Category: Writing Tips

Having an art background is something that often leads me to apply those strategies to other things–like writing.

If you are like I once was, finding that perfect word to start a story is like staring at a blank canvas. The only way to break that block is to make a mark.

But it’ll ruin that perfect blank canvas!

Sure. Maybe.

But if we’re talking about writing, it’s one word, and you can, and you will change. Start writing. Get to where you wan the story to go, and then come back and fix that opening line.

Always remember, your first words are you sketching. they aren’t they aren’t set in stone.

But take this further. With drawing starting with a sketch, sometimes it goes a step before that where a thumbnail drawing is produced to get an idea of what the overall image should be shaped like. Think of you writing in this way. Design the overall short story, lay it out physically, and then go back and fine tune those lines until it is complete.

One of the issues I have with writing is burnout.

I know how to avoid it these days, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get overconfident. My burnout generally stems from having a lot of energy and ideas on one particular day and not pacing myself. I’ve written 10k words in a day and then been completely blank the next day.

And sometimes, what I wrote is not beneficial, it’s me writing myself into a hole that the following day, when energy is down, I’m less likely to find a solution out of.

When I have a ton of ideas about what should happen next, if I’ve achieved my daily goal (whatever that might be, set your own and stick to it), I simply leave myself a note, a prompt.

Sometimes it’s Post-It Note size. Other times, I’ll write it like an outline. But the key is to avoid burnout, so that the story can be completed instead of abandoned.

How many times have you been in the middle of a conversation with another person and the subject changes, but your mind keeps circling around what you had planned to say next?

How many times have you planned on doing something like taking a hot bath, only for a phone call or a chore you kept forgetting to do pops up?

You don’t stop thinking about what you wanted to say even though the moment in time to say it has passed.

You go to bed thinking about that relaxing bath you meant to take but ran out of time.

Don’t forget this happens to everybody–even your characters. what we think about, what we desired, it means something–even if it is just to us, and these can be motivating factors for your characters even as they are forced to respond to outside forces, there inner monologue still yearns for what they’d intended.

Remember to position your characters in the direction they want to go before that direction is altered for the sake of the story, and keep in mind that they probably haven’t forgotten what they meant to say or do.

Time of day, month, year–all of this is as important as geography in your story. If you find yourself struggling with a story, sometimes it’s difficult to remove a doctor from a hospital setting or a lawyer from a courtroom.

Seasons bring weather differences and holidays which can add something extra to your story. Everyone seems to be in rush near Christmas and night comes quicker.

Summer usually means thunderstorms and longer days. Even if your story is presented inside, the weather outside can affect it. Holidays are conversational with your reader. It will evoke their feelings of that holiday. But its the same dressing as setting a story in a gothic manor or in outer space. Holidays and seasons create an aesthetic you can play into or play against.

Likewise, your feelings on the season will likely frame your story. Are summers hot and humid or a chance to get out on the beach?

If a story isn’t working in the original season that you set it in, switch it up, or focus on what makes that season help tell the story you want to tell.

I never got much out of writing prompt generators other than a laugh sometimes. I had fun with the Character Name Generators, but nothing ever stuck, and as a person who struggles with titling my stories, I was always disappointed by the title generators. But as AI has improved and is now invading most creative sectors, there are ways to use AI that will not encroach on the actual creative aspect that we, as writers, are most endeared to: surprising our readers.

Next time you have an idea for a story, ask an AI Bot to tell you that story based on your basic premise (not the whole plot or characters). I found it fascinating as it located every single trope I almost stumbled into naturally. It allowed me to rethink my premise and reaffirm my belief that the story I wanted to tell was different than what has come before.

Remember, AI uses what’s out there, not what will be to craft its answers. Hopefully this added step will be like a good friend’s advice that says, ‘Yeah, but I’ve seen that before.’