Heather Wright

August Writing Prompts

The summer is passing by too quickly–as usual. I hope you’ve been enjoying every moment and finding time to write and enjoy family and friends. We’ve had heat and drought here with shriveling crops and yellow grass in abundance. It’s been a real challenge to stay focused and creative while trying to keep cool. I’ve been working on an ebook of writing prompts that I hope to release via Smashwords in the next week or so. It will include some prompts that I’ve already published, but over half are new. I look forward to telling you more about it soon. Until then, here are some writing starters for August.

a) Dictionary.com gives these definitions for august: 1.inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; majestic: an august performance of a religious drama. 2. venerable; eminent: an august personage. What or who inspires your reverence or admiration? If you are creating a character that inspire admiration, what traits does he or she have? Have you ever met someone or would you like to meet someone who could be described as venerable or eminent? Who is this person? Describe him or her.

b) Brainstorm around the word dry. Here are a few ideas to get you started–bone dry, dry out, dry as a desert, parched, dry dock.

c) Here are a few opening lines you might try.

1. A thick screen of ivy wrapped the walls.

2. I lost it.

3. All the frames held photos, except one.

4. I planned to be finished in an hour.

5. Some women attract men; I attract stray cats.

d) Use one, some, or all of the following words in a story: gem, cup, cord, lash, switch, candle.

New Free Chapter: Meeting Your Writing Goals

Writing Fiction: A Hands-On Guide for Teens
US and Canadian editions available

I added a new sample chapter to my book’s website today. Though the book is called Writing Fiction: A Hands-On Guide for Teens, I think that writers of any age can find something useful in it.The two sample chapters available now are “Meeting Your Writing Goals” and “Stuck for a Story Idea?” You can find them under the Sample Chapters tab at my book’s website.

Also, if you’re looking for other story inspirations click on the Writing Starters tab and explore.

I’m in the process of creating an ebook of writing starters, some previously published and a lot brand new. I’ll be posting more about that venture soon.

Hope you all have a creative week. Please drop me a line if you find yourself inspired by any of the writing starters. I love to hear about the stories that they lead to.

What’s on Your Writing Playlist?

Southampton ON at sunset. A wonderful place and time to write.

What kind of music is playing while you write? When I’m working on my medieval mystery, I listen to Gregorian chants. For most everything else, it’s classical music or soundtracks. Other people’s words get in the way of mine—or I have the attention span of a gnat—so I can’t even listen to instrumental versions of songs that I know, because I sing along in my head.

Last year, my son gave me the 25th anniversary soundtrack to the Legend of Zelda video game; I just loved it. I’m also a fan of the music in the Studio Ghibli films (Ponyo, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbour Totoro) and would love to find soundtracks, but haven’t had any luck so far. So it’s the classics for me—lots of Mozart, Chopin, and for romance, Rachmaninoff.

When the house is empty, I often put on some (very loud) music and sing along (also loudly.) It’s a guaranteed mood booster for me. I sing in the car, too, especially when I’m heading in to teach at 8 AM. It does wonders for my spirit and warms up my voice for the teacher talk ahead.

Does music affect your mood or do you use music to change how you’re feeling? What music do you listen to when you write or is silence golden?

Review of Rayne Hall’s WRITING SCARY SCENES

Rayne Hall begins her book with these words:

I love scaring readers. Don’t you?

This book will teach you practical tricks for turning up the suspense. Make your readers’ hearts hammer with terror, their breaths quicken with excitement and their skins tingle with goosebumps of delicious fright. 

Hall keeps her promise. Her book is broken down into succinct chapters that give you all the tools you need to create scary scenes. And the tools are concrete. She shows you the words you can use and the ones to avoid. She looks at pacing and the pattern of building a suspenseful scene. And all of this is done with a plain language approach that makes it feel as if she is dispensing her advice across the table from you at your favourite coffee shop.

