Let’s talk about how fiction begins, about getting going with your writing, and about sparking the muse. Then I’ll share a writing prompt you can use to get inspired to write a story.
Where do ideas for stories come from?
No one really knows. They percolate up from the subconscious and from imagination — from roads not taken, and things that could have been.
Maybe you find a piece of paper on the ground with something cryptic written on it, and you begin to imagine its origin and the duress under which someone wrote it.
Stories can come from anywhere — from real or imagined events and people and places.
What about jobs and professions? Yes, those too.
Perhaps you order take-out from a drive-up window and the person who hands you the food gives an odd glance to the bag as he hands it to you. What did he do to it?
Or perhaps you see a bartender at work, and wonder what bizarre conversations he or she has to listen to each night while mixing and serving up drinks.
What does the ambulance driver experience? Why do doctors do what they do, and what can happen to them physically, socially and emotionally?
What happens when a teacher realizes one of his students has fallen in love with him?
And what do sanitation workers do when they find something during trash pickup that makes them suspect a crime has been committed?
And then there are hairdressers. The things they encounter must surely be fodder for fiction!
Source: Pixabay image by Jo_Johnston
Ways to Get Writing
There is no one right way to get inspired to write. But here are some ideas:
- Start by “freewriting.” Set a timer for five minutes and just see what comes out. People are often surprised at what they produce with this method. Once you have something on paper, it’s much easier to shape your writing into a compelling story, with interesting characters, a story arc and a resolution. Be sure to check out @mariannewest’s #freewrite prompts and the @freewritehouse community. There is a ton happening all the time from regular prompts to special activities.
- Write from a logline. A logline is just a one-sentence story summary. Try writing a few to see if any of them spark your interest.
- Write from a prompt. A prompt can be anything, from a single word to a collection of words to a smell, a color, a piece of music or the work of another writer. And that is what we’ll talk about next.
Check out this writing workshop post for more ideas.
Hazards of the profession – a writing prompt
In this case, we’re going to use a story as our writing prompt. In the Ecotone story, Parkway, by Leah Hampton, the main character (Priscilla) is a park ranger who keeps finding bodies.
I was inspired by this story because it presents such an interesting slice of life, and is so intricately imagined and well told. If you would like inspiration, give the story a read and see if it sparks ideas for your work. See where those sparks take you. And if you complete a story, and are not intending to submit it to publishing in mainstream publications, be sure to publish it to Steem and share the link to it here.
Writing with Purpose, Writing on a Schedule
My Write Club group is moving to a monthly challenge format. Each month will be divided up into periods of drafting, reviewing, editing and submitting to publishers. To complete the monthly challenge, we must follow through on all steps and submit our stories to a publication by the end of the time period. Write, Rinse, Repeat!
If you are serious about your writing and have an interest in joining us, give me a shout!
Thanks very much for reading.
About Jayna Locke
Jayna Locke is a Minnesota writer who has had a lifelong love of fiction. Her short stories have appeared in a range of literary journals, including Great Lakes Review, Portage Magazine, and Bright Flash Literary Review, as well as several anthologies. Her collection of short stories, Somewhere in Minnesota, is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kirk House Publishers. She is reachable through her contact form at bit.ly/ContactJayna or on X at www.x.com/@jaynatweets.