Hello to all, I'm running to some problems with my writing and would appreciate some advice. I'll come up with an idea for a short story, and start to work on developing it, then one of two things happen. I'll either find it too similar to an idea I've read about already, or I can't come up with enough "what if?"s or twists to make it really come alive. Do others have similar problems, and if so, how do you overcome them? Thanks. Agesilaus
Posted by Kokomo (Member # 1210) on :
The magic words:
What else?
Keep asking yourself what else could happen here? What else could he want? What else could she try? What else...
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Don't worry about whether a story idea is 'similar' to one you've read before. Let your POV character react to the situations in the story as a unique individual, and you'll find that you've got a story that no once else could tell.
Posted by Rahl22 (Member # 1411) on :
Also, if you're looking for a way to really shake things up, OSC suggests trying to combine two of those seemingly unrelated ideas. This has worked for me a couple times before, to create something really different and yet fun.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
What Rahl said.
Usually "an idea for a short story" just isn't enough. You have to have at least two ideas for a short story, and more than two if it's a longer story.
Don't start writing when you only have one idea, no matter how great you think it may be. Come up with at least one more idea to go with it or to work against it, before you try to write something.
Posted by Agesilaus (Member # 1609) on :
OK, that helps. Thanks very much for the fast turnaround.