The tools Hall provides aren’t just for use by horror and thriller writers. Every story needs suspense. Every author wants his or her book to be the one that readers just can’t put down. No matter what you write, Hall’s techniques can give your book the reader-grabbing polish it needs.  I’m in the midst of editing a fantasy for middle readers at the moment, and I will be starting at the beginning (again!) with this guide beside me. Almost every chapter in Hall’s book made me think about a point in my novel where I could up the ante for my hero and keep my reader more engaged. As Hall states: “Fear comes in many different flavours. For each scene you write, choose one or several kinds of fear.”

Here’s a selection of chapter titles from book to show you the range of Hall’s expertise–and how much I’m going to learn as I work through my novel!

  •  Instant Hooks
  • What Lurks Behind That Door?
  • Sounds Build Suspense
  • Strip to Tease
  • Keep the Clock Ticking
  • Structuring a Scary Scene
  • Using the Senses
  • Cliffhangers
  • Villains and Monsters
  • Chases and Escapes
  • Humour
  • The Wimp Effect (loved this chapter!)

In each chapter, examples from works of other authors bring Hall’s writing tips to life, and in case you think the suggestion is so good that you want to use it all the time, she ends with some words of caution about what happens when the concept is overworked. Hall’s own sample stories at the end of the book are guaranteed to provide the reader with more than a fair share of chills, and are a perfect way to view the techniques at work.

You can find Hall’s books here, including another book in this series, Writing Fight Scenes: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/RayneHall

Hall also offers writing workshops: Writing Workshops with Rayne Hall: Take your writing craft to the next level https://sites.google.com/site/writingworkshopswithraynehall/

Rayne Hall is the author of thirty books in different genres and under different pen names, published by twelve publishers in six countries, translated into several languages. Her short stories have been published in magazines, e-zines and anthologies.

Writerly Links Worth Visiting

I’ve listed below a few links that I think you’ll enjoy exploring. Have fun!

The title of this one is self explanatory: The Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs. I’m sure you’ll see a lot of old friends here and enjoy making new ones: http://yaminatoday.com/2012/07/07/the-top-100-creative-writing-blogs/

Make it a habit to drop by Debbie Ohi’s Inkygirl site for fun writerly comics, interviews and tips for kidlit and YA authors and illustrators:  http://inkygirl.com/

This is just one of Jane Friedman’s great writing tips: Perfecting Your First Page: 3 Tasks or Exercises:  http://janefriedman.com/2012/04/23/perfecting-your-first-page/

David Carnoy provides a great overview of self-publishing options in How to Self-Publish an eBook: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-20010547-82/how-to-self-publish-an-ebook/

If you’re a new or experienced freelancer, Paul Lima will have answers for your questions. Just check the categories down the side to get the info you need. http://paullima.com/blog/

If you have any writerly links that you want to recommend, too, please share them in the comments.

Sleepless, Clueless, Museless

Okay, I’m sure ‘museless’ isn’t a word, but if you’re a writer you know what I mean. I’m becoming an expert at staring into space and writing at a speed of about 2 sentences an hour. That doesn’t count the shopping list that I wrote much more quickly–and I forgot when I went to the store.

Hypnos, the god of sleep, has been conspicuous by his absence for several days, and therefore, my ‘cluelessness,’ which in my case entails having hotdogs for lunch and then leaving the package on the counter for the afternoon instead of putting it in the fridge. Did you know that washing machines actually need to have a button pushed before they start working? Or that the dryer door will keep popping open (after you walk away) until you finally notice that the pyjama bottoms lying on top of it are being shut in the door and it’s really not closed? It took forever to get those towels dry.

Days of the week have been a challenge, too. Hence the not-so-patient explanation from my son at my surprise that he arrived home on time yesterday. “Today is Wednesday, Mom. I said I’d be late home on Thursday.” And he did. Several times. Duh.

And I’ve lost my watch–and at least 2 phones–the cordless kind that work on our landline.

