Day 20 - Writer's Block and Mining for Ideas Through Generators

For me, writing is much like riding a bike along mountainous terrain with bouts of terrible struggle to get up the hill followed by the exhilaration of gliding swiftly down the other side.

I thought that detailed outlining and planning would be helpful, and it has been - but not this week. This week has been a struggle. While I have been diligent about sitting down to write every day, the story has eluded me.

This week has been a test of my fortitude as a writer. When the writing is going well, it is easy to say, "I love writing." When the writing is going badly, it is easy to ask, "What was thinking when I decided to write a novel?" For me, the thoughts of being a failure actually work as an impetus pushing me forward. It keeps me working even though I may only write 100 words, and that scant offering is like trying to take a bone away from a hungry dog.

I keep at it because I realize this is just a part of the journey. Eventually, I will reach the crest of that hill and fly down the other side.

What Do I Do When I'm Struggling with Writing?

I use the times when I am slogging along up the mountain to engage in my 3 R's. I read. I revisit. And I research.

READ - This week's reading has been provided courtesy of Richard Matheson's Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories. Matheson's writing inspires me. His stories epitomize the fact that sometimes the worst monsters come from within us.

REVISIT - Sometimes it's old stories, sometimes it's whatever I am currently working on. This week, it's been old writer's journals. Revisiting things I have previously written sometimes will jump start ideas for current projects or remind me of ideas for new projects. This week's offerings have inspired a couple of new short story ideas.

RESEARCH - This takes many forms depending on where my head is at when I begin. Sometimes it is research for a current project. Often it is craft research on some aspect of writing that I am working on. This week it was research for ideas. This week's research led me to the discovery of a ton of random writing generators, and these are what I am going to share with you today.

Random Writing Generators from Around the Web

1. Plot Suggestions Generator from RanGen - choose a genre and get plot ideas.
2. Random Title Generator - Gives 6 results at a time to help spark ideas. Also an excellent tool for free writing.
3. Character Appearance Generator from RanGen - choose gender, type, and detail level. Get a brief physical character sketch.
4. Bulk Identity Generator from Fake Name Generator- Need a crowd of identities? Look no further. Choose name sets, countries, genders, ages, fields to include (given name, surname, middle initial, address, and much more), and quantity (up to 50,000). The whole list will be delivered to your email as soon as it is complete.
5. Identity Generator, also from Fake Name Generator - get a single detailed identity generated based on gender, name set, and country.
6. Character Quirk Generator - Random ideas to make your character more unique.
7. Character Motive Generator - Another offering from RanGen. Looking for what drives your characters? Find ideas here.
8. Cause of Death Generator from springhole.net. This generator offers cause of death for characters, but the site has many other interesting generators to choose from.
9. Fantasy Name Generator - Choose from a long list of types of names to generate, from serious to fun to specialized and generate away.
10. Worlds Terrain Generator from RanGen - Where are your characters going next? Choose forest, ocean, desert, mountain, jungle, or river and receive a description of the area.
11. Worlds City Generator from RanGen - Offers a collection of statistics to lay the foundation for your fictional city or town.
12. City Map Generator - Downloadable program that allows users to create a physical map of their town or city.
13. The Forge - For help with all things fantasy. The linked portal takes users to fantasy name generator; creature name generator; spell, effect, and arcane name generator; and setting and location name generator.
14. Serendipity - another site with a collection of generators, including city and country name generators and a variety of character name generators.
15. chaotic shiny - Tons of fantasy-themed generators. People to culture, accessories to evil, plot to color. This site has a lot to offer.
16. RanGen - While I've included specific links to several generators on this site, there is so much more available. Many more generators and monthly writing challenges, A visit to the site is worth your time.

I hope you can find something helpful or worthwhile among these sites. If nothing else, they are great resources for free writing, challenge writing, or sprint writing activities. 

Until next time. . .

Good Day and Good Writing to you all!

Novel Stats - pages: 72; word count: 19986 

Writing Day 14

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I love this quote from Joseph Heller. It seems that when you write, trouble is just a part of the process. I think this is so important to remember when you are writing anything, but especially when you are working on something as long and drawn out as a novel. Sometimes, when the trouble comes it seems like you will never write anything again. And that negative outlook is just no good. You begin doubting your writing ability ("I don't really think I can write anyway."), then you doubt your capability ("Even if I could write, a project like this is just beyond the scope of my abilities."), then you doubt your publishability ("Even if I ever get this thing written, no one is ever going to publish it."), finally, you doubt your salability ("Even if someone takes a chance on publishing it, no one will ever read it.") Okay, so I took some liberties with the -abilities, but you get my meaning. It all becomes a spiraling mess of self-doubt circling the trash can drain.

