The Ransom Note Effect

Prompt - A New Dance Movement

2011-04-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

Someone starts a new dance movement.

Extended:

PAAAART TIME
It's unappreiciated by the masses
The Creator ends up ostracized
It takes on a new life of it's own

Yeah, yeah, wierd and random, I know.

Prompt - Waiting

2011-04-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Someone's waiting for something.

Extended: It's never going to come. The person has to come to terms with this- or stay in denial throughout.

New Direction

2011-04-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

Going to start posting daily prompts! Hopefully, I can get a killer backlog going.

Prompt: Someone decides they need to go a new direction in their life.

Extended: They might change their habits, their goals, the people they surround themself with, how they treat people, how they look, what they do, where they're going, etc.

Inspiration - Jailbreaks

2011-03-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

Best thing ever. Go write about one. And don't just concentrate on the prisoners. What about the warden, the guards, the family of a prisoner or a victim, the victim of a crime committed by one of the prisoners?

Inspiration- Cliches Part 2

2011-02-27T18:01:00.000-08:00

So the other day I wrote about using cliches for inspiration. Today, I am again, but another kind of cliche. The cliched phrase.

unwritten law
cruising the streets
the power behind the throne
rising tide

All of these are something you can use as a jumping off point. Find a list and look at them. Base a story around them, a character, a plot point, anything. Or, you can just use them. Sometimes, when I'm feeling stuck, I'll write using pretty much just cliches. I'll jump from one to another. Lots of types of scenes have certain phrases that are used a lot- kissing scenes, sex, romance, fight scenes, mexican stand-offs, break-ups, awkward conversations... If you read a lot, you will often see phrases pop up in these scenes that are identical or very similar. And while later, you should definitely go back and change at least some to something more original, they're fine to start with.

Inspiration- Cliches

2011-02-25T17:20:00.000-08:00

So, it may seem counter intuitive, but sometimes the easiest way to generate your own original content is to look at cliches in stories. Look at tired old plot elements and use some of them and reimagine others. And don't just rely on the stuff you know are cliches. Go looking. I know google turns out a ton of fantasy cliches and if you insert your preferred genre and cliches it will probably bring up a list.

For example: From this list, this is my favorite:
"Non-humans are very powerful and yet they don't rule the world."

Ooh, the things I could do with that. You could write a fantasy world based on why they don't use the world. You can write one where they do rule the world or one where they take over and those are just the three most obvious uses of this cliche. So get searching!

Inspiration- illustrators

2011-02-19T19:44:00.000-08:00

Art is always a great inspiration, but sometimes you want to look at a lot of similar images to create your own kind of hybrid in your mind to start with (or at least I do). Looking at illustrators' art is great for this. I'm currently obsessed with Arthur Rackham (he does a lot of fairy like illustrations). Winslow Homer does a lot of the sea. Kmye chan is much lesser known and modern, but she does these lovely gothic Victorian princess like figures (in my mind). Kelly Thompson draws high fashion women.

It doesn't even necessarily need to be an illustrator's work. Many artists did series- Monet's haystacks, or Degas' Dancers for example.

For more illustrators This Blog talks about several from the 40's and 50's.

Inspiration - Lyrics

2011-02-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

So, you've probably heard, "OMG, music inspires me to write!" With or without the 'Omg'. Personally, I can't stand listening to music most of the time when I'm trying to think. I love it for large scale tedium though. Like transcribing.

However, lyrics are another story. So... listen to your favorite song, listen to a song you hate (or just look up the lyrics) and get inspired.

Personally, I was recently StumbleUpon-ing and stumbled upon a page that completed children's songs. Most of it was pretty obscure. My current project was then inspired.

Writing Exercise- Keep a Journal

2011-02-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

Haha, you might be thinking, I'm not a thirteen year old girl! (or maybe you are and think the previous statement is inane stereotyping, in which case, more power to you.)

But seriously, a journal can be a valuable thing. It can foster a daily writing habit- one of the best habits to have if you have plans to make it professionally.

Also, it can be a great source of inspiration. Write about the people around you, the environment you're in, a particularly interesting conversation you had/overheard someone else having, etc. All of this can contribute to stories in the future. Also, it's a fabulous place to write down any ideas you have but can't necessarily pursue at the moment.

It's fabulously cheap as well. You can pick up a spiral bound for a dollar at most office supply stores and can steal a pen from free from your local dentist. :)

Inspiration - grafitti

2011-01-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

Look at the graffiti around your town/city. Think about what it is-literally, the people who made it, the people who'll see it, and the people that have to clean it up. And then write. Write like the wind.

Inspiration - Rado Javor

2011-01-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

by Rado Javor

He has a lot of other similar pieces. Go check them out! They're great setting/mood pieces.

Inspiration- Revenge

2011-01-24T19:54:00.000-08:00

Revenge is a horrible thing that will take over your life, unhelpful, blablabla. It's also one of the greatest plot elements ever. Need motivation for a villain? For a hero? The basis of an affair or an adventure? Just please, don't go killing off someone's parents for no reason and then make the child the hero. That's been done to death.