So early to bed tonight so I can renew my acquaintance with my laptop tomorrow and get more accomplished than warm thighs. And, hopefully, with the fog cleared, I’ll track down the missing phones and my watch (though the one I bought from Shoppers Drug Mart for $5 is working fine.)

If you have days like this, please let me know. I’d like to believe I’m not alone.

Keep your fingers crossed. I’m going to post this and attempt to cook dinner!

PS – No matter how often I proofread these blogs, they always go out with a clunking great typo in them that I miss until they’re published. For those who subscribe, my apologies in advance.

The Lure of Research

I have discovered an extremely effective delaying tactic–research.  As long as I’m reading about the work my character will be doing and the setting he’ll be doing it in, it’s still writing time. Right? I’m making progress on my story. Right?

Wrong.

I love opening my resource book and scribbling notes from it in my journal, or scribbling in the margin if the book is mine. I print articles and file them in cheerful folders for highlighting and more margin scribbling later. And I learn so much, too!

Did you know that a medieval scribe might have to sharpen his or her quills sixty times during a day’s work? (Yes there were female scribes and illuminators, too.) Did you know that pages in today’s books are rectangular because the parchment that was used in most of the pre-Gutenberg books was cut that way because of the shape of the animal’s skin from which the pages were made?

All very useful information, but it’s not helping my story get written. Why the procrastination? Simple answer: because I know how hard the writing will be. I know that what’s ahead will be a slow and often dissatisfying process, and yeah, I find launching a new project scary, too. What a wuss!

I like to think of myself as a writer, so enough whining, reflection, justification, procrastination, whatever you want to call it. Time to ‘writer-up’ and get to work. I have an appointment with my treadmill desk this afternoon. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

Do you procrastinate? What lures you away from the blank page? What helps you get the writing done?

Writing Prompts for June

1.  Use one, some or all of the following words to spark a story or poem: bloom, wall, flow, cup, eye, time

2.  Use one of these opening sentences to start a story:

    • Okay. Remind me again why I wanted to be a June bride.
    • A black wall of cloud raced in from the west. Dead leaves scattered in the wind. Once again, the perfect setting for his arrival.
    • I refused to let them see me cry.
    • When I thought about the cabin, I only remembered the corners—the ones where I’d crouched in fear.*
    • I never dreamt it would be still standing after all these decades, but then, if my great aunt’s diary was right, this simple weathered cabin was magic.*
    • I hated classical music, so fortunately for me the concert was cut short half way through the William Tell Overture—sadly so was the conductor’s life.

3.  June 21st marks the official beginning of summer. Use some of these summery titles and excerpts to frame a story, personal memory, or poem:

A Summer Place, Summer in the City, Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows, The Summer Breeze, The Summer of ’42, Summer Wine, Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?, The Longest Day, Summer Holiday, Summer of ‘69.

4.  See where these lines of dialogue take you:

“Come here and look at this!”

Kelly obediently peered over Mike’s shoulder at the computer screen. “What am I supposed to be looking at?”

“Linc’s Twitter account’s been hacked.”

“Yeah, so? Happens to lots of people. The message usually says that someone is saying bad things about you and gives you a link you’re supposed to be stupid enough to click on. No one falls for it anymore. Linc knows what to do.”

“This message is different.” Mike pointed at the screen. “Look.”

Kelly read the message to herself and then again out loud. “They’re going to kill me. Help.”

Or these:

“Excuse me did you drop this?”

“No that’s not mine.”

“I think it is.”

*I posted these writing starters at author Laura Best’s blog http://lauraabest.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/something-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/#comments in response to a photo. I thought they would be fun to share here.

Thinking of a Treadmill Desk?

After reading Brain Rules by  John Medina, I’ve been thinking about ways to add some movement to my sedentary life, and I think I have found the answer. Inspired by Kristi Holl’s blog, I resurrected the idea of a treadmill desk the other day. I had rigged one up before on my treadmill, but walking at the recommended speed of 1 mph made me seasick. I also think that looking down at my laptop was part of the problem.

