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Mary Rosenblum
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Hello all.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I hope you had a good week.
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Mary Rosenblum
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We had such fun at our last
Friday AFter Hours creating multiple stories from a single idea, that I
thought
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'd step back and talk about
how to find that idea in the first place.
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hauckston
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we're all ears
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Mary Rosenblum
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You know, all us SF and
mystery writers get asked this all the time...where do you find your ideas?
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Mary Rosenblum
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But ideas litter the ground.
It's just you don't let yourself see them is all.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I think the problem is that
most people think it's the idea that is most important to the story....it
has to be something nobody has thought of yet.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But that's not true.
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Mary Rosenblum
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By the time you get done
combining that idea with your characters and their unique situation it will
be new.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The best way to send all ideas
fleeing to the other side of the galaxy is to sit down and announce "I
must come up with a new story right now"
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Mary Rosenblum
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Mind goes blank
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Mary Rosenblum
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Start saving up ideas before
you need them.
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Mary Rosenblum
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A wonderful creative exercise
when you're reading the paper or sitting in the dentist's office with those
old, out of date magazines
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Mary Rosenblum
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is to tell yourself you will
find three story ideas.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And find 'em.
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april cassandra katko2
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all romance novels are the same
forumla
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well the category romance are,
April.
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Mary Rosenblum
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To be honest, that's why the
genre isn't very well respected in the larger literary community.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But that's a trait of romance
only.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Recognizing ideas is something
you can get better at with a bit of practice.
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Mary Rosenblum
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When you put yourself on the
spot...'I need an idea NOW' you freeze.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Try it when you DON"T have
to have an idea right now.
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hauckston
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what about Pride &
Prejudice? Romance, yet a classic. Or Taming of the Shrew?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Those aren't category
romances, hauck. That's why I made the distinction.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Romance is a major part of
much fiction. It's a strong driver of human behavior after all. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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Category romance are the very
specfically defined books that don't vary much...think Harlequin and a few
other publishers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Mainstream publishers publish
books all the time that are essentially romance. Not the same as 'category
romance'.
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beryl
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The better you know your
characters, the easier it should be to spot an idea
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Mary Rosenblum
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Absolutely. But you can also
start with ideas....bits that have no story....and by coupling that idea
with a charater, end up with a story.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Don' t TRY too hard.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Grab the paper or a magazine.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Read it.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Think...could someone make a
story out of this?
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Mary Rosenblum
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No, you don't have to come up
with a PLOT,
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Mary Rosenblum
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But hey, here's a story from
our Oregonian.
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Mary Rosenblum
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A local councilman from a
small town stopped on the interstate to help a woman with car trouble...
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Mary Rosenblum
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and a car hit his parked car
while he was doing so. It was dark. He obviously jumped over the railing to
avoid getting hurt
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Mary Rosenblum
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and didn't realize it was a 50
foot drop into the John Day river.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I could make three or four
different stories from that idea.
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hauckston
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I surmise what you are getting
at, Mary, is that if we free our minds, creativity will flourish
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yep.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you don't HAVE to do it, it
happens.
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lilylily
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or the idea can inspire a
character
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yep.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Here we have a tragedy.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Idea; Man dies in the night
helping someone.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Wow, nothing spectacular here,
right/
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now you can think about who
might be affected, how, maybe he didn't drown, what happened then?
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jeannieml
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Kind of like playing the
"what If" game to add a twist to an event, person, or headline
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Mary Rosenblum
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Bingo, jeannie.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And if you aren't under a
deadline if it's just a game, it's really easy.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And like ice skating or
dancing, you get better with practice.
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hauckston
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I found what worked well for me
was the 'On Writing Well' book, sit in a coffee shop and eavesdrop
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Mary Rosenblum
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oh yes. And I'm a terrible
voyeur. If you leave your curtains open, I WILL watch you. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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From the sidewalk, but I sure
look.
