Find Your Joy

Hello everyone!

The holiday season can be a time of great joy or a very difficult time depending on a person’s circumstances.

Your writing prompt for the next two weeks is find your inspiration through your joy.

1. Do a 10-15 minute free write about what makes you feel alive.  (A free write is where you write down whatever pops into your head without censuring or editing it.  The goal is to write continuously for the full 10-15 minutes.)
2. Read over what you wrote, and find the theme(s).
3. Write a poem, song, or short story with the same theme.

Happy writing!

Katie

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Daily Inspirations

Hello everyone!

Have you ever noticed how everyday things can be the best inspiration?  I recently got two parakeets: first Orville, then Wilbur a week later.  Orville was lonely, so it seemed like the right decision to get him a brother.

It struck me that my interactions with my birds were a lot like the way I develop characters for a story.  I got Orville for companionship and planned to let our relationship develop based on his personality, but I got Wilber to fill a hole in Orville’s life.  (I had a function and name, all that was missing was the character.)

Once Wilbur joined our family, Orville’s true personality came out.  The quiet bird who let me hold him, became a vocal hand-avoider.  As a result, I had to re-think the way I was training both birds.

 

My parakeets have been so inspiring to me, that I’ve decided to turn them into characters for a picture book.  I have several ideas for the theme, but it could still change.

Your challenge for the next two weeks is to use something new or ordinary from your daily life as the foundation for a picture book, short story, or poem.

I’d love to know what your inspiration is and whether you will be writing a picture book, short story, or poem. If you’re comfortable sharing, please post in the comments below.

Happy writing!

Katie

Is It Worth the Cost?

Hello everyone!

“There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.  […]  Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.”
― Veronica Roth, Allegiant

Think about your favorite book.  What does the protagonist want?  In the end, does he/she get it?  That question and answer give you the basic plot.

Now, here’s a deeper question: What does trying to achieve his/her goal cost the protagonist?  The answer to that question is what makes the story and/or character interesting.  In my opinion, the cost is essential to the protagonist’s growth.

Consider The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Edmond wants to be a king, but by siding with the White Witch, he sacrifices his freedom, his family’s trust, and – without Aslan’s intervention – his life.

Now let’s think about The Hunger Games.  Katniss is willing to do anything to protect her sister.  When Katniss takes Prim’s place in the games, she sacrifices her own safety to achieve her goal.  Once Katniss is in the games, her goal becomes to survive.  Surviving the games costs her what little childhood innocence she has left, friendships, and her peace of mind.

By the end of the books, both Edmond and Katniss are changed.  Regardless of whether or not they succeeded, they have to live with the consequences of what they did.

Your writing challenge for the next two weeks is to:

1. Choose a protagonist you have already created.
2. Ask yourself what your character wants.
3. Decide what he/she loses or willingly sacrifices while attempting to achieve his/her goal.
4. Write the scene where your protagonist either chooses to pay the price or realizes what he/she will lose even if he/she is not willing to lose it.
5. Does he/she feel like the cost was worth it?  (I do not think this necessarily needs to be included in a book, but I as the author like to know.)

In “The Four Crystals,” the novel I’m currently editing, having each character risk, lose, or willingly sacrifice something of value has raised the stakes and made the characters’ motivation stronger.  It’s also required a lot more editing than I ever imagined having to put into the novel.  (In-depth editing is the cost of writing a novel worthy of publication.)

Happy writing!

Katie

What’s in a Song?

Hello everyone!

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I love musicals, and Disney movies.  One of the reasons that I love them so much is because each song has a purpose: either to push the plot forward or give the audience some needed information.

Below are five functions that come to mind when I think of a song from a musical:

1. Setting the Stage: The song gives the background for the story or for a key part of the plot. (Examples: A Rumor in St. Petersburg from Anastasia, Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton, Façade from Jekyll and Hyde)

 

2. Passage of Time: I have mostly seen this done so that the audience can see a character’s childhood, but it can be used in other ways. (Examples: I Know It’s Today from Shrek The Musical, Lovely Ladies from Les Misérables, The Plagues from The Prince of Egypt)

 

3. Exposition: The song explains something. (Examples: Tightrope from The Greatest Showman, Something Bad from Wicked, I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here from Annie)

 

4. Desire: Expresses what the protagonist wants. (Examples: Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid, Santa Fe from Newsies, Much More from The Fantastics)

 

5. Love Song: There are many varieties of long songs.  Often a love song is a duet, but sometimes it is just one character expressing his/her love for another character.  It can also be the song in which two characters fall in love or finally realize that they are in love. (Examples: Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King, Jimmy from Thoroughly Modern Millie, I See the Light from Tangled)

Writing Challenge:

Choose a story that connects with you.  Now, try to write a song for one of the scenes or one of the characters.  Make sure that the song has a purpose, it cannot just sound pretty.

