Komigångtips

Några skrivartips på engelska - kanske nåt för dig som vill vara med i författartävlingen men inte vet hur du ska komma igång

By Annette Beveridge-Young, freelance writer (Editor) at Savannah Publishing http://www.thetwistinthetale.com/


15 Prompts To Help Kick-Start Your Story

Do you sometimes struggle to find good story ideas?
We all do it. No-one can think of everything. But sometimes it only takes a spark to start a raging fire. Here are 15 prompts that will help ignite your imagination and bring your stories to life.

1. Names
When planning your story, choose names which reflect your characters. Purchase a baby name book, or go to www.popularbabynames.com. This will also give you the meanings of the names.

2. Character Profiles
Know your characters inside and out. Do they hate cheese or have a fear of spiders? Give your characters the same strengths and weaknesses as they would have in real life.

3. Pictures
Draw your main characters or find magazine pictures; this will aid you when describing your characters. Pin up your character by your computer.

4. Settings
Choose settings which inspire you and which you know fairly well. If you have been to Spain or Ireland for example, then you could use a particular location you feel comfortable with. Remember though, locations do not have to be exotic.

5. Scenery
Use picture postcards to help describe scenery. Make it real.

6. Descriptions
Look in magazines for house interiors, color schemes, etc. This will help your descriptive powers; it is easier to write about what you can see.

7. Location
Design a location, i.e. if your main character lives in a mansion, draw out a plan of the house or gardens. Essential if you are writing a ghost or horror story based around a house.

8. Work Habits
Research your character's occupation; understand what their workload would entail. Think about their daily stresses; do they work alone or with colleagues? Is their conflict with a female member of staff or with their boss?

9. Titles
Stuck for a title for your story or novel? Think of song titles or lines in songs. You may not want to use them but they may prompt you for your own great title or theme.

10. Decision Making
Think of an event or a decision you made in your own life. Write a story about what would have happened if you had not made that particular decision. Where would life have taken you now?

11. Ideas Swap File
Make a scenario index. Buy an index card filing system and write locations, plots or events and file them accordingly. Add to it as you get ideas and next time you suffer with writer's block, refer to the ideas index.

12. Photo Gazing
Still stuck? Have a look through some old photos or in a magazine. Be inspired by the photo and think what would be happening to that person, their families or even in that place.

13. News Hound
Watch the news; real-life events may inspire you for a plot.

14. Raid Your Dreams
Create a dream diary. Write down everything you can remember, no matter how trivial or seemingly unimportant.

15. Scribble
Write a sentence about anything - i.e. a conversation, an event, etc., and then write a story around it.

Some people find it easy to get going, then get struck half-way through their story. Others can tell you in detail how the story ends, but don't know where to start.

Hopefully these prompts will help kick-start your story and give you the depth and detail to fill in all the blanks.
By Annette Beveridge-Young, freelance writer (Editor) at Savannah Publishing http://www.thetwistinthetale.com