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fabulascribe
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What is the actual definition of
plot, vs storyline?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Storyline and plot are
essentially the same thing, scribe.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The idea is the seed.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Like our tragedy on I84, you
can take that seed and grow a variety of different plants from it. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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One trick that served me well
when I was starting out...
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Mary Rosenblum
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I combed card shops,
newspapers, and magazines for pictures.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Cut them out, tossed them into
a cardboad box in my office closet.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The dump box.
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Mary Rosenblum
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When I needed a story, I
dumped the box on the living room floor and started looking through the
pile.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'd say over half of my early
published stories came from the dump box.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now I'm much more practiced at
finding ideas. It happens automatically when I"m reading anything.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I write 'em down and put them
in my 'idea file'.
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hauckston
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that seed could be that he
lived, mangled body and brilliant mind... becoming more intellectually
savvy, yet less of the casanova he may have been?
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's one. You could write a
lot of different stories from this.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Or he didn't go over, just
walked away and into a new life.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And went to find the
illegitimate son whose mother gave him up for adoption when they were
teenagers.
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beryl
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I love the picture idea. I've
used picturequest for that...but keeping pictures I can hold and think
about...great!
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Mary Rosenblum
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They work really well. I find
I get more from pictures I can handle. Some tactile connection, don't ask
me what.
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geezer
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I have a dump file for
characters. (Had to explain that to Hubby :-))
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Mary Rosenblum
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I do that, too. When a photo
really catches my eye.
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charie'
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Some writers are inspired by a
piece of music.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Joan Vinge is. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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I use that more for mood than
story generation.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some writers are lucky enough
to have vivid story dreams. Not me, sigh.
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onepozy
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Any formula on whether and idea
is good enough for a novel versus just enough for a short story
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Mary Rosenblum
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Depends on the genre, one.
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Mary Rosenblum
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For SF you need a solid core
idea.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Doesn't have to be brand new,
but needs to be at least a twist on something familiar if not.
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Mary Rosenblum
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In mainstream, you are doing
mostly character conflict.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Mystery it's the crime.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The size and complexity of the
story determine the length.
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charie'
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Keep up with the latest
discoveries in technology, medicine, etc.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Oh yeah. I read several
science mags cover to cover every month and pick the brains of my friend
and science writer when he goes to big meetings for the real cutting edge
leads.
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fabulascribe
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Re: being inspired by music, do
you know if anyone has ever written a novel based on a song?
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Mary Rosenblum
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I can't think of one off the
top of my head, but I bet a song has at least served as a theme for at
least one novel.
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mmk
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what about ideas for
non-fiction? Where do you find that idea or twist that hasn't been done to
death?
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Mary Rosenblum
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There, mmk, you have to know
what has been published, what the trends are, and what publishers want.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's basic market research.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If self help books are hot
(they are) you see what is out there, look at the publisher's catalogues to
see what will be coming out
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Mary Rosenblum
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and look for a niche that
hasn't been covered.
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charie'
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Movie screenplays based on songs
(Harper Valley PTA, Three Little Words)
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Mary Rosenblum
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And I'm sure there are many
more.
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april cassandra katko2
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how often should one concertate
on one chater
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'm not sure what you're
asking April
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Mary Rosenblum
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Try using /ask in your regular
send bar.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can send me a longer
question that way.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The main thing with ideas is
that if you wait until you need one, it's hard to come up with.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you 'play' at idea
gathering every day, you'll get VERY good at it.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And file those ideas.
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Mary Rosenblum
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When you need to write a new
story, you go through your idea file and see what leaps up and waves at
you.
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april cassandra katko2
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how often should one concentrate
on one character
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Mary Rosenblum
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Do you mean use a single POV
character, April? In a short story? Or novel?
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beryl
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I have a journal strictly for my
novel and anything I think I might use goes in there
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's a very good idea.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I have..literally...boxes of
stuff for my novels.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Pictures, articles, objects,
menus, what have you.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Files of stuff on the
computer.
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charie'
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Check with your local bookseller
to see what non-fiction requests they get that don't have any books
available yet. I.E. metal sculpting, tattooing
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Mary Rosenblum
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Wow, that's a GREAT idea Charie!
