Writing Short Story Snags--Any Advice?

[kalon]

Ambiguously pegged around the 20th, I have a short story assignment due. My mind. Is. Blank. I cannot think of a single idea I want to write on. If I do think of an idea, it's way overused or won't pan out the way I want it to or one of endless other mind-confuzzling things.

I don't have writer's block, just good idea block, which is so much worse. Since the Anthology has so many excellent writers, I thought I'd ask for advice for making my brain's idea center something with more solidity than tapioca pudding. It can be anything: good ways to brain storm, writing prompts (preferably better than "It was a dark and stormy night."), inspirational quotes, anything good for getting out of a slump.

[Retribution]

[size=1]Open a book and copy down some interesting words. Use those words as a jumping-off point for your short story's concept.

And don't limit your story to the plausible or realistic. A story about fruit vs vegetable genocide should never be out of bounds.[/size]

[Guest NIKI12345]

[IMG][IMG]http://i12.tinypic.com/471cihk.jpg[/IMG][/IMG] First what type of short story do you want. Does it have to convince people to do something or what. Well sometimes looking a pictures help so here is the picture of my idea.

She was running down the dark ally knowing that this was her last chance to save her friend. In her mind ideas raced (Kari I will save you just wait, I?m coming) She raced up the dark ally until she came upon a dark black van and she knew these were the people who stole her friend Kari.

Well now you have to write what happens from there. Hope it helps. Privet message me if you want more.

The picture is of the girl trying to save her friend. You have to name her because she is the main character so I thought you wanted to name her.

[Revelation]

[size=1][color=#4B5B5B]I have similar problems with how to start writing, especially for RPs. However, I've found that if you just gather some ideas and branch off of those, you'll be able to come to a conclusion. Also if it helps any, I listen to music and sometimes a lyric in the song jumps out at me.

You could also try first thinking about who your character is, what his/her problem is, what the main idea of the story is going to be, and just get a good grasp of your story as a whole then take out little details and lay it all out.

As for Retribution's idea, I do that sometimes. I'll be reading a book and I'll write down words or phrases that seem interesting. Then, like I said before, I branch out ideas.

Hope that helps.[/size][/color]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]Same here.

I like Retri's idea of using random words and going off of that (fruit and veggie genocide? Like in Disgustipated?) cause it can take you places you don't expect. Using ideas you've brewed on is dangerous cause it may not turn out like you invision. With random topics you can pull something out that's crazy, new, and fun.[/COLOR]

[Boo]

[size=1]I had to write a short story once and I had the same problem. But I just chose the genre 'on the edge of reality' and I went nuts on psychology. Messing with peoples minds (or dreams or whatever) is a very easy thing to do if you don't have any inspiration. Oh and I also added in some little ideas from international folklore which is also a very good well to use when you're running out of ideas yourself.

My first attempt to write a short story was a more fantasy like one, but I didn't like that one, as it wasn't really original. It was one of those thirteen in a dozen kinds of stories like most fantasy, where as psychology and dreams can always be original.

Who am I fooling? I've had a writer's block for over three years. You should of course go for fruits and vegetables. [/size]

[Rachmaninoff]

When I've had to write a short story and it seems like I can't think of a single thing to write about, I've turned to taking a recent and yet wacky dream that I've had and writing it out. I've gotten some pretty strange stories by doing that.

Or you could just do what Retribution mentioned. A story about fruit vs vegetable genocide certainly sounds wacky to me.

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Arial]Sorry I'm late. Life has been happening to me at a rather alarming rate. (You know what I mean.)
[QUOTE=kalon]...I cannot think of a single idea I want to write on. If I do think of an idea, it's way overused or won't pan out the way I want it to or one of endless other mind-confuzzling things.

I don't have writer's block, just good idea block....[/QUOTE]
If you will pardon my language, my dear, to hell with ideas. You've already got enough quirky characters to blow any and all conventional ideas clear out of the water; just start watching them for a half-hour or so. (Have Virgil and Hilde get into a fight or something.) If you feel a clear-cut situation is absolutely necessary, then by all means pick a random one and make as much fun of it as you can. Awkward moments, complete lack of reverence, deadpan, just schtick in general.

And [COLOR=DarkRed]Retribution[/COLOR] actually has a good point, even if it's a little too satirical-prone for my skills yet. I was once required to write a short story/poem/song/piddly-piece-of-crap about an iris once in English class, as a "Creative Writing" assignment. Though I was not the only person in the room to actually animate said flower, I was the only one in the room who even thought of trying "wood nymph", especially a nastie one at that. Basically, if you want to use a concept that you feel is now somewhat overused and trite, try asking "But what if [I]this[/I] were a ____________?" [I]¿Comprende?[/I] Take whatever you've got swirling around in your noggin and just screw with it. Fun stuff tends to happen.[/FONT]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[font=Arial][size=2][color=DarkGreen]Poems.

My assessments for creative writing were actually based on poems. We had to choose a poem and then write from the 'theme' of the poem, but not re-write the poem. I found it quite difficult to begin with, frankly, because everything I came up with was silly, or trite, or too far out there for the teachers to be able to get it.

In the end it was two days before and I finally reverted back to my original idea -- and it worked best out of everything I tried. I used the poem "Return of Persephone" as a jumping off point for a simile between the myth of Persephone and Dis as a likeness to the current situations in split families. It was obscure, but it worked.

So personally, I would think that perhaps, you already know what it is that you need to write, you just haven't accepted it yet. :p Besides, even a trite or cliched work can be twisted to something new.
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[kalon]

Thank you to all who have replied, because you have been tremendous help.

First off, as many people have mentioned it, I do enjoy the random words idea, because linking words that aren't necessarily alike forces you to think. We've already done two journal entries like that, using incredibly random words.

Also, because [b]Retribution's[/b] idea has clawed into my head, I believe I will someday write a fruit versus veggie genocide story, because it continues to eat at my mind what role tomatoes would play.

I have finally found what i want to write, which in the end, is going to be messing with dreams and psychology as [b]Boo[/b] suggested, and also related to a dream I just woke up from, as [b]Rachmaninoff[/b] had proposed. I'm trying to make it a more serious story, because our dear teacher Mr. Walker is hoping for stories to match Anton Chekov, to whom he has a memorial in class. Luckily, the date's been moved back, so I can polish it a bit more, and then maybe post it on OB. (You can then decide whether it was worth your time to give me advice. ^_~ )

Also, before I forget (not that I ever could, you know), [b]Allamorph[/b]: the teacher knows of my novel, and specifically told me to write something different. He wanted us to break out of the ordinary (or our individual ordinaries) in writing these. Therefore, no Everwonder residents will be used, set on fire, or stabbed by Hilde in the making of this short story. (Although technically, a guy that reminds me somewhat of Harlequin's real personality will be a major character.)

[Allamorph]

[quote name='kalon'](Although technically, a guy that reminds me somewhat of Harlequin's real personality will be a major character.)[/quote]
[FONT=Arial]And thus you've discovered the way around your restrictions. Different name, but maybe they're actually the same....?

<_<

>_>

[I]ssshhhhh[/I][/FONT]