Inspiration- fml

2011-01-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

For those who don't know, fml means fuck my life. There's a website called fmylife.com where people can post shitty stuff that happened to them. Some of them are really horrible and would be an AWESOME premise for at least a short story. And hey, that short story might grow into a novella. And then a novel. So get to it. You might just find yourself laughing as well.

Prompt: Insults

2011-01-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

Writing prompt of the day! Think of your favorite insult. If you can't think of one, find one on the internet. And then start a story that way.

Inspiration- Internet Memes

2011-01-16T04:50:00.000-08:00

So, internet memes. They're fucking everywhere. Google it. Pick the first one you see and write about it- how it started, the person who started it, what's going on in the picture, whatever. Project man! Fucking project yourself into that picture and write!

Inspiration- StumbleUpon!

2011-01-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

"StumbleUpon is a discovery engine that finds the best of the web, recommended just for you."

You download a toolbar, push a button, and it takes you to some random site. Really distracting, great for procrastinating, and very inspirational at times. For example, I clicked and this came up.

Awesome picture! It's trippy as fuck and now I want to write a twisted dream scene with twisty, barren trees stretching towards the heavens.

Inspiration: Recent Experiences

2011-01-14T00:24:00.000-08:00

Had any interesting experiences lately? Any mundane ones? Write something about it!

For example, I was just taken out on a quasi date by a friend. He said a few things, did a few things, and suddenly the trouble I was having with this pair of characters of mine just evaporated.

Don't be afraid to borrow from real life. Your real life experiences and emotions are always relevant, no matter what you're writing, whether it be fantasy, horror, romance, drama, sci-fi, or anything else.

Inspiration: Revolution

2011-01-12T04:50:00.000-08:00

Revolutions- there have been the violent political kind, the nonviolent political kind, the technological kind, the social kind, etc. There have been all kinds of revolutions throughout history. Have you ever thought about starting a revolution? Or disagreed with one? Wished one had never happened? Wondered what it was like? Use that!

Inspiration: The Open Road

2011-01-11T17:03:00.001-08:00

Inspiration: Negative Space

2011-01-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia defines negative space as the space around and between the subject(s) of an image. So today, concentrate on that. Think of a subject, a story, characters, faces, and then think of the stuff around it- the empty space, minor characters, subplots, whatever.

Inspiration: Religious Texts

2011-01-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

Religious texts have stories, characters, moral codes. They have been the reason behind wars and arguments. So go read one. Then write. Or draw. Or photograph.

2011-01-04T14:09:00.000-08:00

Woo, it's been awhile! I was distracted by NaNo and then finals and then being home for awhile! Fun stuff.

Today's inspiration- cemeteries. Go to your local cemetery and check it out. Look at the people, the headstones, whatever. Talk to a dead person if you want to.

Inspiration Trick

2010-11-15T16:08:00.000-08:00

Feeling really uninspired and want to figure out something to write? Look around you. Pick five words that you think of when looking around. Incorporate them into your story.

For example, I have pantyhose, a painting that reminds me of a map, high heels, empty cans, and a scarf. I'm thinking... Aspiring model (heels, pantyhose) on a diet (cans) about to leave (map, scarf) for a meeting with a perspective client. I now have someone to distract my MC from reaching his goal.

And today's the half-way mark! Yay! You're supposed to hit 25,005 words tonight. There already? Fabulous! Congratulations. Not quite up to speed? You still have fifteen days to catch up!

Characters running away from you?

2010-11-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

23,338 words should be you word count by midnight tonight.

And guess what? I'm ahead! I had one amazing, amazing day. I got an idea and the words just kept coming and coming. I gave up on sleep to do it, but I managed! I've never had a day like that before during NaNo. I think it's because I stopped worrying about getting to that goal right now and just let the words happen. I let the idea go until the end and it worked. So next time you get an awesome idea, don't stop when you hit that magical 1667 words. Keep going until the idea's done.

Also, I want to talk a little bit about characters. Yours might be running away from you by now. I know mine are. They aren't sticking to that damn outline you made! They've gotten more emotional or maybe angrier or more stoic. Whatever the reason is, they aren't acting like you expected anymore. This could be a good thing. I personally always run with the change.

I know the characters better now- know more about their motivations and feelings, have more exact examples of how they react to situations. And I like that. I think forcing them back into the guidelines is forcing them to act. They've become real people to me, with their own reactions and that's something to celebrate. The realer they are to you, the realer they'll be to your readers.

However, sometimes the new characters will just not work. They won't follow the path they're supposed to be on to get to that end moment. You have two options at this point: you could force them back into their original guidelines. It will work sometimes and it is possible. Sometimes it is the only thing that will work. Other times, you can alter that path they take, alter events and other characters subtly so you still get to that big reveal, just a slightly different way.

So if you come to this point where your characters are acting all wrong, think about your options and then choose one. Or don't bother. You can always edit them back into character in December!

Inspiration - The Ocean

2010-11-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

The ocean is an incredible natural wonder and one that has been a main part of many stories. Moby Dick, Treasure Island, Castaway, Swiss Family Robinson, and Island of the Sequined Love Nun all would have been quite different without the ocean. So think about the ocean and all its boundless possibilities and write!