Short Story Tip Time

6th Installment

Friday, April 21st, 2017

Good Evening Short Story Writers, Authors, Novelists and aspiring Authors & Novelists ~

We're back once again to discuss writing the first sentence of our Short Stories.

In our last Session, we discussed eight Short Story ideas to get you going with your fabulous Writing.  You should have written Notes in your Journal, and tried your hand at writing the first sentence of your Short Story.

It is really a great deal of fun to come up with a creation of your own making from scratch.  It is even more fun when you don't think about it too hard or too long.

Many first time Writers start out with plots, outlines, scripts, or lay-outs with a flurry of detail.  That is fine if you are the type of person that has to have things in order before you begin.  However, we are moving along the path of making this Short Story Writing Project a relaxing an enjoyable Session that won't stress you out.

Writing is about the discovery of new worlds, and definitely about finding a path that leads you to deeper insight concerning the stuff you are made of.

If you had the chance to test your short story idea or ideas out on your friends, a Writer's Group, or an online community, then you may have come back here with good feedback that helped you to buzz right along with the beginning of your Short Story.

Now here is where we learn more about what our first sentence can do to provide inspiration and motivation to keep the momentum going . . .

Take this first sentence for example:

"Audrey took the black rose and laid it on the grave."

In what direction does that sentence lead your mind?

Does it make you think about being at the grave of a friend or a foe?

Does this sentence immediately make you wonder about who Audrey is?

Alright, with those two questions in mind, your next logical step would be to talk about the setting.  Where is this grave?  What is the weather like?  Whose grave is this?  Why the black rose?

From those points, you would then roll on into your next sentence . . .

"After battling for months with her ex-husband about the properties they owned together, and then finding out that he had committed suicide, Audrey resigned herself to leaving a black rose at his grave."

From the second sentence, we now know on whose grave the black rose was laid, and a touch about why the color "black".

Our third sentence would go further into Audrey's background, and then move on to the location of where the scene is taking place.

You'll find that after laying down one sentence after another, your mind will develop the story magically!

If you have any questions about the process of writing your first sentence, or about developing your story line, just tune in to our next . . .

Tip Time!

7th Installment coming right up! 

Peace, Love & Light,

  René

©Copyright - René Allen - APRIL 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Writing the first sentence

Short Story Tip Time

5th Installment

Thursday, April 20th, 2017

Good Afternoon everyone ~ Hopefully you are back here with the first sentence of your Short Story.  We're going to go over ideas for your short story just in case you have drawn a blank (which I sincerely doubt resourceful writer!).

If by chance you were able to come up with a first sentence with ease, the ideas that will be shared with you today will just be something additional for your Journal.  Remember that Notes are always helpful for your future Writing Projects.

Whatever idea that you may happen to come up with, the best thing to do is to write the first sentence.

Here is a quick List of Ideas for Short Stories:

1.  What has happened to you in your life that had a great impact on the way your life was going?  Was there ever a death in your family or a friend that passed away suddenly that took you off course financially or emotionally?  If so, write about it.  Tell your story in a way that expresses all of the emotions that you felt when the incident happened.  Were you able to fully grieve, or are you still in the process of grieving?  Take a moment to write sincerely and thoughtfully about your feelings.

2.  Did you ever move to a different state or travel to a different place and discover new and exciting things or places that you would not have ever had an inclination to look into before your move?  If so, write about it.  Tell your story in such a way that the Reader will feel your excitement, and experience the newness of life that you felt.

3.  Have you ever met a person that completely changed your trajectory?  You may have had a dream that was packed away, and someone came along that awakened that dream in you.  If so, write about it.  Fuel your dream even further by writing exactly what you have learned through your connection with the individual that walked into your life at just the right time.

4.  Have you ever been wounded either physically or emotionally?  How did the wound effect your life?  Write your story about the circumstances surrounding your wound(s), and the aftermath.  What did you learn?  How can you help someone else with your story?  Did you go through a medical process that you can share in your story?  Did you seek therapy?  If so, what type of therapy, and how did it help you?  Your story may change someone's life by providing needed encouragement or a sense of understanding.

5.  Have you ever seen a ghost?  When did you witness the ghost or ghosts?  Was it in a property that you purchased and moved into?  Was it in a relative's home?  Was it inside or outside?  Have you experienced the presence of spirits that you could not see fully, but you could sense fully?  If so, go ahead and tell your story.  Let your Readers feel the presence of the ghosts and/or spirits just as you did.  Give your Readers a view of how the experience felt to you and let your Readers know how the experience affected you.  And don't pay any attention to people who may laugh at this story idea, there are thousands of people who have experienced ghosts/spirits, and are not afraid to talk about it.  Consider the many movies made about this subject matter.

