If you’re like a lot of fiction writers, the words sometimes come flowing out of you, and all you have to do is harness that wild thing into a flowing, organized, compelling tale. While every aspect of writing is challenging, it is definitely less of a hurdle if you have words on the page, calling you to come play.
The worst possible scenario is the blank page that seems to defy the addition of words, let alone sensible, interesting, compelling words that any other human being may want to read.
Fortunately, there is a cure. And it’s instant! You need nothing more than your electronic device, or pen and paper, if you prefer. Here’s the magic secret: give yourself a prompt. Then start writing.
The prompt could be an idea, an image, or any word you choose. I personally find it helpful to choose three words. I suggest picking a word that represents something solid that you can feel, something sensory that has a flavor or aroma, and a word that can invoke emotion.
It could be sand, ice cream and love.
Or wagon, ham, and sunset.
It almost doesn’t matter. The idea is to start writing, incorporate those three words, and see what comes out.
Have a look my first workshop post in this series where I talked about this method and encouraged participants to write using the words “balloon, sugar, impossible.” You can see the resulting writing pieces (including mine) in the comments.
There’s one other important secret: you must not edit as you go. This method is about helping you to write, and about getting something on the page. Editing at the same time is a really good way to get completely constipated in your writing. Instead, practice “freewriting,” in which you simply write what comes to mind, keeping your fingers typing, or your pen moving, and allowing the words to flow out. You can set a timer or write until no further words will come out without a break for a cup of tea, or whatever refreshes you. And BAM! You have words on the page. Once you have done that, you can let your editor brain join the party.
Writing prompts on Steemit
While you can come up with your own prompts anytime, such as when you are sitting in a coffee shop and the muse fails to join you, you can also find inspiration from prompts and contests here on Steemit.
One of my favorites right now, is the daily #freewrite prompt by @mariannewest. I just joined this escapade a few days ago. You can see my first two pieces here, for an idea of how quickly you can create a little scene or spark of an idea with this exercise:
- “Itching” prompt: @jayna/day-22-5-minute-freewrite-itching-prompt
- “Lemony character” prompt: @jayna/day-24-5-minute-freewrite-lemony-character-prompt
The very freeing thing about this method is that you’re not trying to write anything polished. And it doesn’t matter if you feel proud of what you put down during those five minutes. I am not proud of the writing in these two pieces, whatsoever. But somehow I managed in that five minutes to create short pieces that included an opening, some characters and a conflict. After all, those are some of the most rudimentary requirements for a story.
What if you did this exercise daily, and once out of every seven days, one of your five minute vignettes really sparked an exciting story idea that you wanted to pursue? Total investment of time in cranking up this idea-generation machine? A whopping 35 minutes.
Contests on Steemit
Contests can be wonderful for generating story ideas and kicking your writing into gear. Since contests typically have a theme, you will want to look for themes that resonate with you in some way. Simply check the #contests tag and scan through for fiction contests. (There may be other ways too.)
Recently I learned of a contest on the topic of “Armistice.” The rules were very simple, and included a word count and a deadline. You could incorporate Armistice into your story any way you like. At first I didn’t think the contest was for me. I know nothing about war, and have no living veterans in my family.
But something interesting happened. I love to write stories based in Minnesota, my home state. And when I did a Google search on Armistice and Minnesota, I discovered that there had been a deadly snowstorm in Minnesota on Armistice Day in 1940. This sparked the idea for my contest entry. You can see all the entries in the comments of the original Armistice contest post, and the winning entries here. (I tied for third place, which is so very rewarding!)
The following are a couple of current contests with deadlines in the next few weeks:
- Man vs. Society, deadline November 17: @jrhughes/fictioneers-writing-contest-20-sbd-prize-man-vs-society. (Note: The contest sponsor is waiving the requirement to resteem the contest, as you can no longer do so. Don’t let that keep you from entering.)
- One day in 2040, deadline November 19: @pennsif/fiction-contest-one-day-in-2040-20-sbd-to-be-won
Writing challenge
There are many challenges on Steemit, but that is not the richest vein for fiction writers. But you can create your own. What if you challenged yourself to complete a short story every 30 days? At the end of one year's time, you would have a collection of 12 stories. This is my personal challenge. I have not managed it 100%, as some major life stuff happened this year, but it has given me a track to run on.
Wrapping it up
I always like to end with an assignment and/or a request for discussion.
The assignment: Pick one of the contests above, get inspired, and submit something by the deadline.
The #discussion: Please share how prompts and contests help you. Have you had any big breakthroughs as a result of using prompts, challenges or contests? What recommendations do you have for your fellow writers?
And finally, if you are serious about your writing, but need some feedback to take it to the next level, check out the Writers' Block community. Just click the image at the bottom of this page.
To your success!
Here are the past volumes in this series:
- Volume 1: The Beginning
- Volume 2: Exploring voice in writing
- Volume 3: Say what you want to say
- Volume 4: Serial fiction projects on Steemit
- Volume 5: Getting organized and actually writing
- Volume 6: Tips for writing anywhere, anytime
- Volume 7: Should you write historical fiction?
