Writing creative writing, story writing and other writings by Rob Hopcott

on November 30, 2008

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Reading books often generates ideas for writing fiction stories.

Strangely, when I watch a film, I rarely have ideas for writing but when I read a fiction short story or novel, ideas seem to flow fast and furious, even as I read.

Perhaps it is because, when we read fiction stories and novels, our minds are working very hard to imagine the places, characters and events about which we are reading. The way our minds work seems to be very fuzzy. It is almost as if the characters and stories in the fiction book set off ripples in our imaginations which expand uncontrollably. Tap these ripples and you have your new idea for writing.

But, as you read the story, pause every now and then and make a note. If you were writing the book, what line would you follow with the plot? Who would be the goody? Who had be the baddy? What other characters would you like to see in the book? How do you feel about the characters? Are they the sort of characters you would like to write about?

What types of books do you like to read? Do you like romances? Do you like thrillers? Do you like historical novels? Do like reading short stories or flash fictions? How about science fiction (sci-fi) or fantasy? If you like to read stories like these, you may also like to write them.

Of course, I am not suggesting that you should plagiarise stories you read in other people’s books but merely that you should use them as a starting point for generating ideas of your own.

It is often said that, when we read somebody else’s story, we are complicit in the writing of the story because so many things relating to the story are filled in by our own experiences. It is, of course, one of the strongest qualities of a good writer that they are able to allude to many people’s personal experiences in a way that avoids describing them in detail yet which still builds a picture.

A golden rule has been suggested to me that two hours reading time a day is necessary for a writer to keep the creative juices flowing. Certainly, it seems to me that in two hours reading, a lot of lateral ideas for writing could be generated.

If you are interested in ideas for writing you might also be interested in reading my article ‘Ideas for writing while listening to music‘.

Bye for now

Rob

Ideas for writing while in public places, some recommended but others not, unless you are in the SAS.

Published

on November 29, 2008

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Not all public places are ideal for ideas for writing

Not all public places are ideal to research ideas for writing!

Getting ideas for writing while in public places is easy - unless, of course, you are taking time out in accommodation provided by your Government following an unfortunate experience in a criminal court.

Public spaces are accessible. As soon as you walk outside your house, you are in a public place and there are people everywhere. Each of them have their own personal stories and, as we wander, we are free to speculate about them? Why have they worn those clothes? Where are they going? What are they thinking about?

Moving on down the high street. Who owns the shops? Are they successful? Bearing in mind the credit crunch, the shops you pass might be on the verge of bankruptcy. How do their owners feel each day when they open their shop shutters perhaps knowing today they will probably make another loss? What are their hopes and dreams? What are their nightmares? Your next story writing idea could be right in front of you.

Wander nonchalantly into a cafe and buy a cup of coffee or tea - the more crowded the cafe the better. Bury your head in a book or magazine as you pretend to sip your drink - but the real purpose for being in the cafe is not to read.

Instead, tune into the conversations around you. Saviour the smells, listen to the sounds of the coffee making machine. Examine how you feel in the cafe? Do you feel threatened or do you feel warm, cosy and welcome?

Listen for titbits of conversation on the tables around you. Construct what you hear into stories. Like any eavesdropper, you will probably misunderstand what they are saying but that doesn’t matter. Sleuth-like, enter up your writer’s notebook as each idea for writing about characters and plot in your next short story or flash fiction occurs to you.

Now stop! This next suggestion for finding ideas for writing does not apply to vulnerable persons and I absolutely take no responsibility for any harm that comes to anybody, vulnerable or otherwise, from pursuing the following course of action.

It is something I do from time to time but I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody else. (Frankly, there’s no point is suing me anyway, I’ve got no money!)

In fact, unless you always go out well-protected by personal tasers, pepper sprays, vicious German sheep dogs or personal bodyguards with big muscles in their arms and halitosis , you shouldn’t even read on.

Er, is there anyone there? Oh, there you are! … What? … You are in the SAS? … OK, I will continue…

Leave the cafe and find a comfortable bench to sit on in your high street or public gardens - ensuring that there are people passing and that your location is safe, even if you are in the SAS.

Soon, with a bit of luck, somebody will come and sit next to you. Strike up a conversation. Let them tell you about their lives, dreams, their experiences and thoughts. Soon you will have lots of ideas for writing quite simply handed to you on a plate. (Er, no that doesn’t mean you can accept sweeties either, Mr SAS!)

I do this quite often and even have a blog called Adventures on a Bench which records conversations and thoughts I’ve had while sitting on benches and talking to strangers at various locations in the UK.

