Writing Creatively Installment 2

Installment 2 is a companion to the following:

Literacy Speaks Volumes: Writing Creatively Installment 1: Imagining Other Worlds You probably like to go to the movies. Most people do. It's a chance to escape, just for a little while, to ...

Ways to Write Creatively

Write a television script about a child prodigy who longs for a normal life.

Write a story about a Seminole girl who saves a panther cub in the Floriday Everglades.

Write a song about a beautiful girl with long hair and sparkling eyes.

Write a description of New York City in the year 4000.

Write a poem comparing envy to a wasp's sting.

Write a novel comparing the life of a big-city girl with that of a small-town boy.

Write a poem about the amount of billboards that have been erected along a scenic highway.

Write a play about how pride can drive away good friends.

As you write, keep the following in mind: 

A good piece of writing entertains the reader.

A good piece of writing solves a conflict or problem.

A good piece of writing has interesting characters.

Here's a big question: Where do you find your story ideas? Here's the big answer: Anywhere and Everywhere!

You might get an idea from a magazine or a photograph, from another story or a cartoon, or from a daydream or nightmare.

As you look and listen around you, you can also play the "What if?" game: imangining any change or new thing that comes into your head. This is a way writers get some great ideas: What if a father shrank his kids? What if a man could strap a rocket to his back?

Think about your purpose and audience:

In writing a story, the one purpose you have is to entertain your readers. You may do it by making them laugh over the mistakes of a silly character. Or you may do it by involving them in a deep mystery. Just give your audience something that will keep them turning the pages.

Starting with Characters and Situations

What keeps a reader turning pages? Almost always it's an interesting main character faced with a conflict--a situation that holds a problem or challenge. How will the brave princess rescue the prince from the tower? How will the class clown ever get the honor roll student to take her seriously?

You can begin your story idea by thinking of character. Suppose your little sister has a girlfriend who is very shy by amazingly sharp when you get her to talk. Or pretend that you see a newspaper photo of a ninety-year-old man from Jamaica. these people stick in your mind somehow--perhaps the girl has unusual eyes or the man has an interesting face. Could you put one in a situation with conflict? Of course you don't have to start with a real person. What kind of story could you build around a shy mouse from Jamaica?

Or you could begin your story in the opposite way. Think of an interesting situation or problem. It may be something you have seen on television, heard about from a friend, or actually experienced.

Maybe you know of someone hiding a cat in an apartment where animals are forbidden. Or you have always wondered what it would be like to be lost in a large city where you don't speak the language. From there, you can build a conflict and a story.

Here are just a few examples of how you might start with a character or a situation to build a story idea. A million other ideas are possible. Just feel free to let your imagination run wild!

Story Ideas:

Character: Ninety-year-old man, born in Jamaica. Has lived almost all of his life in New York City.

Situation: What if he took his Social Security check, ran away from his niece's aparment, and stowed away on a cruise ship bound for Jamaica.

Situation: Someone who can't speak English or Spanish is lost in Houston, Texas.

Character: What if the person is a young boy who speaks Mayan, is visiting with a group of musicians, and has with him a wooden flute that he can play beautifully.

When you are looking for story ideas, remember...

Ideas can come from anywhere: your own experience, television, newspapers, photographs, songs, and more.

Your story needs a main character and some sort of conflict.

Try starting with a character or situation and asking "What if?" to build a story idea.

Now try your hand (and imagination) at using the following characters and situations to come up with a story idea. Work with a small group, and brainstorm as many ideas as you want. Remember: Your situations must hold a conflict, or problem.

Character: A young girl is extremely clever, but she is also painfully shy, always staying in the background.

Situation: What if...

Character: Ahmed Mostafa, with his elderly grandfather, takes care of dozens of homing pigeons on the roof of his building.

Situation: What if...

Situation: Someone is hiding a cat in an apartment where animals aren't allowed.

Character: What if...

Situation: All of the bicycles, roller skates, and skateboards disappear from town.

Character: What if...

You may have gotten a great idea from the group brainstorming in Exercise 1. But if not, now you know how to go about getting one. Remember that you can use anything around you...from everyday experiences to space monsters on television. Decide on your final story idea and write it down.

Teachers: Use the picture book Tough Boris by Mem Fox to illustrate how authors create character. Click on the affiliate link above right to purchase the book.