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It happens to a lot of writers. They stare at the paper or at the computer screen and can't think of one thing to put there. The "idea well" has gone dry.
When that happens, often your best strategy is to get away from the paper or computer and go find some ideas. Easy, right? Yes, maybe easier than you think. Here are 3 actions you can take when you run out of ideas:
What can you see? Ordinary stuff -- or is it? Everything you see suggests a story. That candy bar wrapper under that bush -- how did it get there? Who passed by and tossed it away? Where was the person going, and why? In what mood did the person throw the wrapper? Angry (over what?) Distracted (by what?) Secretive (not supposed to be eating candy bars?) Generous (shared the candy bar with a new friend)?
You can write several short explanations of how the candy bar wrapper (or whatever you see) got there. Then you can take one explanation and make it into a longer story.
What objects do you see which were once owned by someone else? How did you get them? There's a story behind each object. If you don't know the true story, invent one.
Now go further: If you could give one of your possessions to anyone in the world, to whom would you give it, and why? Write your answer to that question, and you'll learn a lot about yourself and what is important to you. Now pretend you're the person who receives the object. How would that person write the story of how the object came to them?
If you don't have an idea file, start one! Any time you see or hear something unusual, write it down. Just make some quick notes about it and put the paper in a file. Maybe it's a funny way somebody says something. Or a strange event in the news. Or a memory which comes back to you because of a certain sound or scent. Write those things down and keep them. (Of course you can also store them in your computer.) As your file grows, you'll always have a source of ideas. Some of them you may not use for years, but someday you'll pull them out and be glad you saved them.
Do you ever get into a writing project and get stuck? You started out fine, but now you aren't sure which direction the work should go. You feel lost. There's no good map to the end of the piece.
Or do you ever find that a piece veers off in all sorts of unplanned directions? It keeps going and going, but it won't stay on track. You thought you had a plan when you started, but now you're not sure.
In either case, the most likely explanation for the trouble is that your writing lacks a definite purpose. If we know why we're writing, we won't get lost in the process, and we won't wander off on useless side trips. (Well, less often, anyhow.)
Before you write, decide on your purpose. Do you want to:
* PERSUADE?
* INFORM?
* or ENTERTAIN?
Most pieces of writing include all three elements, but one should dominate.
If you want to PERSUADE, you must be convinced in your own mind that your ideas are valuable and true. You also need to know your audience (your readers). Will they resist your ideas? How will you overcome their resistance? Build your case point-by-point. Anticipate your readers' objections and answer them. Along the way you will also inform -- well-researched facts will help convince your reader. You may even entertain -- humor is very persuasive. Now read through your piece. Would YOU be persuaded? If not, your reader probably won't be either.
If you want to INFORM, know your facts and state them clearly. Explain terms and concepts which are unfamiliar to your audience. Answer the reader's basic questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? As much as possible, keep your own opinions out of your writing. If you feel a drive to convince your reader of a particular viewpoint, step back and re-evaluate your purpose. Perhaps what you really want is to persuade rather than to inform. When you read through your piece, look carefully for unanswered questions, then go back and supply the missing information.
If you want to ENTERTAIN, realize that being funny is serious business. Your audience (you hope) will laugh at what you write, but you probably won't laugh while you write it. Work as carefully as if you were writing to persuade or to inform. Anybody can be silly or crude, but genuine humor makes people see things in a new way. The soul of humor is surprise. Offer unexpected twists, but not too many, and you will entertain your reader. Read your piece out loud. Does it sound like you're trying too hard, or does it sound natural?
A friend of mine was taking a painting class, and I asked him what he was working on lately. He replied, "Our teacher has us drawing the negative spaces." I had no idea what he meant. He explained that they would look at a tree, and instead of drawing the branches, they would draw the spaces between the branches. Look up through a tree and you'll see what he meant. Between the branches you see empty shapes of sky (or perhaps buildings or other trees). The class drew those shapes. When they finished, they discovered they had also drawn the branches, even though they never drew a branch directly.
A writer can write in the "negative spaces." Suppose you want to write about freedom. You don't have to use the word freedom; you don't have to write about it directly. Instead, write about what life is like for those who don't have freedom. Write around the edges of "freedom" by describing its opposite. When you finish, you'll discover that you have written a powerful piece about freedom though you never directly mentioned the subject.
Writing in the negative spaces is also a strong approach for scary writing. The monsters we sense but never see are far more frightening than any monsters we could meet face-to-face. Keep your scary stuff out of sight and on the edges. Your readers will shiver!
Send me a sample of your writing. Save it as a text file, then copy and paste into this box. Use only your first name (for example, "by Sandy") or no name at all. Clicking the "Submit" button sends it to me as a regular e-mail message.
I'll respond with comments. Thanks and keep writing!