Hi everyone, Sometimes I receive emails and letters about my books or my characters. Other times, readers ask me about their writing. Usually they ask for help when they're stuck.
I do this too. Luckily, my husband David is also a writer and his office is next door to mine. Sometimes we call out to each other for advice.
This week I had an email from Sony and I thought some of you might have had the same problem, so I've put her question and my answer here so we can share them.
Dear Christine,
This is a wanna-be author! I wanted to ask you a question and a bit of advice if that's okay with you. Well you see I've written a plan of my story, but when I'm almost done another load of ideas come that I want to use but that would make my story more complicated and it wouldn't make sense- and you see everything will go wrong and it ends up with me not completing the story and I do want to complete the story without any of those delays.
I know half of what I said hardly made any sense but can you give me any advice whatsoever?
Oh and my question is what's/whose your inspiration that made you get into writing?? Just in case you want to know why I asked that, it's because I'm just being a bit curious there's no harm in that is there?
It's easy to get muddle when you have too many threads.
There are ways to sort this:
Write in one sentence what your story is about.
Stick to this. If a character or plot turn doesn't strictly fit the theme or idea behind the story, then it has to be cut. Even if you really like that character or happening. You can save them and use them in another book.
This works. I wrote a short, funny book to fit a series but the publisher didn't want to use it. I really liked the Grandfather in the story, so I kept him and, with a few changes, used him in Cool Bananas.
You might be surprised to read that Grandpa sat in my ideas file for about 10 years before I found the perfect spot for him.
Write a storyboard or short outline.
Very simple, not a long complicated telling of everything in the story.
You can do a storyboard at any point in your story. Before you start, in the muddly middle or even when you are finished and ready to edit.
This technique is used a lot in script writing for TV series.
Click here to see a sample storyboard for Knocked Out, a short story in Outer Face.
Following your storyboard will help keep you on track.
Record your ideas.
If you're worried that you will forget all your rush of brilliant ideas when you are writing one story, then clean them from your mind by recording them. Sometimes this works. Either sit down with a notebook and pen - or open a file on the computer - and write down all the ideas that are crowding your mind. Keep sitting there until all the ideas are recorded.
Then take a break and come back to finished the story you want to finish.
Decide what you are writing.
Perhaps your idea is so complicated that really is a novel not a short story.
Sometimes writers (of all ages) ask me how long a story should be.
Well, my answer is usually, 'How long is a piece of string?' (same answer)
But generally, a complicated idea takes a lot of words to tell.
A simple idea takes fewer words.
Take a break.
Sometimes writers get stuck if they sit too long and worry.
Take a break from your story, go for a walk a swim - do something active. The answer to your writing problem often comes when you are relaxed and doing something else.
Click here for more hints about what to do when you're stuck writing a story.
Help wanted cartoon: Jeff Bucchino, Wizard of Draws