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hauckston
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my twin paints... and sometimes,
it is her painting that inspires me... we have creative nights where I
write and she paints
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Mary Rosenblum
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Cool.
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hauckston
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I order free visitor guides from
places, ie from Massachusetts
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Mary Rosenblum
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Those are very useful for
background in stories.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Try playing with your ideas.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I might take a basic idea,
such as our unfortunate councilman and see how many different stories I can
come up with.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Often one of those story ideas
will start to nag at me, I'll think of a character and pretty soon,
I"m turning on the light at 3 AM to write scenes.
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charie'
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Get ideas from friends who have travelled.
Maybe an amusing anecdote can be the seed of a story.
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Mary Rosenblum
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No kidding.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Be a fly on the wall at the
family barbecue and take notes.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Change the names so that you
get invited next year. :-)
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hauckston
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John Douglas is great if you
want to get some serial murder stuff
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Mary Rosenblum
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Reading other writers has
always been a great source of ideas for me.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Sometimes a character or a
scene will spark a whole new story idea.
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beryl
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Attractions (say, Disneyland) get
brochures...and imagine getting stuck in It's a Small world...
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Mary Rosenblum
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There you go.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Idea competitions are fun,
too.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you're traveling with a
writer friend.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Who can come up with the most
fun story idea set in this Shari's restaurant.
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fabulascribe
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I've asked friends all the time,
"Oh, can I use that?" when they tell me funny or interesting things
that happen to them.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And if you fictionalize them,
no need to ask. :-)
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onepozy
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Listen to your young children or
grandchildren as they play, their immaginations are unspoiled and full of
ideas
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's a good one.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The main thing is exercise
your creative muscle a lot.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It's flabby when you don't use
it.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And it doesn't perform well
under pressure.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I often get invitations to
contribute to anthologies. The pay is good, but I have a deadline and a
theme. OneTwoThreeWRITE.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It is very nice to have a file
of ideas to shuffle through.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I can usually find one that
fits the theme.
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hauckston
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Another thing I do is when I'm
out on a walk, I will read every historical plaque... and then let my
imagination fly.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Good one, hauck. Or just read
history. Oh gosh, I could write historical stories forever. There are so
many cool events where you know that entire story isn't known and it would
be SO cool.
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robastor
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Rewriting a movie or a TV is
another good one. Obviously, I change things, but, the idea itself works.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I think that's where most of
us got started. I rewrote stories all the time as a kid -- I wasn't happy
with what the author did.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Finally started writing my
own.
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april cassandra katko2
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when is a good time to introduce
a new character
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, April, it really depends
on the story. But you don't want to introduce a new character until that
person is important to the plot.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Otherwise they'll just hang
around with nothing much to do.
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charie'
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Any good suggestions on choosing
names for characters?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, they have to suit you
and the story.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I use name lists on the
internet, phone books, names I run into reading.
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hauckston
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Mary, you called assignment 5,
the dreaded assignment, which is true, however I've written four different
summaries for it. That is in part due to the fact that I create practice
exercises out of the articles I read on this website. Helps my mind to
create.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That'
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's great.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I love summaries -- you get
the story without all the work of writing all those words.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But they really give some folk
hives.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I generally try out several
summaries to see what feels strongest before I settle on my plot.
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unicorn
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My father used to give us one
word and tells us to come up with story ideas.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yeah, I have a couple of
writing exercises I use at conference workshops.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I put character descriptions
in one box, conflicts in another box, settings in a third box.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Everybody draws one from each
and comes up with a story summary.
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robastor
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Some writers don't like
summaries because they felt like they wrote it already and don't want to do
it twice. ;-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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I guess, but since you're
going to revise that story five times, you get over that real fast. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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Or most writers do anyway.
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robastor
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Anne McCaffery (sp?) does that.
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Mary Rosenblum
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What's that? The three box
thing?
