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10 Tips For Writing A Winning Resume
Your resume (or curriculum vitae), combined with the cover letter, are the master keys to opening the prospective employer's mind and door so that you can proceed to the next step in the process - the big interview! RESUME WRITING TIPS AND...
Advertising Copywriting - The Top Ten Clichés and Why You Should Avoid Them
We've all seen them plenty of times. Frankly, once is too many. Copy clichés are more likely to put off prospective customers than convince them to buy your product or service. If your advertising copywriter comes up with them, find another...
Marketing for Writers When Writing Just Isn't Enough
Many writers write for the experience. Others dream of having a number one best seller. Both are wonderful reasons for writing. What many fail to realize is that these two do not have to be mutually exclusive. With a little research, you can...
Ten Rules of Writing Good
In our hectic, word-based society, it's good to know how to use words good. For instance, as a marketer on the internet, it might be good if you could use words good. Because you might want to write an article with words, so here are some rules...
The Benefits of Freewriting
It's 2 am and you're sitting at your desk, no ideas and no thoughts. The cup of coffee to your side is the sixth. But still, the same blank sheet of paper from an hour ago taunts you, there is nothing to show for your effort but a back cramp and a...
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How to Come up With Fresh Writing Ideas
How to Come Up with Fresh Story Ideas When Your Idea Well has Run Dry
When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day’s works is all I can permit myself to contemplate. —John Steinbeck
I know that it seems easier to make that extra pot of coffee, read that good book, that you have had in storage for the last ten years, and suddenly decide to make the kids that Halloween costume by hand, than it can be to make yourself sit down and write. Believe me, I have been there.
Here are some brainstorming techniques to get your brain pumping again and churning out ideas.
1) If you are having trouble coming up with characters or even a story line, try developing an action scene. One good scene to kick off your book can get the rest flowing. Develop the characters and story line around that scene.
2) Come up with a problem to solve. Is your main character the class clown or the brainiest kid in school. What type of problem would your character face in his or her normal life? Write your story around the problem and a unique way of solving it.
3)For character development use common sense. Use what is in front of you.
Look at your family and friends and see if they remind you of anything. My first Shakespearean teacher reminded me of a caveman or a husky walrus because of his whiskers. Does your Uncle Arthur have whiskers, wear glasses, and walk with a little bit of a waddle? Turn him into a
know it all beaver or a store clerk, at a bookstore that sells books that you can actually climb into and live out an adventure.
Does your sister have a talent for jumping rope and blowing bubbles, with purple bubble gum? Maybe the heroine for your next book could do the same.Is their a kid in your neighborhood that is always getting into trouble? Hmm, do you think that the creator of Dennis the Mennis might have known one?
You can use your family and friend’s talents and their physical characteristics to come up with tons of characters. One hint though- if you choose to make Uncle Charlie a slug or Aunt Emma a rhinoceros, keep it to yourself. They may not be thrilled with their induction into literary history.
Inspiration is all around you, waiting for you to reach out and grab for your next storyline or character. Use stories from the news, jokes that your neighbors tell you, the quirky things that your dog Buster does in the morning.
One final word - stop criticizing what you have written down. In these first stages, no one cares if you have misspelled words or if your grammar isn’t perfect. Just write. The rest will follow, after your story is done.
Caterina Christakos is the author of How to Write a Children’s Book in 30 Days or Less. For more writing tips please go to http://www.howtowriteachildrensbook.com
About the Author
Caterina is the author of How to Write a Children's Book in 30 Days or Less, as well as several children's books. To view some of her work please go to http://www.howtowriteachildrensbook.com
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