6.  Have you ever had a bad encounter with a friend, neighbor, spouse, significant other, family member, associate, or co-worker that ended up becoming a lasting feud?  How did the feud start, and what was the reason for the feud?  Is the feud still ongoing?  Allow your Reader to understand the exact details by writing all about it.  In the process of writing your story about the feud, you may even discover a solution or resolution that can be implemented.

7.  Do you have a fear of anything?  What is that fear?  Why do you fear whatever it is that you fear?  Is the fear debilitating?  How did your particular infirmity come about?  Any physical or mental weakness should always be addressed, and the best way to address fears and other debilitating issues of any kind is to write about those issues or infirmities in detail.  In doing so, you will not only help yourself, you will potentially help others as well.

8.  Try writing about coming into a fortune.  You can make the story personal, or write about a fictitious character that comes from a state of poverty into the comfort of riches.  Remember that stories that involve huge sums of money can also take a sudden turn and plummet.   You can write about either gaining successful riches, or the terrible pain of losing riches.  Another thought for you about Riches -- they are not always in the form of money as so many people believe.  Riches can come in the form of education, the beauty of natural resources, enlightenment, spiritual maturity, the awareness of the beauty of life and the loved ones in your life.

The above eight (8) Short Story ideas are just a start for you today.  Take a little time today to think about coming up with a few Short Story ideas of your own.  Use your Journal to write down those short story ideas that peak your interest.

You can test some of your ideas out before you begin writing.  Sharing your story idea with a friend, a writer's group, or an online community can add fun to your short story writing project.  When you toss your story ideas around, you'll be surprised at the additional input that you will receive.  You'll also gain writing buddies and those who will be interested in reading the story that you come up with.

        

As mentioned in our last Short Story Tip Time Session, there is no short list of ideas for Short Story tales.  You'll find that short story ideas will begin to flow to you freely.  Just make sure you have your Writing Journal at hand to capture those awesome ideas!

~ See you back here for the 6th Installment of our Short Story Tip Time Session ~

Be ready to Write in your Journal at all times!

Peace, Love & Light,

  René

©Copyright - René Allen - APRIL 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Short Story Tip Time

4th Installment

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

We're starting this day off bright and early with another dose of our Short Story Tip Time.  We will learn a little more about writing a short story.  We'll also find out about ideas for writing your short story.

One thing is for sure, there is no short list of ideas for Short Story tales.  They are as unique and varied as the day is long ~ well maybe longer.

Everyone has a story to tell.  There are so many variations of the same story that it would make you head spin if you allowed all of the various stories of the same sort to infiltrate your brain.

You know how many movies there are about the same subject matter right -- the airplane tales, the scary house tales, the relationship tales involving the third party, the kids on vacation  tales, the work environment romance tales, and the list goes on and on.

Now, lets just say that you have a story inside of you that no one has ever heard before, or seen before, or written about before.   Do you think that is possible?

I guarantee you it is possible to have a unique story -- the names will change, the places will change, the scenes in the story will change, and the twists and turns will change -- even if someone has dared to tell a similar story like yours before -- your story will be different -- maybe even better!

Take a moment today or this evening to sit down at your trusty typewriter, and wrap your head around writing your Short Story . . .

Writing the first sentence

All you need to do to get started is to write the first sentence.  Let your mind get tuned up.  Look at the typewriter keys.  See how beautiful they are?  Look closely.  Get familiar with the Backspace bar, the Enter key, the Shift keys on the left and right, your Tab key, your Caps Lock key on the left, your ctrl keys on the left and right, and most importantly your Delete key.  Your Delete key will be used a lot.  And so will your space bar and your backspace bar.  We love to go backwards and forwards in life -- some of us, and those two keys seem to fit the personalities of the back and forth folks.  Your space bar will not have any letters or writing on it.  It will be blank.  It is blank because it will be used a lot and there is no need to put any letters on it that will wear off.

You'd be surprised at how many people just sit down at the typewriter and type away without ever taking a look at the keys before they start.  They have typed so much over the years, it is like riding a bike.  For some writers, they have worn off the letters on the keys because they type so much.  I'm one of those people, so don't think I'm talking about you on the sly.

Let us focus on writing the first sentence.  What is it that is on your mind at the moment you sit down at the typewriter.  Think for a minute if you draw a blank.  Breathe in and out to collect your thoughts if you need to.  Your first sentence is the momentum starter and the spark for your story.

You can decide what you want your story to be about or not.  It is not really important right now.  All we want to do is write one sentence.

We will come back here for Short Story ideas in our next Session.  Today's practice is to sit at the typewriter and type.  One sentence is all we're looking for right now.  If you do more than one sentence, glory hallelujah!  We might just have a real Writer on our hands.

See all you wonderful Writers and Authors back here for Short Story ideas in our next Blog Session.

We're getting our first sentence together

Peace, Love & Light,

  René

©Copyright - René Allen - APRIL 2017 - All Rights Reserved