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robastor
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No, the write a story only once.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yeah, but she revises as she
goes.
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Mary Rosenblum
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My friend Sage does that, too.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Most people do better if they
let the creative brain go first and turn the editorial brain loose after.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You do what works for you.
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fabulascribe
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I have a very hard time not
revising as I go.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Most people do. You use two
different brain areas.
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robastor
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Issac Asimov said he only did
things once, as well.
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Mary Rosenblum
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True but just because these
people did it, does it mean your average novice can sit down and do
something as a first draft that is as strong as it can possibly be?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Probably not.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Mostly where you learn is by
doing something, figuriong out why it's not working, and doing it better.
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hauckston
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In all honesty, I didn't believe
that I was good at writing summaries, until I took this course and my
instructor sent me back some words of advice and I had also read the
article on summaries and blurbs, etc.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It's mostly a matter of
learning how.
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hauckston
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I learned to turn off my
internal editor while I was doing the Nanowrimo challenge... to complete
it, you had to keep writing and edit after the month was over.
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Mary Rosenblum
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For most people that's
probably the best way to do it. A lot of writers bog down in the middle of
their first novel and quit.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'ts a good idea to keep the
momentum going.
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hauckston
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Insert "practice"
here.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Practice matters. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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Big surprise. While you were
born, maybe, with talent, you were not born with wordcraft skills. :-)
Practice is a good thing.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Try the idea weight-lifting
exercise.
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Mary Rosenblum
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When you open the paper
tomorrow, or a magazine, or watch the TV news...
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Mary Rosenblum
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tell yourself you'll pick out
three ideas for a story.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You don't have to write 'em,
so no pressure.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Do it every day and pretty
soon it's like falling off a log.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Stick 'em all in a box and
forget it.
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Mary Rosenblum
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A few weeks from now, dump it
out on the table and look through your ideas. You might be surprised when
one turns into a
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Mary Rosenblum
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complete story demanding your
attention right there.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I hate being bored, and this
is one of the games I play while I'm stuck in a line or a waiting room.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
That and making up stories
about all the people around me. (If they only knew).
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Mary Rosenblum
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Try the pictures.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
I love card shops. Some of
those fancy art cards are great ideas waiting to happen. I've published
several stories based on cards.
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april cassandra katko2
|
can you be sued if you take a
story idea from a tv show
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Ideas are not copyrightable,
April. :-) But if you try to sell a clear copy of CSI no publisher is going
to buy it. :-) Make it your original story from their idea.
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hauckston
|
When I look for ideas, I try
hard to follow what I've learned thus far... focus on one thing... and the
story has a way of building itself
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Mary Rosenblum
|
It does, hauck. And the more
you do it the more quickly it happens.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
I think up lots of stories
that don't really move me to write them. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
|
But when one does, I go write
it.
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hauckston
|
and I loved the article about
the plot, if it is too simple, complicate it
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Mary Rosenblum
|
And that's how you go from
idea to story, as we did at our last Friday Forum.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
You take that idea and start
asking 'what if'.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
We'll do one of our writers
workshops on that before too long. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Everybody bring an idea and
we'll generate stories.
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Well, when you're sitting rush
hour traffic next week, you now have a new game.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Check out the cars and drivers
around you and come up with three different story ideas.
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
What does that guy in the
beater pickup have under that tarp anyway?
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Why does that trucker look so
angry?
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charie'
|
Remember to keep a blank
notebook with you. : - )
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Or a tape recorder if you're
driving!
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april cassandra katko2
|
i ask because my story future
drama is based on the tv show
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
As long as it's not an obvious
copy you're fine, April.
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april cassandra katko2
|
the plot is similar but
different
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Mary Rosenblum
|
That's fine. Just don't use
their characters.
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Well, I'll post the
transcripts in the usual place. Forum Transcripts in Writing Craft. Join us
Sunday for our casual get together.
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
We have a great time.
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
See you all on Sunday!
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
No herding trial this weekend,
so I'll be here.
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Night all!
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Go play with ideas!
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