So there you have my suggestion about ideas for writing for today. It’s easy. Simply loiter in public places and cafes - trying, of course, not to get arrested.

Public places are a wonderful generator of ideas for writing because they are the place that so many stories intersect. Everybody you meet has a story even if it is only the story of their life.

Each person you see or meet in public is a complex amalgam of work experiences, romance and family life. Many have dreams and aspirations they dare not tell their friends but may tell you or another stranger on a bench. (Unless you are a member of the SAS, of course, you will have to imagine these stories.)

Can there be a better source for your next idea for writing - as long as you do it safely in your imagination?

Whatever your approach for getting ideas for writing in public places, I wish you good fortune and lots of happy and safe creative writing.

If you would like to read more about ways to find new ideas for writing, you may like to read my recent article about writing ideas and family skeletons.

Bye for now

Rob

Ideas for writing listening to classical music - a personal viewpoint from Rob Hopcott

Published

on November 28, 2008

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Watching evening performances of classical music symphonies on television stimulates ideas for writing.

Many of my best ideas for writing fiction, articles, short stories, flash fictions, novels and novellas come to me while I am listening to music in the evenings.

When I have finished my day’s writing at about five or six o’clock, after I have eaten my evening meal, I like to listen to classical music.

As I listen to the music, my mind drifts over the things I have done during the day. Ideas and thoughts are mixed together and mulled over and, often, I find myself making notes about these new ideas for writing in my ideas notebook.

In comparison, if I watch a film, whether it is a thriller or a romance, it seems to take my attention to a much greater degree. It rarely stimulates me to creative thought about new ideas, concepts and plans.

Of course, you may be different. Watching a symphony performed on television might be completely alien to what you like to do. Perhaps, for you, a thrilling film allows your mind to wander in the same way music does for me.

However, I suspect there is something about music that puts us into a more contemplative mood than watching or listening to a story. I am not saying that I don’t like watching films but merely that they don’t put me into a creative frame of mind and help me generate ideas for writing or anything else.

Strangely, watching a factual film does allow my mind to wander. Watching a documentary is also useful because it provides new fuel for my thoughts. It feeds my mind with new situations, new possibilities and new facts. When I watch a documentary about building the longest bridge across the widest river, I’m thinking about the lives of the people that achieved this amazing project. What tensions did they suffer? What were their hopes and fears? Did some of them fail? Were any of them fired? How did their work experience in building the bridge affect their family lives?

So, for me, listening to music and watching television documentaries is a great way to let my mind wander and help generate ideas for writing. Perhaps it might work for you.

If listening to music or watching a documentary doesn’t help, here is another idea for writing inspiration.

Try to remember those moments in your life when you did have a great idea for writing? What were you doing at the time? Could you put yourself back in that situation so that it might inspire you again?

Reading about what inspires other people is useful but what is most important is what inspires you.

If you would like to read more about writing ideas, you may like to check out my other article Ideas for writing - ambitions, dreams and the power of ‘What if?’

Bye for now

Rob

Ideas for writing - home life family skeletons and exciting soap story opportunities

Published

on November 27, 2008

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Your home life in a small country village or a large town can stimulate great ideas for writing

Finding ideas for writing in your home life might seem unlikely to you. After all, for most of us, our home lives are fairly safe, secure and comfortable. Writing about your home life might, therefore, initially appear boring, uninteresting and uninspiring.

However, relationships are the cornerstones for huge bodies of fiction writing - not least the ever popular television soaps - and the strong relationships in your home life, perhaps even skeletons suitably disguised and rearranged, can provide excellent ideas for writing and story telling material.

Our home lives shape the people we are. We all have home lives and our desire to look into the lives of others means your home life could provide you with an idea for writing a story that could run and run.

Talking to older members of your family can be a good place to start and might produce surprisingly interesting stories. Were your parents or grandparents in any war? Did your mother have previous relationships before your father? Was your father quite a ‘Jack the Lad’ before he found your mother? How did people go out and find relationships ‘in the old days’? How do you feel about all the stories you have been told? Mould and alter the experiences so they can’t be traced back and your story might unfold surprisingly quickly.

Has your family got a very strong friendship with another family? How do these families interact with each other? Are there rivalries or jealousies? What if …?

Imagine your ideal family. Would it be large or small, wealthy or poor, high achieving or living the simple life?

If your interest is science fiction (sci-fi), how would it feel to be part of an alien family living on another planet or in another universe? What would happen if your alien family met human beings? Would the families be friends or enemies?

