Writing Ideas- Activities For Your Book

     Poems based on books enlighten the world around us.  If you need a writing exercise or even some inspiration pull out your favorite book and write a poem describing it.  Since songs are so much like poems, I like to pick a song that reminds me of the story and listen to it before I begin my poem.  This is so fun!  While writing you remember all the memories of reading this book and now you are describing that joy in writing.  Don't worry about not doing justice to the novel, just go with it.  It actually brings more popularity to the novel, and it puts you in writing mode.  Think of it as a book review.

Writing Ideas- Activities For Your Book

     Find out how books or movies are balanced.  Think of all the climatic points and weigh their importance.  You can think of good versus bad outcomes.  If you do this enough you'll notice trends relating to certain genres.  Sometimes it begs the question, "Is their an ideal pattern to genres?"

     A story usually satisfies both needs for problems and solutions so that there is a clear and defined ending.  On occasion, horror books or movies have one bad thing happen after another and leave the conclusion with another bad happening.  Some movies and books end on a happier note and seem to lean the total balance that way also.  Others are equal in presenting both life's trials and satisfying outcomes.  Can you feel the balance in your own book?  As you add things on both sides of the scale, eventually you have picked apart your novel and the weight is either equal on both sides or leaning toward one.

What Inspires the Writer In Me- Action Genres Continued

Action genres are so fun.  They provide a way to get the reader on the edge of their seat nonstop.  I think the writer experiences just as much when they are writing this as the reader does, if not more!  I love to be inspired by these genres.  Something that inspires me to write an action book the most would be things that I would find very difficult to do.  Of course, finding a bomb and disabling it would be a very hard and stressful situation to be in.  Trying to stop a train before it heads towards a broken bridge would be another.  These situations would inspire me to be able to write an action book that would keep my readers on the edge of their seat.  Naturally my character would be doing all of the work and risk all of the danger.  Something I could live with.

Novella Books Make the Best Movies

Novellas are special in that they give the reader a good book to read that is a little longer than the normal short story.  I love it because if I want to carry out the story a little more, I have time to finish the extra bit at the end because it is shorter than a novel.  It is exciting to see this carried out into a movie.  Some popular movies that have been based on novellas are A Christmas Carol based on the book by Charles Dickens, The Invisible Man based on the book by H.G. Wells, and The Mist based on the book by Stephen King.  Some of my favorites are I Am Legend based on the book by Richard Matheson, The Time Machine based on the book written by H.G. Wells, and Apocalypse Now based on the book Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.  These books make a great break to sit down and enjoy.    

What Inspires the Writer In Me- Short Stories

How do we know whether we are going to write a short story, novella, or a novel?  As writers I think we get a feeling.  Something inspires us.  I like to write short stories.  What inspires me to write them are situations that I could put myself in for a moment.  Kind of like a short break.  Maybe a moment to drink a cup of coffee, or a walk in the park.  A story that centers on something like this that gives the reader a break is my idea of a short story.  I also get inspired when I think of situations that center on emotion.  I focus on a specific emotion of anger, sadness, happiness, or fear.  These are situations that I can put myself in as well.  Writing about a happy situation would be a kid that lost a tooth, or  winning a sports game.  I would use a sick person and a dying pet for a sad situation.  No matter what genre the story, I like to think of these things to start with.  That is what works for me!

What Inspires the Writer In Me- Short Stories Continued...

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My Favorite Settings In Mystery Books

I love to solve mysteries!  My favorite settings for these types of unsuspecting books are settings that are fast paced, like in a busy city.  Anything can happen in these places.  There are a lot of clues to look for.  Now to be more specific, I find a setting like in a bar, or in an apartment, where there a lot of people around to be most interesting.  There you will definitely find a lot of potential suspects and clues.  Anything that keeps me in the unknown for as long as possible makes a good mystery book to me.  I think it is fun when I read a mystery book to see how the character can solve a mystery in a setting like this, and yet stay sharp and focused.  

Writing Ideas- Activities For Your Book

     Have you ever tried using symbols in your story?  Whether you choose to or not, it can be fun thinking about it.  If you are having a slow day, thinking of one thing to symbolize another idea, emotion, meaning, person, etc. can help you define your piece a little more and point you in the direction that you need to be taking when you begin writing for the day.  Among the many possible examples, here's one:  Say someone remembers a lost loved one by her favorite color, they wake to an early morning sky with that color all around them.  (further meaning)  They feel like that person has spoken to them, painting the sky to say hello.  If you don't use the piece, it's still an uplifting thinking process to put you into the writing mode when needed.