Short Stories: A way to overcome Writer's Block

Hey there blog readers,

I'm sorry to say this, but I've got writer's block. So I've been putting my novel on hold for quite awhile. I want to finish my novel, but I can't. The ideas are just not firing in my head. I want to write, yet I can't write my novel.

So I'm going to write some short stories instead.

Just because I can't work on my novel doesn't mean I have to stop writing. I've had a few short story ideas backed up in my head for quite a long while now, but I never got the chance to write them.

So I decided to write short stories as a way to overcome writer's block. By doing this, I've discovered many benefits from writing short stories during my writer's block:

Productivity - I'm going to eventually write and publish these short stories one day, so why not just write them now while my writer's block prevents me from writing my novel. I'm not going to just sit around waiting for my writer's block to end.

Passion - When you spend months staring at the same novel and the same characters, the story begins to look a little dull to you. So if you spend some time away from your novel and work on something new, then by the time you start working on your novel again, you will work at it with a renewed passion.

Creativity - When you continue to write (even if it's not your novel), you can keep your creative juices flowing and stop the right side of your brain from building up cobwebs. Then by the time you're inspired again to continue on your novel, the ideas will explode out of your fingers. You'll be lucky if your keyboard doesn't catch on fire.

Jump Start - Your creative brain is not firing on all cylinders, so maybe if you write short stories, it will jump start those creative cylinders so that it will reconnect your creativity back to your novel. The ideas that fuel your novel will come back quicker and you'll overcome writer's block much faster than simply waiting around for it to end.

These are just some of the benefits that I've discovered while writing my short stories. Of course, you don't have to write short stories to overcome writer's block. There are many ways to get rid of writer's block, and different ways work for different people.

I'm the kind of person that loves to write and I've got some story ideas that needs to be written down. So this method of overcoming writer's block will work best for me, and that's why I'm blogging about it.

On a final note: It doesn't have to be short stories. You can try writing poems, or flash fiction, or even a comedy sketch, if you want to overcome your writer's block.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy Independence Day everybody!!!

I'm going to take a break from writing today, then go see the fireworks at night.

Tips to get Novel Ideas

Here are a few simple tips on how to get novel ideas:


-Sleep a lot. You can only dream when you're asleep

-Go outside and experience the world. You'll probably get hit with something sooner or later

-If you're lazy, then just daydream. You've got nothing else to do

-Talk to a lot of people (or animals, or maybe even inanimate objects)

-Listen to a lot of music or watch a lot of movies

-Try doing some of those writing prompts

-Go on Google Images and just look at a bunch of random pictures

-Remember the words, "What if..."

-Go people watching


Well that's it. Hope you'll think of a great idea for a novel!

The First Step: Light Bulb!

What is the first step for writing a novel?


It's an idea, of course!


To start a novel, you first need an idea. A spark of inspiration, a seed planted in the soil, a light bulb to brighten up the usual dull cobwebs in your brain. Call it what you will, but you need that idea.

But where do ideas come from? I have absolutely no clue. Some theories say that ideas come from your dreams. Others say it comes from the jumble of thoughts in your head mutating into an idea. While the rest of them say that ideas are inspired by your Muse (mine's on vacation right now).

Wherever they come from, once you have that idea, you have taken the first step on starting your novel.

Hope you'll have some great ideas for a novel

Best Advice for Writing!

I have looked through writing guides, how-to-write books, writing blogs, etc.... and so far, the best advice that I have discovered is from a youtube video of one of Stephen King's interview. One of the people in the audience asked him what his best advice was for aspiring writers, and his advice was:


To Read Alot and Write Alot!



And this is the best advice for any writer. ...I'm serious. This is the best advice out there for aspiring writers. I know it sounds simple. And guess what? It is simple. This advice is the magic pill of writing. Just because it's not complicated or super specific doesn't mean that it's not really good advice.

I'm willing to bet that most famous writers out there are people who have read a lot of books since they were little kids. Plus, they must have written some stories as well, before they even tried to get published.

Okay, let's break this down:

Read Alot!
-To someday be a great writer, you have to know that you're writing something for other people to read. So, read some other books. Alot of other books. Learn the rules, get in touch with characters, follow the plot, etc... You see, reading is a lot like... umm... I think baseball's a good example. Let's say someday you want to be a famous baseball player. Well, you can't be a baseball player if you've never seen a baseball game in your life and learn the rules of baseball. So, you can't write a great novel if you've never read a novel in your life (and be sure to read a lot of novels!).

Write Alot!
-To someday be a great writer, you also have to write a lot. Practice makes perfect. I'm not going to lie, your first few attempts at writing will probably be failures. Do you think the first stories that Stephen King wrote or JK Rowling wrote was published. They have written stories that the public will probably never see. It's like that baseball example. In baseball, it seems simple because all you have to do is catch the ball, throw the ball, hit the ball, etc... It seems simple, just like writing seems simple. If you've read a lot of books, it would seem like you can write a book as well. Guess what? It's harder than it looks. Again... Practice makes perfect.

Since I believe that this advice is the best out there, I'll type it again:

To Read Alot and Write Alot!

May 25.... Towel Day

Today is Towel Day!

It is on this day, May 25, that fans all around the world can pay tribute to the late, great Douglas Adams.

On this day, fans of Douglas Adams and his 'trilogy' of five books, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, can remember him by carrying around a towel with them. As all fans of the 'trilogy' know, the towel is an important and significant item to a hitchhiker.

(*Anyone who doesn't understand how useful a towel is, go back and read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 'trilogy', especially the third chapter of the first book).

So carry around a towel with you today!

May 11.... RIP Douglas Adams

For all those who read this blog on this day, May 11, I would ask you to take a moment of silence for the dearly departed, Douglas Adams.

.........................................

.........................................

.........................................

.........................................

.........................................

.........................................

.........................................

One of the greatest authors of all time, Douglas Adams, passed away on this day, May 11, 2001, at the age of 49. For those of you who don't know, he is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is a 'trilogy' of five books (six if you count Eoin Colfer's novel contribution, And Another Thing).

Not only that, but Douglas Adams also did radio, wrote episodes for Doctor Who, made a few other novels as well, and accomplished many more achievements in his lifetime.

I know that Douglas Adams should also be commemorated for others things rather than just his professional career, but honestly, I don't know Douglas Adams at all. I've never met him; and the only thing I know about him is through his work.

Even so, I still see him as a great man. His death left a hole in the literary world, and all we can do now is to take this day and remember him (and pay tribute to him on Towel Day). So (for those who never met Douglas Adams personally) go out there and read or reread his work. When you do, you'll laugh and smile and sort of feel bad for the robot who is older than the universe itself. And during those moments, you'll remember that all those thoughts and ideas that went into his work, that caused you to feel those emotions; they all came from a brilliant and innovative mind.

We will always remember you.

Douglas Adams

Writer

1952-2001