Of course, the objective is not merely to copy the stories that people in your family can tell but instead to use them as the foundation for a writing idea that you imagine and create yourself. The secret is to use your researches into your family relationships as a starting point for your writing ideas and as a catalyst to stimulate your imagination.

Your home life with all its complex relationships and personal histories is a great place to research and find ideas for writing.

If you would like to read more about ideas for writing you may be interested in my article about using strong feelings to supercharge your writing ideas.

Bye for now

Rob

Ideas for writing from strong feelings such as anger, depression, sadness, love and romance

Published

on November 26, 2008

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Roses are an abiding symbol of love and romance

Yesterday, I discussed getting ideas for writing from positive feelings such as ambitions, dreams and aspirations using the power of ‘What if?’.

Today, it is time to turn to feelings and emotions such as anger, depression, bereavement, love and romance as an alternative source of writing ideas.

Feelings are an extremely fertile area to find ideas for writing. Feelings are frequently strong and important to us. Feelings come in all shapes and sizes. To use feelings as sources of ideas for writing creative fiction, think about these feelings. Imagine you are experiencing them again. What is it about these feelings that makes them so important? Described them. Tell the story.

Have you ever felt really angry about something? Did you feel angry because you were badly treated at work? What about relationships that have fallen by the wayside, did they leave you feeling angry? Could you imagine being angry enough to do something extreme - at least in your imagination - such as murdering someone? In fiction, many characters have had that feeling and been the subject of many short stories, online novels and novellas as a result.

How about love and romance? Do you long for love and romance? Have you experienced love and romance? How did it feel? How did you meet your lover? Where did you spend your time together? Was there adventure and mystery in your relationship? How did your lover feel about you? Love and romance can often be the source of a great writing idea for stories and are immensely popular among online fiction writers and in the traditional printing press.

Have you ever suffered bereavement? I still remember the strong feelings I experienced when my mother died. At some stage in our lives we all have to go through bereavement and so when you write about bereavement you are writing about a very strongly shared feeling. One of the best ways to find readers is to focus on a shared emotion or a shared pain that you can help others resolve through your writing. Perhaps bereavement could provide you with an excellent idea for writing your short story, flash fiction or novel which also has the virtue of perhaps helping others as well as being entertaining.

Depression is surprisingly common among human beings. Have you ever felt depressed, incapable of solving problems and perhaps even lacking energy for life? Write about your depression. How did it start? Where do you think it came from? Was there a trigger that started your depression? Did you find a way of alleviating your depression? Since depression is a common feeling, many may wish to read your story about depression. If you are still suffering from depression, writing about your depression may even help you work through the feelings as well as providing an interesting story for others to read.

Good writing is a rounded experience. It uses emotions, feelings, sense of smell, sight, touch and a host of other impressions to bring a subject alive.

Whatever the feelings are that you write about, I hope thinking about feelings provides you with some great ideas for writing your next short story, postcard fiction, sudden fiction or even a novel or novella

Bye for now

Rob

Ideas for writing - try Ambitions, Dreams and the power of ‘What if?’ by Rob Hopcott

Published

on November 25, 2008

. 2 Comments

Somebody once asked me if I could suggest some ideas for writing to get them started on a short story, novel or novella. I answered it was best to look inside themselves to find writing ideas based on their experiences not mine. They were doubtful whether they had a ’story in them’ but, when I suggested they start with their ambitions and dreams, their ideas for writing soon flowed.

Your dreams and ambitions are wonderfully fertile places to get story writing ideas. They hold your deepest interest, they excite you and are fundamental to your personality. Your ambitions and dreams come from your innermost being and so are genuine and real. Since you will almost always write better on subjects about which you deeply care, writing about your dreams and ambitions can help you write with true conviction and feeling.

Naturally, your ambitions and dreams are only a starting point from which to let your mind wander. Using the phrase ‘what if?’ to perm every option is the next step towards revealing mouth-watering story-lines - and may even give you real-life ideas to change your plans.

Are you looking forward to having a family and being part of a long-term relationship with children at some time in the future? Imagine what it would be like. What tensions might you feel? Why is having a family important to you? How would you feel if you couldn’t? What circumstances might cause this state of affairs? The ideas for writing are boundless.

Alternatively, have you an ambition to change your career? Perhaps there is a job you would like but can hardly imagine ever getting, even in your wildest dreams. Imagine how it would be to make this ultimate career change and reap the rewards your new job may bring. Imagine what could go wrong and explore the dramatic tension. Soon the ideas for writing will flow.

