Scared to Write? Try Fan Fiction First

If you're not a writer this might sound strange: sometimes I'm scared to write. If you are a writer, then you have probably experienced this at one point or another. For me it's usually a fear the plot isn't good enough, the characters aren't fun or the world I'm building is boring or doesn't make sense. This is especially true when I'm writing longer pieces of fiction. I can usually hold a story-line together for a short story, but plots get muddled the longer a story gets.

One way I have battled my fear of writing is to go play in someone else's world. It's almost like playing Role Playing Games online. When I'm having trouble thinking of plots and characters of my own, I hop on over to the Wizarding World and jot down some Harry Potter fan fiction. J.K. Rowling has an intricate world already set up for me and her characters are already fully formed. I can come up with new scenarios and settings for them, use old stand-by's and have them interact with characters both old and new. There's also no pressure when writing fan fiction, or at least there shouldn't be. You can't pubhslih Harry Potter fan fiction anyway, so it doesn't need to be perfect. You can write it just for fun while honing your craft.

I have found writing, and writing well, becomes easier the more you do it. The more times you sit down in front of your computer or with a pen and paper the easier it becomes to write something. It's almost like working out, but it doesn't make me sweaty and short of breath or give me a stich in my side.

There are also a multitude of websites out there that welcome fan fiction. People even get friends or other online writers to beta-read and edit their works of fan fiction. It's really kind of cool. I only have experience writing Harry Potter fan fiction, so I don't have a lot of examples of other fan fiction websites for other book series, movies and TV shows. Figment, however, is a good writing resource for youth and young adults and there are entire sections of the forums and tags for fan fiction specific pieces of writing.

My favorite Harry Potter exclusive fan fiction website is www.harrypotterfanfiction.com. It gives you a place to post your writing, get feedback and read really, really good Harry Potter-themed stuff. Founder's Era, Marauder's Era, Post-Hogwarts, Next Generation...everything!

So the next time you find yourself scared to write or if you are new to writing novel-length stories, try some fan fiction first. It works for me!

Writing and Story Resources

Most of my attempts at writing a novel have come during National Novel Writing Month. I have a few projects scattered over the past 8 years or so that I've started in a month other than November, but typically I start my projects during NaNoWriMo. I bookmark resources during November and beyond that are designed to help writers in need of ideas, plot bunnies, character traits and more.

Some of the resources I have collected are just about writing in general and how to improve your craft. Others are great places to find plot ideas and random extra characters. And some are just places for creative inspiration.

Here is my Top 10 list for writing resources (in no particular order):

1. Better Novel Project

I found Better Novel Project while listening to a Harry Potter podcast. If you're a fan of Harry Potter and literary analysis, you should head on over to MuggleNet Academia for a listen. It's really good. It also helps me feel smarter than I am. Better Novel Project is the research and analysis of Christine Frazier. Christine breaks down the first book of three popular science fiction/fantasy series: Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight. She has a master outline that discusses chapter by chapter, point by point, the story elements these three books use to tell the stories of their heroes and heroines. 

2. Write Like Rowling - The Friendly Editor

If you're a fan of Harry Potter and you are a writer/aspire to be a writer, then you should also check out Write Like Rowling. C.S. Plocher has blog posts, guest features and handy tips on being a more successful writer. There's a ton of stuff on there about J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter. I also found this website while listening to MuggleNet Academia.

3. TV Tropes

I don't even know where I found this one. Probably in a forum on NaNoWriMo's website. The TV Trope site has...so much stuff it's overwhelming. What makes this website cool is that everything on it is a story element of some kind. A trope is an element of story telling that may seem cliche but it's used often for a reason: because it works. A trope might be "heartwarming orphan" or "parental abandonment" or...just anything that seems like a common story element. The website is just waiting for you to fall through the rabbit hole and find yourself staring at the computer screen at 3 in the morning and wondering how and why you missed dinner.