With this in mind, I have taken a couple of days respite from the novel to re-energize and refocus my writing. And you know what? It actually worked! Can you believe it?

If you have read my previous entries, then you know Verity (my main character) and I have been having a bit of a struggle with telling her story in a way that suited both of us. I did move forward with other aspects of the story, but because Verity is THE center of the story, it just seemed wrong to move on without her.

Yesterday, my daughter and I took a field trip. Just as Verity had to "go home," I decided I needed to take that trip myself. To go out and drive the back roads, to be out in the country (the real country), to go down those old gravel roads and pick wildflowers, to be "home."

Just for fun, here are a few of the pictures I took on our little field trip.

"Going home" has been highly productive for both me and Verity. Today, I finished Chapter 7 and half of Chapter 8. I also posted two new articles to my education blog (Building Intelligence Plus Character). All in all, a full day of work. I believe I my need to make field trips a regular part of my process. :) So, until next time. . .

Good day and Good Writing to you all!

Today's stats -

NIP - WTA - pages: 51; word count: 13621

Writing Days 11/12

Okay, so what can I say about this weekend. . . well, I guess I would say "interesting" just about covers it. Did I get a lot of work done? Ummm. . . not really. Did I learn a lot. Yes, yes, I did.

I started out the weekend with high expectations. I was able to get so much writing done over the week that I just knew this weekend would be full of writing genius. I set everything up to work - as is my habit - black notebook, 2 blue ink pens, cigarettes, and Diet Coke, all laid out and ready to go. I sat in my favorite spot on the front porch, opened the notebook, and. . . nothin', absolutely no single thing came to mind. I knew where the story was going. Knew what needed to be said. Knew where my character needed to go next, what she needed to do, and what obstacles were to be laid in her path. Still nothing.

I began doodling around the edges of the paper and thinking about the story. I wrote a sentence, then another, then a paragraph. And the entire time, the voice in my head kept saying, Crap! This is crap! What are you doing?

I wrote a second paragraph, finished a page, then two. But, I still couldn't shake that voice. No, no, NO! This isn't right at all.

Now, before I continue, I feel it's necessary to mention that I do not actually have schizophrenia. However, I have been living with this story for much longer than I have actually been writing it. When you read interviews with writers, many talk about writing as a kind of itch in their brains, something that keeps them up at night. That sometimes a story demands so insistently to be told that it will wake them in the middle of the night and refuses to quit until they get the ideas down on paper. That has happened to me for as long as I can remember. I sleep with a notebook and pen beside my bed (have for years and years) just so I don't have to completely get up. Hoping that if I can write it down quickly enough, I may actually be able to just drift back off to sleep quickly. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

But I digress. This story, and perhaps more importantly this character (Verity), has been rattling around my subconscious and my journals since an early creative writing class I took back in the spring of 2009. That is a long time for someone else to occupy that very personal space. By the time I actually started the story in 2013, Verity had already been present for four years, creeping around the periphery and pushing for her story to be told. She has changed very little over the years, other than aging a bit (she began life as a teenager, but she now lives quite happily in her late thirties).

Struggling through those Saturday morning pages, the voice seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. I took a break. Walked around the yard. Then, it hit me. Verity! And, man, she was not happy with me.

I went back and re-read what I had written. Verity was right. It was crap. At this point in the story, Verity is returning to her old home place for the first time in many years. All the family is gone and all that remains is her great-grandmother's old empty house. Besides being a pivotal piece of the story, this is an important moment for Verity - an exorcism of demons, in more ways  than one. I did not do it justice. I did not do her justice. And she let me know that quite plainly.

 I knew it wasn't right, but the words still refused to come. So, what did I do?

I stepped away. I played with my granddaughter. I watched Frozen three times in a row. I went grocery shopping. I cooked supper. I took a breath. Sunday, I watched movies with my daughter and paid a long overdue visit to an old friend. I thought about the story, dreamed about it even, but did not pick it back up.

Driving the dark tree-lined road to get back to town, I realized what needed to be done. A field trip is in order. I already have it planned for Wednesday - just me, Sis, and the camera.

Until then, what's on tap for the novel? Well, fortunately for me, while this is Verity's story, it is also about her telling the stories of others. So, while her story is going to go on hold for a moment, she is going to go ahead and tell the others' stories in the meantime.

She and I are both very happy with this arrangement.