Do you dream about love and romance? These are very popular ideas for writing. What would your ideal partner be like? Can you visualise the great love in your life? How would you feel if you found your ideal love and then lost them?

Perhaps you would like to go to college or university later in your life or perhaps return to college or university as a mature student, if you are older. Life change is great for a story idea. Why do you find the idea exciting? How would you feel once you were there? What problems could arise and what conflicts and situations might you encounter?

Think about the place where you work. Could you see yourself rising through the ranks to become in charge of your organisation? What stresses would it bring? How would others feel about you? Would the huge amounts of money you might earn change your life and make you a different person?

To find ideas for writing, try changing your viewpoint. If you are a young person, imagine you are an older person. Look back on your life and think about the stages you have gone through. If you are an older person, then think about how it would be like to be a younger person. Perhaps even consider how younger people might think about you. Changing your point of view can stimulate ideas and thoughts you may never previously have entertained.

Ideas for writing stories are everywhere but need to be approached with a questioning eye and a willingness to ask ‘what if?’ constantly.

‘What if?’ creates ideas for writing and enhances commonplace situations into playgrounds of the mind. It stimulates your story writing ideas and goes a long way towards keeping your readers on the edge of their seats and coming back for more.

Bye for now

Rob

A new writing desk helped me reach my creative writing zone again

Published

on November 24, 2008

in Writing, writing accessories and writing desk

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My new writing desk and work station in my lovely new sunny room has really helped my writng productivity.

My new writing desk and work station in my lovely new sunny room has really helped my writing productivity.

Getting a new writing desk might help you get into that all important creative writing zone that is so enjoyable and productive for the professional writer. It isn’t a foregone conclusion but it may be part of your individual creative needs.

For many years I worked as a creative writer in a small North-facing bedroom amongst several whirring computers. In the end, it almost drove me crazy (my family might suggest there was no ‘almost’).

I needed a break from working seven days a week and 14 hours a day to meet my writing deadlines. I needed to see the sun. I needed a change of work environment.

When I decided to make a change of direction because the source of work I had previously been tapping dried up, I had to start again but found it was completely impossible to break new ground in the small bedroom that had previously been my office. I needed a new writing environment, a new writing desk, a new writing chair, a new computer to write with and, above all, I needed a sunny room in which to work.

The solution was straightforward. My kids had now flown and my wife eventually allowed me to move downstairs into a beautifully sunny room which our kids had been using as their play room while they had been growing up.

It worked and I am now back to full writing productivity again. I have a new writing desk, a new writing computer, new systems for organising my notes and researches, new writing website software and even a new camera to take pictures which I am now adding to all my articles.

Without doubt, as I have found, writers need to be able to reach their writing zone and being unhappy with their work environment may be a big barrier to feeling relaxed and creative. However, sometimes getting away from the writing desk can also help and sometimes I exchange my large sunny office for my small camper-van table because it helps my productive creative processes to get out in the real world.

Of course, writers must constantly be aware that worrying about their writing environment may just be an excuse for not focusing on their writing challenges. It may be that, when progress is made on the latest writing project, a writer’s writing environment becomes far less important. In my case, there was a genuine need for a better and changed work environment which then enabled me to move on and deal with my own writing challenges.

However, whether it’s a new writing desk, new writing software or a new writing approach that stimulates you to writing productivity, I wish you good fortune and look forward to hearing your writing desk experiences in the comments section below.

Bye for now

Rob

Writing novels is mainly about beginning your novel and then fighting your way through to the end

Published

on November 20, 2008

in Writing and writing novels

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Mortehoe, Devon - a place to inspire stories of smuggling and ship wrecks.

Writing novels is great fun and it is said that everybody has a novel inside them which of course is the story of their life but writing a novel others will want to read is a completely different order of difficulty.

However, not all novels need to be written for publication and there is often much personal pleasure and satisfaction to be gained merely through completing the writing process.

Whatever your motive for novel writing, my advice is to get started and then keep going at all costs until you have finished.

Blast through it in as few sittings as you can. If you get into difficulties, dance around them and carry on. Most projects hit headaches half way through and novels are no different. Sometimes the only way forward is to grit your teeth, stick your head down and keep pushing.

With this philosophy, one day you will be able to write ‘The End’, sit back and congratulate yourself on having written a novel.

Writing novels is like giving birth to a child. Once born, it is always there. Great or not, your novel assumes a life of its own. The characters exist where they didn’t exist before. The locations where the characters lived and the action took place have substance. The novel has a form and character of its own. It is unique and it is all yours.

