Photo credit: M. M. Kastanek
Need some inspiration for Camp NaNoWriMo? Check out my writing prompts! Today's prompt is inspired by the beautiful shores of Cinque Terre, Italy. Prompt: Stacks of houses protruded out of the sea cliffs.... Words: sketch, salt, tail, winding, sharp, stalk My Story Start: My breath caught in my throat and my hands clutched the algae-covered rock I hid behind. I barely heard the waves as they crashed against the cliffs and rocks, the spray coating my face with sticky salt. They were there, clear as the stalks of ferns that surrounded me: the buildings of Astra. I swallowed a sticky mass that had built in my throat. Would the Priests even believe me? I snatched my sketchbook from my bag and sharpened my pencil before rendering a quick drawing of what I saw before it disappeared. I made sure to capture the style of houses, the winding streets, the jetty and high-tailed boats on the mooring. A crab skittered up my algae-covered rock, clacking it's claws at me. A warning. Even the sea knew I was here.
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I hear it all the time. "I want to write a book, too!" But when asked why they haven't yet, I get the usual stream of excuses. A lot of people have great ideas, but they just don't know where to start. So today, I've got three tips to help you FINALLY start writing your story. 1. Write a day in the life of your MCIf you have a clear vision in your head of the character you want to write about, start there. Write down a "day in the life" of that character. Even if you don't know the plot or the world yet, just write down a typical day. Once you have that, make everything normal in that day go wrong and see how your character reacts. What would be the worst thing that could happen to your MC? Make it happen. And just like that, you have a story. 2. Start at the most exciting part of your storyDo you know what your climax will be? Or a really interesting scene? Great. Forget the beginning and just start writing it. Don't worry about filling in background details or making sure the reader understands what you're saying. Just write it as if you've made it this far in the book. You can write the beginning later. This is my personal favorite and one I go back to time and again. Usually, the part that I think is exciting isn't the climax, but a certain incident in my character's life. And this usually morphs into the first chapter of the book - because no one wants to drudge through 50 pages of explanation anyway. Cut it all and get right to the good stuff! 3. Write an outlineSome people can't write without direction, and that's okay! To give yourself direction, write down bullet points of ideas you have that will happen in the story. Just because you write them down doesn't necessarily mean they'll happen, but it starts to give you a road map and ideas will start to build on each other. If you don't know what your story is about, that's okay. Make a bulleted list of a day-in-the-life of your MC - or your villain! - and then write another list about everything that happens going wrong. This creates immediate conflict and will help you with story progression right there! Anyhoo...There is no right or wrong way to get started. The important part is that you do get started. If you never start writing, you'll never write a book (big surprise). So dive in head first and just write!
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AuthorM. M. Kastanek Archives
June 2022
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