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| I struggle and struggle to come up with an
idea for a story. How do writers do it? |
Sometimes a final sentence pops into a writer’s head,
sometimes an opening line, an idea for a character, a plot line,
or maybe only a title. There is no rule for conceiving a story.
If you’re driving across the Bay Bridge and catch sight
of a man leaning against the railing, gazing out at the water,
you might come up with a dozen different story lines just from
that one image. A story would consist of what the man did before
he arrived on the bridge, what he’s doing on the bridge,
and, perhaps, what he’ll do when he leaves the bridge,
and it can range from something quite subtle to something quite
dramatic.
Having said this, it is not the story that is as important as
how the story is written. And that
may be the real reason new writers have such difficulty coming
up with story ideas. It’s not really the ‘idea’
they’re having trouble with, it’s how to create
a fiction around any idea. This
is borne out by the fact that as writers in our seminars gain
facility with writing, when the techniques become familiar,
well-honed, they never complain about being at a loss for ideas.
The stories come because the writer has developed his or her
ability to write anything well.
In our seminars, especially in our beginner seminars, we always
supply exercises. That way, we supply the ideas while members
work on their technique. Technique is all. It can take a story
about a maimed ship captain chasing a whale and place it in
the canon of great literature. Any idea, in the hands of a skilled
writer in command of his or her craft, will work. It’s
all in the writing.
So our advice is:
• Focus on learning how to
handle the essential elements of fiction writing as described
in this section of the site.
• Take advantage of exercises
and then practice by writing writing writing.
• Remember,
once you learn the craft, every idea is a potential and publishable
story. |
