Read on for the writercize, sample and Heather's bio!
Setting the Stage
Coming up with
ideas on what to write about is never easy. Sometimes it seems like I am
pulling teeth just to get down a few hundred words every day. Other days I feel
like my fingers will just not type fast enough! We all have good days and bad
days, days where we feel like writing is a chore and days where we feel like
there is nothing in the world we would rather be doing.
On the days that
I get stuck for ideas, however, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. One of my
tricks I will share with you now, in the hopes that it, too, will help you get
started in your writing adventure.
writercize : Instead
of coming up with a plot idea or even characters, first start with the setting.
You can look at a painting on the wall, the background on your computer
desktop, or an image on Pinterest. Once you have the setting in mind, picture
what would go on there. Who would live there? What job would they have? What
kind of relationships? What era is it in – modern, historic, fantasy, or
future? Once you get to thinking about the setting, other things start falling
into place. If you do not have access to an image or do not want to look one
up, then try one of these settings below:
·
A dark city
street filled with fog
·
A green
pine forest
·
A towering
glass skyscraper
·
Twisted
trees barely visible in the dark
·
The cogs of
a great machine, slowly turning
·
A
cubicle-filled office
·
A grassy
meadow with a red barn in the distance
·
A
lighthouse in the middle of stormy seas
·
A grey
cement jail cell
writercizer
sample response:
The cell was
the same as it always was. Pale grey-green paint peeled from the ancient walls.
The bars were rusted, coated in sharp, flaky powder. The remnants of names and
numbers were barely visible all across the grey cement, like graffiti washed
away by the sands of time.
Jeremiah
shivered, wishing he had never taken the job. Sure, it sounded like an easy
opportunity to make a few bucks, but as he eyed the cracked and stained wooden
cot in the corner with trepidation he wondered what he had gotten himself into.
“A word of
advice,” the old man croaked, his voice barely audible as he forced the words
past the cancerous lump in his throat, “Stay away from cell number four. That’s
his cell.”
Jeremiah
nodded mutely, stifling a cough as the man’s cigarette smoke curled around his
trembling, yellowed fingers. Jeremiah threw a glance towards cell four, lost in
the shadows. The narrow, barred windows let in precious little light,
especially as the sun set.
As the old
man shuffled down the long, empty corridor, the crash of waves masking his
footfalls, Jeremiah couldn’t help but wonder if Alcatraz was truly as haunted
as the stories said.
Pulling out
his lantern he went to work, the broom scraping against the dust left behind by
inmates long dead but never forgotten.
Author Bio
Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate
about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various
career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites.
She also provides value to www.nanny.net/
service by giving advice on site design as well as the features and
functionality to provide more and more value to nannies and families across the
U.S. and Canada. She can be available at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com.
