Writer's Log- Advice for Writers (What to Write About)

Welcome to the 2nd log of what I hope will become a daily writing advice log for freelance writers or those hoping to become professional writers. I have met many people who talk of wanting to write, but feel either academically unprepared or creatively inadequate. More often though, the challenge is deciding what to write about, which arguably can be based on a process or by freewriting; a loose term where you simply write about the first thing that comes to mind in whatever style you feel, paying little heed to grammar, content, or thought continuity.

Writer's block is a far reaching term that describes an inability to write or even think of a creative sentence; even a lack of creative "energy". The causes of writer's block can be an overly active mind, busy schedule, a creative lull, emotional issue, laziness, or forgetfulness. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes writer's block can be overcome with a process or series of triggers that break up the block. This can be particularly effective if your blocks seem to occur around the same time or after a certain set of circumstances.

Since I am a screenwriter, I am going to start with how I solve the block of a story outline. Most of my ideas are purely spontaneous, meaning I did not plan the story; the thought simply occurred to me (i.e. "What if a young girl fell down a hole and entered a magical world with white rabbits?") When this happens, I feel very blessed because then it is incredibly easy to simply write out the story synopses before I type one word of dialogue. I can clearly hear my characters voices, see them, and can type the script as if I was transcribing it straight from a movie screen. However, as one writes more and more scripts, this occurrence happens less frequently.

If you are attempting your first script, novel, or article without an idea in sight start Brainstorming. Brainstorming is probably the most effective way to get your brain in creative mode and start churning out ideas so you have a Pool of ideas from which to choose. Writing on a sheet of paper, make 3 or 4 columns and categorize your ideas (i.e. Real Events, Places I Want to See, Personalities I Dislike, etc.). Please limit your columns to 8 ideas or less, otherwise you will stay in brainstorm mode too long and never actually develop any of your story ideas. I know people who are always talking about these great ideas of theirs, but are creatively paralyzed and have no idea how to get past go.

Randomly pick one idea out of each column. Write a paragraph (no more than 5 sentences) describing each idea. Whichever one  holds your interest long enough that you pick up enough steam and write more than a paragraph is probably going to be the one you should start developing in detail.

Some writers worry that what they choose to write about will be dull or too controversial or complex for the public. Don't worry about that. If 5-10 people tell you they don't like your idea, it is either before it's time or a really bad idea. Sorry but 5 strangers don't lie.

Notice how I didn't tell you to write about what interests you because most writers have too many interests to count or make broad sweeping judgments about what will appeal to the public. Normally, it is more interesting to write about a subject that is new to you so you can learn something as you write, which often prevents writer's block.

So I hope this helped. Until next time.

Write On!