Fiction writers, does this sound familiar?
“I want to write a story, but I don’t have any ideas!”
YAWN.
Look, I know the feeling. But you can’t use that excuse anymore. Why? Because I’m about to give you a story-generating tool that’ll leave you with no excuses.
Except maybe that you have no time. I respect that.
But please, none of this about having no ideas. If you use this tool, you’ll be coming up with ideas and writing every day, as long as you make time for it.
And what’s the name of this idea-generating tool, you ask? I call it the endless story journal.
Works like this …
Step 1: Create … a Word Document
Zing! Not so hard, right?
I start here because a word-processing file — even if it’s not MS Word — is the ideal format for an endless story journal. Even if you normally write longhand, as I do, you’re better off doing this exercise digitally. It’ll help with speed, word count tracking, and backups.
Save the file with any title you like, whether it’s quirky, mysterious, or conventional. (Mine is “wake up project pt 2” … which means nothing to anyone except me.) If you keep it in a folder, make sure there’s a shortcut on your desktop for easy access.
Now, in your document, type a heading with today’s date. Two lines down, make a subheading: “Warmup.”
Plug in those headphones, turn on some music …
And get ready to write.
Step 2: Do a Manic Mind Dump
Give your fingers free reign and Just Start Writing. Anything that comes to mind, type it. Total stream of consciousness here.
Write about your worries for the day, the questions you have about your works in progress, the music you’re listening to, the rumbling in your stomach, the shaking in your hands from 5th cup of coffee you really shouldn’t have drunk …
Just one rule: don’t stop!
I usually keep writing until I’ve managed to clear my mind of whatever I was thinking (read: worrying) about before. Sometimes I simply write until “it’s time.”
You decide when to end the warmup. Some days it’ll be a quick journal entry, and some days it’ll be a full-blown manifesto.
Once you finish, though, the real fun begins.
Two lines down, type “Writing Session.”
Step 3: Don’t Panic
I mean it!
Step 4: Crank Out a First Line IMMEDIATELY, However Weird, or Conventional, It May Be
You know you can do it!
Take inspiration from a line of a song, from a photo, or maybe from a list of theme prompts.
If all else fails, type “Once upon a time” and throw in a character, a setting, and some desire, change or unexpected event. Even if it’s just an apple falling on the knight-errant’s head as he’s riding home drunk from a party, after which he falls off his horse.
That made no sense.
I don’t care, and you shouldn’t, either.
Step 5: Continue the Story, No Matter What, For at Least 500 Words
In this session, you don’t have to freewrite. You can pause now and then to plan your next line — but don’t pause too long. Focus on forward movement.
For a little discipline, keep story structure in the back of your mind. Remember plot points and resolution. Introduce and resolve conflict.
But do it quickly, with broad brush strokes.
And don’t forget to play. Here, you’re just experimenting. It’s still more or less a warmup, just more focused.
Push yourself to keep it going, at least until you hit 500 words. (For especially inspired days, you might want to set an upper time limit. I usually set 1-2 hours, depending on how much I can spare.)
Afterward, even if you haven’t finished the story, give yourself a pat on the back and a cookie. You’ve accomplished your mission. You have a ripe idea and the beginnings of a short story on your hard drive.
Step 6: Keep Track of Your Word Count
You ask — why 500 words?
And here’s where I admit I stole the idea from Jeff Goins, founder of my500words.com.
Jeff challenges writers to discipline themselves and write 500 words every day for 31 days. I did the challenge earlier this year, and it was so fruitful and so doable that I kept going past Day 31. Then, more recently, I was trying to get back into storytelling and decided to use the same format. (Hence this entire blog post.)
Anyway, one especially helpful thing about my500words is the insistence on keeping track of your word count — whether in a document, a spreadsheet, or a notebook. I personally keep an Excel spreadsheet, where I record the date, my writing session word count, and a little note about what I worked on that day.
Documenting your work like this is important because it confirms you. You scroll past lines of dated entries, and the days look full. It’s like, “Look at all I’ve done so far. I’m a writer!”
It’s especially nice looking back at the 1000+ days. 🙂
Step 7: Do This Every Day
Most important step, folks.
For the endless story journal to work — for it to become an ever-gushing well of story ideas — you have to keep it running. If you have to miss one day because of other commitments, well, fine. I do that, too. But throw yourself back in as soon as you can.
Some days — maybe even most days — the ideas will be stinkers. Other days, lightning will flash out of a clear blue sky and an unassuming story will suddenly capture your imagination. Boom, magic!
If you like where something’s going, but you don’t have time to finish it in one day, by all means continue it over a serious of sessions. (Warming up each time, of course.)
If you’re disappointed in the story you began … no worries. Trial and error. Start fresh the next day.
Now and then, you should go back through your entries, combing for gems. Ideally, you’ll copy and paste the good stories into a new document for revision.
The point, though, is to create an ongoing chain of stories … and to do it so consistently that it pushes you past fear and self-criticism.
Because it’s a journal, rather than an official manuscript, it encourages you to let go and play a little.
That’s what it’s about, really. Learning to play again … because play is where the ideas come out.
Now tell me:
What do you do to “play” at writing? How do you actively come up with new story ideas?
