It is the day for another volume of insecurities. This week, I am not having anything new it is still the same old same old. I still have a problem starting, especially when I have a story idea but absolutely no characters. It is had to write a story without characters. Then on Wednesdays as a permanent segment on this blog I do a Wordle using words from a random word generator and then turn that into a flash piece. However the one piece I liked, barely anyone read guess that's the way of the blog world. So enough of my whining, how are your insecurities?
There's nothing wrong with just writing to start a story, whether you have characters or not. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Cherie!
ReplyDeleteOh man, my insecurities are running high. I know what you mean about having this great idea for a story and needing to find your character. I tend to start writing and discover my MC as I go along, but I'm a super heavy reviser, so knowing your MC from the get go is def. easier. If only I were that kind of a gal:) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks Robin.
DeleteI imagine it is hard to start a story without characters, especially I usually start with just a character and build the story around her. But maybe you should start with whatever you do have— like if you have a setting, just start there and maybe the rest will fall into place.
ReplyDeleteWhen I start with a character, I usually start with a line a dialogue and write a conversation around it.
Good luck with it...
I just happen to always come up with a story idea first then try to force someone into the MC role whether they like it or not! :)
DeleteStarting a new story is always hard for me too... plot always come to be first before characters, hence for me that's a struggle since the story can't exist with our characters...:P
ReplyDeleteHi MJ. Thanks for visiting my blog today. I have problems starting stories too. Why don't you take a friend, an ex-friend, an old boyfriend or someone you know pretty well, and plop them down in your story--whether they fit or not--and just start writing. See where it takes you. :) I thought about that the other day when I was having some problems; I plan to try it too. ~jess
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by from the IWSG :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE coming up with characters, prefer that to writing stories, so I think we'd make a good team ;)
Grab a magazine, cut out a picture of a person (or a couple etc) and stick it in your notebook. Then, when youre looking at the picture give them a name. You already have what they look like infant of you ;) Then come up with a story about their life. How old they are, where they live, job. So you're writing the story about them, if you see what I mean :) And before you know it, you'll have a fully fledged character that you can use in any story, well, within reason obviously :)
This is one of my favourite exercises, I usually do one a week so that I've always got a supply of characters.
Hope that helps, good luck honey :)
Xx
To echo Vikki's advice above, I do something very similar if I'm lacking inspiration on the character side of things. But instead of magazine photos, I google "mugshots" and look at random people's arrest photos. You see a snapshot of a harrowing moment in a real person's life, etched onto their face. I've created some of my favorite characters this way.
ReplyDeleteOh, my insecurities are alive and thriving - as a matter of fact, they are taking over my life. Writing? that's the least of my insecurities! How about living? Now there's an insecurity with which to do serious battle......Hang in there. Everything changes and your characters will emerge. trust me.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me that some people can create characters and then build a story for them, because I always come up with a story first. Like you, I didn't have a clue about my characters when I started working on my current story. But it helps to ask yourself some basic questions first: What happened before the events in your story? What kind of person was your protagonist and how would the story change them? If you were in a similar situation, how would you handle the conflict of your story? Sometimes it helps to start off by inserting yourself in the story, then change the character's behavior to reflect your goals, dreams, fears, etc.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could be more specific, but hopefully that helped a little. Thanks for stopping by my blog! :)
Thanks everyone for the comments, I haven't figured out that magical way to have my responses get to each of you that comment, so I guess a generic thank you will just be here at the end of the posts!
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteMaybe, just maybe, you don't need characters to start. Maybe your story is about something else.
Heather
A strange dilemma I always begin with a setting and character but then am often stumped of where to take it
ReplyDeleteI question the direction I'm taking with writing action scenes in my romantic suspense series, since it's much more fun to write dialogue and scenes about relationships/feelings than action.
ReplyDelete