4. Pinterest

This one might seem weird but I think Pinterest is weirdly obvious. The best way to storyboard your idea is to literally create a storyboard. I save images that remind me of characters or links to research pertaining to my plot. Last year one of my characters owned and managed an alpaca farm and also grew organic vegetables for her own recipes for restaurants she owned. So I saved pins pertaining to raising alpacas and statting your own mega gardens. There are also links to writing resources on Pinterest. It's a cool way to bookmark your interests and save it in a beautiful format. Plus you can access it from anywhere with the internet if you have a smartphone, tablet or computer.

4. NaNoWriMo Word Sprints

This one is actually a Twitter feed. It's a great resource because it gives you plot bunnies, story prompts and challenges to write so many words in so many minutes during National Novel Writing Month or Camp NaNoWriMo. I even head over there when I'm not working on a NaNo-specific project. It's a great way to meet fellow writers online as well.

5. Figment

I don't remember how I found Figment originally. I think I was looking for online writing contests. I had lost my full time job and was only working part time so I needed something to fill my time. I found Figment and I have been pretty active on the website every since. There are forums to chat in and get story ideas from and contests for short stories with some really cool prizes. It's a site meant for youth and young adults, but all are welcome to participate. I'm 30 now so I am not really their core demographic but it really is a great website to post any style of writing in a welcoming environment.

6. NaNoWriMo

I pretty much talk about National Novel Writing Month in almost every blog post, but it really is such a terrific event and an awesome website. There are writing resources and the sponsors each year always have such cool tools for established authors and newbies alike. There are forums upon forums upon forums. You can find a local writing group or meet up online with other people from across the world. Even if you don't participate in November or write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, I highly recommend you join the website and check out everything on it.

7. Family Echo

Another weird one but one I found vital during last year's NaNoWriMo project. Family Echo is a free family tree maker. It's perfect for fake genealogy and keeping track of who is half siblings or step siblings and what everyone's birthdays are. And it's free.

8. Inflation Calculator

If you write historical fiction...or any fiction that jumps even a few years back in time, then you need this inflation calculator. It's perfect for any story that takes place in the United States or with the U.S. dollar. It was invaluable over the course of my last few years of NaNoWriMmo.

9. Random Plot Generator

I love this random plot generator because it gives you two characters, a setting, a theme, a situation and a character action randomly. You can change each point individually or all of them. The website also has other "random generators" related to writing and story telling.

10. Surname Generator

If you're like me you can think of first names but last names are hard. This surname generator helps you make sure your last names aren't all Smith, Jones and Miller. You can save your favorites and compare. It really is fun.

Clearing a Space for Writing

Sometimes writing takes very little preparation. When a writing prompt for a piece of flash fiction pops up in my inbox from Figment, I open Word or Google Docs, type the first thing that pops into my head, save and submit or post. When I'm working my freelance content writing pieces I have to do a little research, check the style guides and make sure I'm meeting my deadlines. For things like National Novel Writing Month, sometimes even more prep work is needed.

This year for NaNoWriMo I am attempting to follow the Better Novel Project's master outline. I discussed in an earlier blog about some of the prep work to make sure my Scrivener document is ready for November but there is some other prep work I have yet to do.

Clearing actual space for writing. And no, I'm not talking about in my hard drive. I live in a small, 2 bedroom apartment. Most of the time I write while sitting on my recliner couch seat, my laptop on my lap and music or the TV on in the background. Typically my TV is tuned in to the Cleveland Indians or Netflix. The second bedroom in my home is full of stuff we don't actually have room for. I have zero storage in my home and the one car garage isn't attached so boxes of decorations or season things tend to wind up in this second room. Kind of like limbo. This year for NaNoWriMo I want to be able to sit at my actual desk with my actual books in an actual computer chair.

So I have 61 days to clear the extra junk out of that room and make the space for great, creative writing. Heck, maybe I will use the vintage typewriter hanging out back there to type a chapter or two just because.

