What if the familiar wasn’t the same any more? Asking questions like this can lead into some great stories. Try this one on for size. Write Over the Hump You live in a semi-tropical environment, where the temperature never goes … Continue reading
Another twist, one a lot of us have probably dreamed about. See what happens when you turn your subconscious loose on this one. Write Over the Hump You wake up one morning and no one can see or hear you. … Continue reading
Sometimes when we enter the “zone,” things pop up in our stories that we don’t quite know what to do with. They skew the story we’ve planned into uncharted territory. Being able to allow the story to unfold on its … Continue reading
We need good, strong, flexible writing muscles to sustain us through the creation of our stories. But stretching our writing muscles isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s not like we can go to the local gym and hop on … Continue reading
To follow up on asking “What If?” that we talked about last week, here’s another exercise that will truly expand your imagination. And it all came about because I asked “What if…?” one day when I was changing batteries in … Continue reading
Unexpected twists come from asking, “What If?” It’s amazing where those two little words can take you. What if this had happened? What if this hand’t happened? What if he said…? What if she wore…? What if the weather…? Once … Continue reading
Tension (aka suspense) is vital no matter what genre we write. Without tension, our writing feels flat and boring, even if the prose is beautiful. Those who write in the mystery/suspense/thriller genres have a bit easier row to hoe, since … Continue reading
Juxtaposing opposite concepts often leads us into new territory. Opposites both attract and repel. Built-in tension! Learning to use opposing concepts to delineate and define the themes in our writing lifts our stories to a higher level. Write Over the … Continue reading
Certain phrases are iconic. They can unlock the child in us and free our imagination to go just about anywhere. When that happens, amazing things emerge from our subconscious minds. Here’s one of the most iconic phrase to start you … Continue reading
As writers, we want our characters and our settings to be memorable and unique. This isn’t always easy to accomplish. They key is to look at your characters and settings as something other than what they actually are. That way, … Continue reading