If you feel confident in your song writing abilities, increase the difficulty level by writing the song with a specific target audience in mind.  For example, the language Lin-Manuel Miranda used in Hamilton is very different from the language he used in Moana.  The reason is that Hamilton was written for an adult audience while Moana was marketed to children and their families.

Happy writing (and singing)!

Katie

What’s in a Name?

Hello everyone!

Developing a new character can be tricky.  Apart from asking questions to learn more about who a character is, I can’t say that I have a standard way in which I create one.

Sometimes, characters come to me with a look, personality, and name.  All I have to do is insert them into a story.  Other times, I’ll be writing a story and realize that I have a “role” that needs to be filled in order for the story to succeed.  When this happens, I usually have the personality and maybe even the backstory of the character in mind.  I just have to choose a name and look for the character.

Your writing challenge for the next two weeks is to create a character based off of a random name.

1. Go to an online name generator. (If you want, you may specify gender, but let the computer decide everything else.)
2. Create a character for the name you are given: backstory, personality, home life, family relationships, profession, the culture in which he/she lives, his/her role in society, his/her beliefs (religious, political, etc.), and anything else you can think of.

When you’re done, ask yourself whether or not your new character could fit into a story you’re already writing or if he/she is the inspiration you needed for a new story.

Happy writing!

Katie

*Special thanks to my friend, Taylor Bresslin, for having me do this character creating exercise at one of our writers’ group’s meetings.

Childhood Favorites

Hello everyone!

Reading was a huge part of my childhood.  Some of my best memories are of my parents reading to me.  When I was six and got lost at Disney Land, I knew what to do because of a Sesame Street picture book that my mom had read to me.

Your writing challenge for the next two weeks is to create a new story based off of your favorite picture book from childhood.  Do one of the following:

1. Re-write the picture book as a story for adults.
2. Take the moral or theme of the picture book, and write a different children’s story with the same moral or theme.
3. Why was that picture book your favorite?  Identify element that made the book special for you.  Then, write a story that contains that element, but otherwise is unrelated to that picture book.

Happy writing!

Katie

Word of the Day

Hello everyone!

I love words!  Word choice is crucial to my enjoyment of a song, movie, or book.  The perfect words and references make the experience rapturous while poorly chosen ones make it painful.

Your writing challenge for the next two weeks is to build a story using one or more words as your foundation.

1. Go to merriamwebster.com and write a story using the word of the day.  The word of the day can be used in your story or be the theme of your story.
2. For something even more challenging, go to merriamwebster.com 5-7 days in a row and use all 5-7 words in your story.  Make sure there’s a plot!

*Remember, this is a writing exercise.  If you like the story and the words don’t work, cut them during the revision phase.  (Considering I’ve never edited something just once, I should probably say “phases.”)

Happy writing!

Katie

Have a Holly, Jolly St. Patrick’s Day!

Hello everyone and happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Your writing challenge for the next two weeks is to create a comedic or tragic holiday mix-up.

What would happen if Santa Claus slept through Christmas and tried to deliver the gifts on New Year’s Eve instead?  Do the Tooth Fairy and leprechauns have it in for one another?  Your imagination is your only limitation.

Whatever you do, you must include at least two holidays and/or holiday characters in your story.

Happy writing!

Katie

Speedy Ideas

Hello everyone!

“Do you know what my favorite part of the game is?  The opportunity to play.” – Mike Singletary

When I get in a writing slump, I find writing prompts to be helpful in getting the creative juices flowing.  I also use writing prompts to challenge myself or as a fun activity to do with friends who also enjoy creative writing.

Your writing challenge for the next two weeks is to write a short story that contains all of the words in the featured image.

An alternate version of the writing challenge is to play your own game of Speed Scrabble and use the words you created to write a short story.

You can add to the fun by getting a group of people together, all using the featured image or playing a round of Speed Scrabble together, and then taking 30 minutes to write a short story. 

Happy writing and go Eagles!

Katie

Objects and Inference

Hello everyone!

Have you ever heard the expression, “You can tell a lot about a woman by the contents of her purse?” If you look at what someone carries with them or how they decorate their home, you get an idea about their likes, interests, habits, etc.

Try to describe yourself through things. Go through your house and choose eight objects that represent you as a person. You only get to use eight items to portray yourself, so make each one count. See if you can hint at more than one thing about yourself through your selections. (This skill comes in handy with word choice as well.)

Now that you’ve created your own object character bio, ask someone to choose eight items at random. Your challenge for the next two weeks is to create a character based off of the eight things you were given. If this does not resonate with you or if you finish early, you can also try to write a short story that contains all eight objects in a logical way.

Happy writing!

Katie

P.S.

What were you able to infer about me from the eight objects I shared? I’d love to find out! Feel free to post your inferences in the comments section below.