If writing the novel was a form of cathartic self expression that you needed to complete to express strong feelings of pain, happiness or to think through a distressing episode of your life, just writing the novel may be enough. In this case, your novel has already served its purpose.

If, having written the novel, you decide you would like others to read it, then you will need to edit your work and ensure that it hooks the reader, draws them in to the story and keeps their interest right the way through to the last page. Your novel may need many changes or it may need only a few and there is much advice online that will help you assess your next steps. Online writing forums like www.mywriterscircle.com can be particularly helpful.

One day, when you will have sculpted and moulded your novel into its final form, it will be ready to be read by others. Like children that have become teenagers, one day your novel must move away from your protective care and take on a life of its own and the parting may be hard.

Finding a conventional publisher, unless you are already famous, is always going to be very difficult. You may decide to publish your work as an online novel which has the advantage that you can assess its readability more objectively from the reactions of its readers. I have written and published several online novels and novellas. It is always good to know my work is being read every day.

However, when you have finally delivered your novel to your readers by whatever means you choose, there is one big advantage … You are now completely justified in starting to write another.

Good luck!

Bye for now

Rob

Writing services by Stone Age brains using speed of light technology

Published

Rob Hopcott - online (Stone Age) author

on November 19, 2008

in Writing and writing services

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My writer's desk

Writing services are the growth industry of the 21st century. The Internet is organised by the written word. Films and video have expanded massively but film and video cannot be interpreted by computers, human beings are needed to explain their content which can only be done through the provision of writing services.

Writing services are therefore fundamental to the growth and development of the Internet which, in its turn, is arguably one of the most important industries today in our world. Since writing services must be provided by human beings, writing services is inevitably a hugely vital employment provider.

However, it is ironic that writing remains in the Stone Age in terms of efficiency when the system it services can handle the written word at the speed of light. Writing an article, short story or flash fiction takes a significant length of time because the process of thinking through creative projects is determined by the speed of our brains. Unfortunately, the speed of our brains has not been fundamentally enhanced since human beings first walked on planet Earth.

As an online writer, my income is very much geared to the volume and quality of my writings. The more I provide my writing services to the Internet community, the more money I am bound to make from the readers who are attracted to my site. But the quantity of articles and stories is quite simply limited to the number I can get out in one day which is currently about seven articles, at best, and, at worst, perhaps only two. If I could write ten times more articles and stories, I would earn ten times as much. Sadly, my brain would probably become superheated if I tried and the result would be gibberish - hardly a good writing service for my readers

Speech recognition is perhaps a way forward but I have found all it does is speed up the process of typing. It introduces efficiencies into the writing process of first drafts without any doubt but editing and re-editing can be increased where the speech recognition software has got my meaning disasterously wrong.

Culturally, Westerners like myself are hugely challenged by people from the hitherto poorer countries, with their lower cost base, who have been rightly underbidding us and taking our job opportunities in many industries. Fortunately, for us, we Westerners have a strong advantage in the provision of writing services because of the subtleties required in the creative writing process.

So, whether you are thinking of becoming a writer and providing writing services or perhaps you are a small business that needs your hotel or other small business blog ghost written to attract more visitors to your web site, writing services is an industry that will remain important and probably grow massively over the next decade.

If you would like to read more about writing and writing services, check out my other articles referred to on this page or search this site using the search box at the top of this page.

Good luck!

Bye for now

Rob

Writing help from reading by Rob Hopcott

Published

on November 18, 2008

in Writing and writing help

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The best writing help I know is reading. It refreshes my mind, it stimulates my imagination and it incentivises me to write better to compete with the writing I have just read.

It doesn’t really matter what I read. It could be a travel journal, a short story, a flash fiction, a fiction book from the library or an online novel. All types of reading contribute to help my writing progress.

However, the truth is that I just can’t read anything without ticking off the technical aspects in my mind. How catchy is the title? How has the writer drawn me into the story or article with the first line or paragraph? Is the writer appealing to all my senses; visual imagination, sense of smell, touch and emotions? Is it easy to read or do the paragraphs ramble so I can’t be bothered to find the point?

So one of my top writing help suggestions for any writer is to spend maybe a couple of hours each day reading. There is a good chance it will inspire you with ideas for your writing, suggest different styles and provide you with writing models on which you can successfully build.

If you would like to read more writing help suggestions, check out my hints for writing short stories.

Bye for now

Rob