Twenty Something Writers

What do you do to overcome writer’s block?  Do you have any tips or tricks?  Does it just happen naturally?

Please discuss your responses to this question in the comments.   Is there something you’ve always wanted to ask your fellow writers?  Email your discussion question suggestions to twentysomethingwriters[at]gmail[dot]com.

(Credit for this discussion question goes to Pam.)

One amazing thing about writing is that it attracts people of all kinds.  For instance, I love to write, but I also study theology and I’m obsessed with makeup.  So, tell us: Other than writing, what are some of your big aspirations? Let’s all get to know each other a bit better.

Credit for this question goes to Ellie from Peach Arrow.  Her answer is below.

For years I’ve been mulling over the idea of opening my own cafe & bakery. I think about this a lot actually. Ever since I was little I’ve loved baking. When I was little, I used to help my grandmother make biscuits in her kitchen. I’d stand on a chair watching as she rolled out the dough on the counter top. Then she’d hand me a small glass and tell me to press the glass down into the dough and rotate it. So I followed her instructions and voila, a perfectly round biscuit. From biscuits I moved onto cookies and eventually onto tiramisu. I still remember each Christmas sitting around in the kitchen with my sister, mixing and scooping out dough. These are some of my fondest memories.

I still have that love for baking. But I don’t know that I can actually achieve the goal of owning my own shop. I’ve talked this over with one of my roommates before, Amaris. I love her so much. She suggested that we open one together. But in her suggestion, she added a twist. Not just a bakery, but a cafe. I mean I can’t believe that I didn’t think of this beforehand. A bakery without coffee? No way. We planned out our responsibilities; I would bake the goods and she would make the coffee. I highly suspect that we’d both end up baking, but the point is that I’ve always loved that idea. I can see myself owning a little shop somewhere in a small town, serving homemade sweets to those who share my love of baked goods.

While I know that it may not happen, I still hold that as my one aspiration, one thing that I’ve always wanted to do.

This one is a Katie idea. You guys know her? Nice girl, I hear.

Leave 5 of your most prized and cherished posessions to people who you feel deserve them. Who gets what and why? (Feel free to do more than 5 if you’d like)

Remember: This is a writing prompt. Please create a blog post responding to the prompt. Then, come back here, and leave a comment with your blog URL so we can check you out! It’s all about love!

WE WANT YOUR IDEAS! Send any ideas for Blog Posts, Writing Prompts, and Discussion Questions to TwentySomethingWriters[at]gmail[dot]com

Do you like writing blog posts, research papers, personal essays, poetry etc.? What do you most enjoy writing and why?

Please discuss your responses to this question in the comments. Note: you can respond directly to other comments by clicking the “Reply” link in the bottom right corner of each comment.

(Credit for this discussion question goes to Amber.)

*Help us finish the story!  You only have to write one line.  Click here.

**We really need contributions from writers like you.  We’re most in need of blog posts.  See the Contribute page for more details or email twentysomethingwriters[at]gmail[dot]com.

Hello, Friday. Hello, Writing Prompt.

This brilliant idea is from Pam @ Reflections From a Neurotic Writer. Thanks! Also, I know you all have heads filled with ideas for Discussion Questions and Writing Prompts. We want your ideas! Send them to: twentysomethingwriters[at]gmail[dot]com.

On with the show

Let’s write a story together. Add one sentence to help further the story (you can read the sentences before it to stay on theme). There is one catch: You must start your sentence with the alphabet letter that follows the one that started the prior sentence. For example, if the last sentence is “The sun was shining bright that morning,” the first word of your sentence must start with a “U.” (When it gets to “Z,” start back again with “A.”).

*Though this is a writing prompt, we are going to discuss this one in the comments. However, please blog and tell your friends to come and contribute!

Which words do you find yourself using the most? Do you have any “go to” phrases?  Do you overuse any words or phrases?

Please discuss your responses to this question in the comments. Note: you can respond directly to other comments by clicking the “Reply” link in the bottom right corner of each comment.

(Credit for this discussion question goes to Nicole from More is Better.)

This post was written by Ashley. It was originally published on her blog Writing to Reach You.

