Writing Tip: #3 Dreams

So.... todays post on writing isn't going to be very long but it's powerful and strong!

**....DREAMS....**

DON'T IGNOR THEM!!! 

Just after my body has slipped out of deep sleep and right before waking up is where I get the BEST and most vivid dreams. This is one thing I take to heart when I'm writing. It has really made my writing full of feeling, emotion, and very descriptive scenery. You could say that a dream is like a picture.... it's worth a thousand words but I like to say that its worth a million words because the feelings you get in a dream you can't totally comprehend in a picture.

So there you have it. Write down your dreams, as crazy as they might be I promise you won't regret it.

Writing Tip: #2 Index Cards

Todays writing tip is one of my favorites.... using index cards. I have found this so helpful because I am a very visual kind of person. I have to see what I'm up against and where I need to go. That being said here is my Wednesday writing tip.....

First off grab yourself a stack of index cards and at the top of  the first one label it "Chapter 1" in pencil. On the next write "Chapter 2" and so forth until you have 25 index cards labeled. You can make more or less cards depending on how many chapters you think you will need to finish your book. I like to use 25 because it give me some flexibility.

22 left to go.... :)

Now take that tacky blue stuff you can put on your wall and hang all of the note cards on the wall in chronological order. Next get a stack of sticky notes and write down one of your main ideas on one sticky note. Do the same for the rest of your main ideas and then stick them on the chapter you think the idea will best fit.

I only did 1-10 so you  could see....

Now that you have it all laid out you can see where you need to add a few things.... chapter 2 & 3 might need a little thinking through or what not. You can also move the sticky notes around if later on you think it needs to go somewhere else.

This helps me see how much I still need to get done or how much I have already accomplished. Once I have completed a chapter I take off the sticky note and write on the index card with pencil the main points that happened in that chapter. You can always go back through and add a chapter here or there or take out chapters and this way it's super easy to see what you have going on.

Have you tried doing something like this? If so do share... :)

Writing Tip: #1 Idea List

I know I'm not a New York Times Best Selling Author or even have a piece of work published but I do have a few tips that have helped me on my journey to finish writing my first YA novel. Todays tip is about ideas..... I know that to even start writing you must have an "idea" but I think it would be appropriate to put a 's' on the word idea and say "ideas" because the more ideas you have the more involved your story will be and the more interesting the story line.

The first thing I do when I want to write a new story is write a list off all of the wild ideas that come to my head. I know.... I know....write a list.... duh! right? Well next I wait. I wait for more ideas to come flooding in. This could take a day, a week, or even a month. During this time I keep writing the new ideas onto the same piece of paper and watch my story evolve. Some of my ideas at the beginning my have been a little underdeveloped or immature but thats ok! Thats part of getting the creative juice flowing.

When I'm ready to commit to a few ideas I like best I start to think about how they will eventually fit together. You don't have to have a whole story planned out, if you're someone that likes to fly by the seat of their pants as you write, but you do need to have a vague idea or how are you going to start? All you have to do now is put your fingers to the keys or pen to paper and let that story come out.

I find if I have a trouble spot in my story and I need something extra, I do this little idea exercise.

1. Find a scrap piece of paper
2. Get a PEN!!! Don't use a pencil because you might be tempted to erase something.
3. Give yourself 5 minutes to write down as many ideas as possible on that paper. The crazier the better!
4. After 5 minutes are up, mix and match your ideas to come up with one GREAT idea.
5. Now try and finish writing that trouble spot with your new GREAT idea.

Have you tried doing something like this when writing?