Section 6: Blackberries, Raspberries, and Story Ideas

" Did you know ideas are everywhere, growing wild, yours for the picking? If you miss one or two, nature will offer you many more?"

This section of Spilling Ink is dedicated to story ideas. Where do we get them? Where do we store them?

If you are like Mrs. Horsley, you must jot down your ideas as you get them or else you will forget them. People have diferent ways to record their ideas.

Some use paper...

Some use sticky notes...

Some text themselves...

Some send themselves emails...

Some record their voices....

Some keep paper or online journals...

People have all kinds of tactics for jotting down their ideas.

Your challenge for the week:

Make an effort to record good ideas this week. How should you record them? Your choice! (See the above list.) Whenever a good idea strikes you (and usually it happens like a bolt of lightning)...jot it down!

Comment to the blog and let us know 2 things.

1. What method of jotting down your ideas did you use?

2. What is one idea this week that STRUCK you? What's something you'd like to write about?

Section 4: Convincing Your Characters That They Are Alive

Think about what inspires you. How could you use that inspiration to come up with an idea for a narrative? Who would be the leading, main character in your narrative?

When we write NARRATIVES, we include CHARACTERS. A rich, strong narrative has a strong, developed main character.

So in Section 4 of Spilling Ink, it encourages you to pretend that your main character is sitting across from you. Get to know your character by asking them some questions. Interview them!  You are imagining what it is like to be them!

Response of the Week: Interview your character!

Question List: (from page 27)

Name of Character ________________________
Role of Character ___________________________

1. What is your happiest memory?
2. What makes you laugh so hard that soda shoots out of your nose?
3. What don't you want anyone to find out about you?
4. What is the best part of your personality?
5. What shoes do you usually wear?
6. Name some things you are not very good at.
7. How would your best friend describe how you look?
8. What irritates you?
9. What are you afraid of?
10. Tell me about your family.
11. What does your bedroom look like?
12. What do you think of yourself when you look in the mirror?
13. What's the most embarassing thing that has ever happened to you?

Here comes the most important question you can ask your character...

14. WHAT DO YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD?

(Check back to the blog by Thursday the 15th to see Mrs. Horsley's response!)

Section 3: Inspiration

I looked up the definition of inspiration and it had the most wonderful definition. It read that inspiration is, "the act or power of moving the mind or the emotions." Some things in our world are SO powerful that they have the ability to INSPIRE us, or move our mind and emotions. The beautiful thing is different things INSPIRE each of us. 

As a writer, writing about my INSPIRATIONS comes easy. Because when I think about things that INSPIRE me, ideas and images come flooding to my mind and emotions run through my heart.  Usually my pencil (or keyboard) can't keep up with my mind!

Reponse of the Week:

Name five things that INSPIRE you. When you think about these INSPIRATIONS, ideas and images come flooding to your mind.

Make sure to read Mrs. Horsley's comment to find out what INSPIRES her.