I love to read all varieties of fiction, but in my own writing, I strive for realism. No big mysteries, no magical worlds–just regular people doing pretty regular things. I try to put words in people’s mouths that no one would be shocked to overhear and give them emotions to which we can all relate or at least understand. Sometimes it’s very easy and requires almost no thought. Othertimes I agonize over the smallest of plot points, trying to separate myself from the story just enough to get some perspective.

As I’m planning out stories, I sometimes think, “Damn! Real life is boring.” It’s partly true. Most of us do the same things every day. We drive to the same places, eat the same foods, and even think the same thoughts. But, then I think about my own life. I live a very small life, yet so much has happened to me. I’m changing all the time. I’m very different even from the person I was at the beginning of this year. Real life provides a lot of drama, even for the undramatic like me.

So, you’ve got real life as you experience it, and it’s hard to get a grip on that enough to turn it into fiction. But, then you’ve got real life as you’ve seen it in books and art and movies. You’ve experienced the second almost as long as you’ve experienced the first, and they’re both very powerful. In fictionalized reality, like tv and movies, things happen very distinctly. People have big feelings and they act on them. There are resolutions and they are sharp. Emotion seems to follow some king of logic.

Many of us think in these terms. We try to apply movie logic to real life and we end up frustrated and disappointed. Things really aren’t fair. You can have big feelings and they can go unrequited until they slowly fade away. People are depressed for reasons that don’t make any sense by movie standards, and they have good and bad days that, similarly, follow no logic. Things don’t separate so easily into good and bad or past and present. There’s just so much gray and no matter how things turn out, you still have to wake up every morning and eat food and go to work and use the bathroom.

Knowing these two realities do not match, but not always being able to separate them, it’s hard to think of how to move forward in my own fiction.

This post was written by Pam from Reflections from a Neurotic Writer.   If you’re interested in contributing a writing tip, email twentysomethingwriters[at]gmail[dot]com.

Creating a character for any sort of story is a very important and long process. Whether your character is drawn from real life or a figment of your imagination, you need to know that person inside and out, know them as well as you know yourself. This can be hard for some people, because they don’t know where to start. Well, I’m going to help you out.

The first thing that I do is write the name of the character on an index card (preferably the large one), or create an excel spreadsheet. From there get the basics out of the way, height, weight, hair color, eye color, and age. Next, get into the nitty gritty stuff, for instance, when where they born, favorite movie, favorite color (do they wear this color a lot), did they move around a lot, favorite subject in school, their best friend, and etc. The list can go on and on. Really analyze the character, find out what makes it tick, and bring it to life. Make it feel like you can have someone ask you any question about them and you answer right away.

Now get into their family life. How many siblings do they have, do they get along, etc. If the character has a happy home, their mood should be happy right? Well, you can play with that and have something in their long past that happened in the family that is now covered up and they appear happy.

Here is an example of something that I do every time I create a new character. Sometimes I add more or delete others, it really depends on the depth of what the character needs to be.

The most important thing is to make the characters your own, let them breath, eat, sleep, and love. Let their emotions or actions get portrayed throughout your writing.

Whoa, it’s Friday. Again.

Today, our writing prompt comes from John @ Phampants.

Also, just wanted to extend a Thank You to everyone who has been contributing writing prompt ideas. They are all so great, and will be used soon! We are always in need of more, so keep them coming! They can be sent to twentysomethingwriters[at]gmail[dot]com.

Onto this week’s prompt:

Who was your favorite cartoon charachter as a child? No holding back, admit it! Did you have a lot of collector’s items (stuffed animals, bed sheets, figurines, etc) of them? Are they worth any money currently?

Imagine you were able to meet your favorite cartoon character. How would you meet? (Maybe they came alive off of your bed-sheets!) What would you say? Write a brief (or extended) dialogue between the two of you.

*Remember: This is a Writing Prompt. Post your response on your blog. Then, come back here and leave your post URL in the comments so we can all come and read all about your Cartoon Encounter!

As bloggers, because, chances are, anyone participating in this site has a blog, how do you choose what you publish and what you keep to yourself? Sometimes, you need to just write, right? In a journal, or notebook of some kind — something a bit more personal, private. How do you determine where your private writing ends and your public writing begins? Or am I the only blogger/writer to suffer from this confusion?

Please discuss your responses to this question in the comments. Note: you can respond directly to other comments by clicking the “Reply” link in the bottom right corner of each comment.

(Credit for this discussion question goes to Tristan from  . . . the almost right word.)