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Hey Kapeefers!
I’m stuck.
Not that Chosen One’s get stuck or anything… 😉
Anyway, recently I’ve decided to major things. One is that I’m taking a break from one story until I’m way older cause then it will be way better than it would be if I wrote it now (there are more reason for that, but it is what it is.) Two, is that I’m annoyed with writing super-sarcastic characters and want to try something new.
I know, I know. New is crazy. Shame on me. 😉Which means this: I have no plot. No ideas. I mean, I have something of an idea, but it really seems cheesy to me.
And that leads to my question. How on earth am I supposed to find a story to write now?
@daeus @kate-flournoy @ethryndal (you did this recently, didn’t you? Found a new story?) @aratrea @winter-rose @perfectfifths @dekreel @shannon @emily @daughteroftheking @allyoukapeefers☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@dragon-snapper Good question. *thinks*
My problem is I actually have started a new story in a while. Like for NaNoWriMo, I just took an old idea from way-back-when and rewrote it.
The best advice I can give is always be looking for inspiration, in what you watch, read, listen to, say, do, etc. It can come from anywhere, even your dreams (trust me).
Currently reading Les Miserables
Also, what’s that gif from? XD
Currently reading Les Miserables
Hmm
This is hard because I never run out of ideas of things to write
Right now, I have four extra projects I’m planning that I’ve thought of ever since I’ve started the one I’m working on now… usually my problem is not finishing most of what I start and when I do it doesn’t come out masterfully… anyway
Try going to the stories that inspire you the most and getting ideas from them. What is it about certain stories that you like? what draws you to certain characters?
All of my stories start as this one kind of hazy idea, and then I build around them, almost like there’s this blurry piece of concept art in my head and I want see more of it.
Read other books, find other stories that you like, look at pictures of amazing scenery, look at artwork, try to capture a kind of spark from them that you think will inspire you.
Also, you could just make yourself come up with something, no matter how terrible you think it is, and then work on it over time as you get more ideas, for example:
Here’s a boy, standing on a plane of whiteness. What’s his name? Qem. What does he look like? He’s got dark hair, and he’s twelve, and he has blue eyes. Oh, and he has wings, ’cause that’s Awesome.
Why is he standing on plane of white? He’s inside a simulation. He’s trying to learn how to fly. He can’t fly right.
Why not? He’s scared of flying, and he wants to enter a race with against all the other twelve year old flying boys in his city. So his mom took him to the simulator to see if that could help him. He wants to try really hard to learn.
Why does he care that much? The simulator is expensive, and his mom is pretty poor. She’s sacrificing a lot for him to be here.
If he’s in the simulator, why isn’t he actually flying? The simulator’s down right now, because the city is losing its power plants way out in the desert to raiders stealing the power packs. HE’s waiting for it to get back online.
Why are the raiders doing that? They need power packs to power their military encampment. They’re being led by a man calling himself a prophet and demanding destruction of the society and a new world based on new ideals.
Is that a warranted reason for destroying power plants? The society Qem lives in is corrupt, but not completely evil. Of course no one in the city wants to burn eveything down and start over.
Okay, so is the simulator back on yet? Yes, and now Qem’s flying. And he’s seriously trying not to panic.
So that’s the kind of thing I do to start a new story. 😀 good luck @dragon-snapper
*Giarstanornarak tries to melt chair*
Also, Daeus has 22 turtles in his signature.@dragon-snapper Well, it isn’t easy. I try to write down story ideas whenever I get them so that when I’m done with one novel I can have a basic idea of what the next one’s going to be about.
But, obviously, you want a plot now. Well, I do have one suggestion. One of the best sources of inspiration for me is to read other novels. I don’t just read them though, I analyze them for things I really liked and things that didn’t satisfy me. Let’s take LOTR as an example.
One of the things I liked about LOTR was that Tolkien used Gollum to make otherwise plain scenes much more tense. I mean, think about it. So much of the book is just travel, but knowing that Gollum is an untrustworthy guide makes the travel much more interesting. So, while I’m reading LOTR, I might be wondering how I could write a story that features an untrustworthy guide.
On the flip side of things, when I read LOTR for the first time, while I liked the ending, I felt it could have been better so I started thinking about how I would have written the ending. I actually took this alternate ending, changed it up quite a lot, and created a whole new story out of it that became the trilogy I am now writing.
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
- Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
- Total Posts: 859
@dragon-snapper, I don’t have much advice for you. I pretty much always have some sort of story idea, and I always write one down when I get it. I have never really searched for a story idea. I’m sorry, ’cause at this point, I’m not really going to be much help to you. I hope you find the answer to your problem soon though 😊
@Dragon-Snapper congratulations on branching out. 😉
They’ve covered a lot… the only thing new I have to add is pretty small. You mentioned that you’re tired of writing snarky characters and want to try something different, but had no idea how to go about it…
Why do you like snarky characters in the first place? Is it because they come easy to you, already in multiple layers, with tons of depth and room for hiding things under all that glorious snark?
Well, all characters are like that, in that all characters have unexplored depths beneath their different types of armor. Everyone is equally fascinating underneath; it’s just that some have flashier shields. 😉 So my advice would be, figure out all the different kinds of ‘armor’ and then dive down deep and find the person behind them.
Does that make sense? Life has been crazy and I can’t tell if it’s made me brilliant or just too tired to realize how numb my brain is. XD
@kate-flournoy @daeus @sam-kowal @perfectfifths @shannon
Thanks guys! All ya’ll advice worked! I now have a story on my hands. 😀
It’s going to be fantasy, and the theme will be perseverance. Thanks all!!! *flies off, barely able to fly cause she’s so excited*
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@perfectfifths Oh, and that GIF is from the Croods. A great movie. Love that movie. 😀
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@dragon-snapper This may be too late, but one of my favorite ways to come up with new stories is what @daeus said about taking unsatisfying elements from other stories and figuring out how to change it to be something I would enjoy.
Also, just making lists of my favorite characters/character dynamics is helpful for me because stories normally spark from two character’s relationship, and what about the individuals’ personalities create an interesting dynamic.
Good luck! (New stories are fun and shiny and I love them, haha.)And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
- Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
- Total Posts: 859
@dragon-snapper Good for you! Hope your story prospers!
@dragon-snapper Congrats! Can’t wait to hear more. 😀 And I thought so, I had seen that movie, and it looked like it came from it, but it’s been a while. 😉
@introvert_girl Yes! Character aspects and relationships I also find inspire me. 🙂Currently reading Les Miserables
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1486
@dragon-snapper *Comes in late. Again.* *sighs* Ah well. I had no ideas anyway. Good luck on your new story! 🙂
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