Monday “Gold Mine Manuscript Rejection” Post because today I am part of the “Origins” Blogfest. Tune in Wednesday for my article showing what our favorite publisher red-lined about our beloved manuscript’s Action Scenes.

The Origins Blog Fest

This blogfest is all about your origins as a writer. It can be when you started as a Journalist, what made you want to be a Writer, or even as easy as what made you start Blogging. So, what was it? What made that little sparkle happen? What lit your fire? What made you say: “Holy Cow! I’m a writer.”

If you want to see the Linky list to more great Origin stories, and maybe even hop on board if you are so inclined, your can zing over there by clicking HERE.

I sprouted early. I always had an over-active imagination. I created whole worlds to play in. Nothing was impossible. In high school, I mashed this together with my love of the English Language, and started typing on my Dad’s computer one night. (I was so excited to have one. My Dad had it for work. NO ONE had computers in their homes, yet)

Out popped chapter one. I bought it into school and gave it to my friends to read. (I was a lot less shy back then) All of the sudden, I had a chapter-a-night deadline.

MUST BE DONE BY HOMEROOM THE NEXT DAY.

Wow… what a driver. When that novel was finished, it took three whole computer disks to store it. (They only held a whopping 1MB of info back then)

It was a huge learning experience for me. Why did I do it? Simple… The looks on their faces when they read it. The big smiles. The appreciation for something I HAD CREATED. I was hooked. Undeniably hooked. I think that was the last time I was on planet Earth. After that… my eyes were on the stars, and a SciFi Fantasy author was born.

It was always the creation part that was fun for me, though.

Once I was done with a novel, I would just print it out, stick it in the closet, and move on to the next. (I have three completed novels, a novella, and a few that never actually made it to the finish line) I stopped writing when I got married, and had to start worrying about bills and things… I had to focus on the real world and keep my head out of the clouds. It couldn’t stop my over-active imagination, though.

Only recently, when I started an elaborate fantasy to keep myself awake while I was driving 1 hour back and forth to work, did I decide to focus my energy into polishing something for publication.

My husband begged me to go back to my second novel… as he puts it: “The best dern novel he’s ever read.” I thought about it, but I decided to move forward instead. Thus my current baby was born.

My husband’s favorite will probably scoot its way out of the closet soon. It needs to be re-typed, though– Those old word processing programs can only be opened in Wordpad, and the formatting is all off, and extra characters appear everywhere… what a mess.