Fuzzable
As a writer, your first story will often be hard to produce. This isn’t because you’re bad at writing and it doesn’t mean you should give up. I have scoured the internet far and wide, finding the most common questions asked when writing, and hope to help answer these.
Where can I find inspiration for my storyline?
The biggest part of writing is the storyline. Often, this can also be the hardest part. But once you have an idea, write it down as soon as you can. It may not be your best work, and you might not want it now, but writer’s block affects us all at some point, and these ideas are lifesavers.
Quite often, your own life can be the best inspiration, especially if your target audience is someone like yourself. Even if you think your life is boring; fluff it up a bit. Add some magic into your life, make all the dreams you’ve had into a reality. No one knows your life better than you do.
If you’re like me, you might find it hard to maintain the storyline for very long. Add some action into the mix, introduce someone new, find another obstacle to overcome, a shocking plot twist, find out that list of ideas you’ve had and weave them in. Or just keep it as a short story. Short stories are easy for the reader to keep hold of and not get too lost in what’s happening.
What should I name my characters?
This is a question I’ve seen and heard many times. If I’ve learnt one thing from English and Creative Writing lessons, it’s that symbolism always works. For example, in A Streetcar Named Desire, the main character is called ‘Blanche’, which means white. White is often seen as a very pure colour, something which Blanche is not.
A character’s name will depict their personality and will decide how the reader sees them in their mind. A lot of the time, there won’t be much description on the appearance of the character so a name can form this in a person’s mind. Have you ever watched a film adaptation and thought ‘that’s not how I imagined that character to look’? This is why.
How long should my story be?
However long you want. Don’t forget, there are also a range of different forms a story can be written in: a screenplay, a poem, a novel, so there’s nothing stopping you from creating your own layout. Every idea comes from somewhere and, who knows, maybe your new creation will become the norm in the future!
How can I get my writing out there?
In this new age of technology, there are lots of different platforms you can use to publish your work. For example, you can start a blog of short stories to help get yourself known, you can join the ‘NaNoWriMo’ challenge in November, you can even publish your work on websites such as Wattpad, Createspace, and BookBaby (which also lets you print your own physical copy).
I hope this helps all you aspiring writers out there!
Remember that the CelebMix Team are not trained professionals. We offer our honest, impartial advice on your situation, but you should always seek the advice of a professional when necessary.