Maybe if I'm brave enough I will post photos of my progress in the back bedroom, but only if you promise to NOT judge me for my horribly cluttered and messy spare room.

Word Count Boosting, Writer's Block Blasting

If you're a writer then you surely know what writer's block feels like. It's suffocating, debilitating and frustrating as hell. It can stop even the best story in its tracks. When I participate in NaNoWriMo I typically experience this around the 20,000 word mark. This takes place partway through the second week and 1,667 words a day suddenly feels insurmountable.

Here are a few ways I break down the walls of writer's block:

1. Follow NaNoWriMo's word sprints on Twitter. There are challenges and, when you only have to commit to 10, 15 or 30 minutes at a time, it is much easier to pound out some words and report back to the team member who's tweeting. They typically provide sprints all day and night during NaNo since writers participate from all over the world.

2.Select writing prompts. NaNo provides tons of prompts as do members of local and regional NaNo writing communities. I also seek writing prompts from places like Figment. I can usually use the prompt or part of the prompt to eek out a scene or chapter that fits with the plot of my story. Even prompts for poems and short stories can help develop bits and pieces of your novel.

3. Use Sex Scenes. This works especially well when I have to find a lot of words for my daily writing during NaNoWriMo. It may sound unconventional, and it's not for everyone...but it works surprisingly well to get out of a writing funk. They are easier to write than you think...even though I find them awkward to read later. I generally go back and remove a lot of these scenes after the fact but they get my story moving again when nothing else works. This is an especially good method when writing in November, but if you're working on a novel you intend to sellC make sure the scene is appropriate for the genre and general plot of your book. These scenes are great because you're forced to use description and create potential conflict between two characters in your story. They can also just be really fun to write, especially if a romance scene is completely ridiculous at that moment in your story.

What are your tested and true ways to bust out of a writer's funk or increase your word counts for daily writing goals?

Ghosts of Plots Past

This past week I recveived a writing prompt in my inbox from Figment (a great writing website and resource for youth and young adults...or well anyone actually). The prompt was to write a story about your characters when they find out you've abandoned their story. The thing is...I've abandoned a lot of characters. Sometimes that makes me shrug my shoulders. Sometimes that makes me feel like a failure. Instead I tried to look at it as one of those funny things that happens to writers and their characters.

So I sat down and hastily typed out 1,300 words about my three most recent characters. All three are women I abandoned midway through their stories. It's worth noting that all three of them are characters from my most recent NaNoWriMo stories. Two of these three stories were part of "winning years." You can read more about NaNo and my "wins" over here.

I wrote about Leonora being trapped innside Jane Eyre. And trapped inside my story about her being trapped inside Jane Eyre. I wrote about Arianna finding her village street abandoned and her husband's sudden unwavering silence. I wrote about Marigold's confusion when Mitchell suddenly stopped kissing her. Poor girl. He just sat there staring blankly despite her best efforts.

And I wrote about how each of these three young women walked and walked and walked until the settings around them disappeared. They found trees and grass and fields of wild flowers. Then the trees and flowers disappeared. Then the grass. The ground became barren. The sky's color desaturated. They were still...someplace. They each found the edge of their stories. The edge of my plots. They found the points beyond my plans for them. They also found each other.

Leonora figured it out first. She is, of course, well-versed in finding herself within a story. When she and her love interest fell into the pages of a book, she figured it out quickly. So when she noticed the story had stopped progressing, she walked until she found the edge of her own story.

I'm not sure what this discovery means for my three heroines. All three of the plots were interesting and challenging in their own ways. All three of these women are fully developed characters in my mind. I know why they do the things that they do. Even when they do things I don't orignally intend. Maybe in this little meta-story where my characters are self-aware they'll be able to convince me to finish their stories and give them places to make out with potential boyfriends, husbands and love interests in peace.