Talking About Ideas…

Idea
Idea (Photo credit: marlenekzio)

As i am on my holiday, i thought i would share you with yet another writing article which i had enjoyed reading.

The stuff that IDEAS are made of « Short of Stories.

i would like to add to the second point made in that article:

2. Harvesting in the real world…

i love this way of getting ideas – be it for a story or a play. The one way of harvesting in the real world i enjoy most is people-watching. i like sitting somewhere (on a bus/train, at a cafe/restaurant, at a park/playground etc…) and watch people go by. i watch their actions, observe the way they dress and carry themselves, notice their little quirks as they interact with others around them. i imagine what their lives might be like; who they are, why they are there, what has made them react that way and suddenly you have a story 😉

Of course, sometimes it is not very interesting, others times it is hilarious!

So give it a try!

Oh, do remember to have some way of taking notes. There have been times when i see an interesting character and dream up a fascinating story but have no way to record it, then i find i have forgotten most of it by the time i get to some paper and a pen.

syc

What is a MDQ?

Question book
Question book (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you know what a MDQ is?

Well, i didn’t know until today. i was reading about creating moments in a story on LiveWriteThrive and saw that she mentioned MDQ. What is that?

i clicked on it and read this.

MDQ – Major Dramatic Query (Question).

Now it is clear and it has made me re-think the opening scene of my WIP (Work-In-Progress). So i have decided that for the next few weeks i will try to work on that.

i like how she explains the difference between the “visible” goal (or plot goal) MDQ and the spiritual one.

The MDQ or major dramatic query is a yes-or-no question you ask at the start of the book. Very simply, it’s a question that MUST be addressed in the first scene, as it sets the stage for the entire novel. It is also called (by Michael Hague) the “visible goal” or plot goal …

…But . . . it’s not the heart…

…When I say “spiritual” question, I am not talking about faith or faith-based stories. Every good story has one. A question that involves the character’s spirit—her heart—is what we’re concerned with…

…Now, what it crucial to realize is that BOTH questions get answered AT THE SAME TIME AND IN THE SAME SCENE at the end of the book! This is amazing, and when done well, makes your book a winner. Dorothy gets home (plot MDQ) but at the same time she realizes she’s always been home; that here, with Aunty Em, is where her heart truly lives (spiritual MDQ)…

That is quite a lot to think about.

So i’m off to think and, hopefully, write 😉 Maybe i’ll have a new opening scene to share soon?

syc

Writing On Holiday???

We are off on our annual holiday, which means food, family, friends, food, fun, sun, food and did i mention food?

Yep, that’s what going home for a visit is mostly about for us; it’s the people we miss and the food we crave. And of course i was all ready to leave my normal routine here behind, and just simply be and go with the flow, and not stress and just let things happen as they will.

BUT… then i read this on The Write Practice

Notebook & Pen
Notebook & Pen (Photo credit: trilanes)

And it has me thinking… should i? Should i not? Really? Do i want to add that to my non-existent list of to-dos?

This was the line which pushed me over the fence:

Don’t save the overwhelming emotions of experience for later. Write about it there and then and capture the explosion. You can modify it in the future, but you’ll never be able to seize that initial excitement.

So i will bring my notebook and pen with me.

Will i schedule exact times to write? Probably not. But i will at least make an effort to write a couple of times a week while we are away.

So here’s to capturing the explosion of excitement in the moment it happens!

syc