Ahh, springtime. Time for a fresh start on the world, aye?
I am deep in the midst of a project that has consumed varying percentages of my brain since 2006. When I work on something that long, and it becomes a part of me. I walk in that world — or, as in the case of this particular story, those worlds — every day. And lately, as momentum is gained, it means less writing elsewhere, including here.
Time to change things up a little.
Many of the questions people who are just getting started in this business ask me are often centred around motivation. “How do you get your ideas?” “How do you find time in the day to fit writing in?” “What inspires you to write?”
What it all comes down to, in the end, is fingers on keys. Or pen to paper, if that’s your particular poison. Where you find your inspiration is up to you — it’s what you do with it that counts. Ideas are legion, and an ephemeral collection of random whimseys they are, too, eh?
Regardless of where you are on the journey that is story-telling, at some point you’ve got to write ’em down.
And then follow through right to the end.
So for the rest of the year, I’m going to try to help you with that, by posting a question here for you to answer. Every day. Use it as a starting point. Use it as a writing prompt. Work it into a scene.
Whatever clacks your keys.
All I ask is that you write out whatever it inspires in you in 100 words or more.
Take the ‘kc 100 word challenge’. Today is May 17, 2014. If you make the time to write 100 words — just 100 little words — EVERY day for the rest of the year, you will have 22,700 words towards a finished manuscript by December 31.
Now, if that ain’t enough for you, set yourself a higher goal. But if you say to yourself — PROMISE yourself — that you’ll at least write those 100 little words, anything else is gravy, right?
The idea is to pin down some of those amazing ideas, while building yourself a healthy writing habit at the same time.
Set the parameters that work for you! Can you do it?
Will you?
Let’s start now and see what happens, okay? Here’s your first question:
What real-world event is happening to your main character right now? It can be geologic [earthquake!], meterologic [monsoon!], astronomical [meteorite!] or something even more bizarre. In the face of this event, how does your character react?
There you go; your challenge question for May 17th. Can you get 100 words out of it?
[And if you want to let me know how you’re doing, as always, the comment section is right below this post. I love to hear from you!]
Fingers to keys, pen to paper — GO!
More soon…
~kc
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