Now, I seem to have got it right. A while ago we bought a TV/DVD player to watch while we exercised. I’m sorry to report that this incentive has not drastically increased the use of the treadmill; however, it’s perfect for hooking up as a monitor to my laptop. Now when I walk my eyes are focused straight ahead rather than down. I also took Kristi’s advice and upped the speed to 2 mph.

It took no more than 15 minutes for me to get the hang of things and 30 minutes passed by quickly the first day. The second day, I walked an hour with a break after 30 minutes. There were also times I just worked without the treadmill running–just standing instead of sitting. All good, I figure. So far I’ve found it works well for writing, surfing the web, Facebook, email, etc. I haven’t mastered the fine art of editing yet, as getting the cursor exactly where I want it between words or letters takes a little work at the moment. I’m hoping that that task will become easier as I get used to the process.

Not the best photo. Please ignore the dust : )As for construction costs, they were zero. We had a suitably sized plank already in the basement to go across the arms of the treadmill, and on it I put an old folded cardboard cutting board that my mom and I used for cutting out fabric when we were sewing. It’s about 6 feet long and 4 feet wide when it’s unfolded. The wooden plank’s surface wasn’t suitable for the mouse and the edges are a bit rough, so the cardboard acts as a cushion and a working mouse surface. I’ll get around to tidying up the plank eventually and adding some velcro like Kristi did, but for now it’s working just fine. The only financial investment that I’m going to make is to buy an extra monitor connector so that I don’t have to disconnect the one I use at my desk to bring it downstairs all the time. For other options for setting up a treadmill desk, check author Art Slade’s blog. He’s been using a treadmill desk since 2009.

If you are already a treadmill desk user, please drop me a line, especially if you have any tips for construction that you can share with others who might want to try the same thing. If you decide to give it a try, please keep me posted. I’d love to know how it works for you.

Just Showing Up

 

From Manuscript to Print: The Evolution of the Medieval Book – Cornell University

A friend of mine has spent several months now sticking to her daily writing goal of ‘just showing up.’ Inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED Talk, she doesn’t set a daily word count or number of hours spent at the keyboard or journal that, once accomplished, means that she’s met her goal. Her goal is just to turn up ready to write and do the best she can. And it’s working. Stories are being written, ideas are flowing, and on the days when the stories aren’t written and the ideas don’t flow, she knows she’s done her part and showed up.Well, suddenly finding myself with time to write and actually having absolutely no ideas, I decided to do the same thing. I decided to “show up” in my own way. Several years ago I wrote a couple of children’s stories set in England around 1190. They were going to part of a mystery series, but I’d never been happy with how I’d constructed the mysteries. I liked the characters a lot, but the stories were clunky, so I decided to show up by doing my homework. I uploaded James N. Frey’s How to Write a Damn Good Mystery to my Kobo reader, freed a journal from my stash and started reading, taking notes and doing the exercises. This was becoming my (almost) daily writing routine, and being a born student, I was enjoying the work. Then—

I went to the last of three medieval history and art presentations at the local Joseph Schneider Haus Museum, and I found out why I was “showing up.” The final presentation was about medieval bookmaking and was presented by miniature painter and limner, Debbie Thompson-Wilson. By the time I’d driven home, I had started building the frame of my story. Lessons from the Frey book connected to the pieces I was assembling in my imagination, and the characters that I thought I already knew spoke with stronger voices.

Now I know there is a long way to go before what I have in my head and in my journal actually becomes a final product—but I wouldn’t be on a journey at all if I hadn’t followed my friend’s advice and just “showed up.”

Where and when do your stories come to you? Do you find that they appear more often when you have nothing to write or do they arrive when you’re engrossed in other projects? How to you prime the imagination well?

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