First, allow me to apologise. Initially, I wanted to write a post on the common dilemma for a new writer – What to write. However, as I started to pull this post together, I discovered that the subject has been done – and done to death! So I’ve kept this posting relatively brief. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I’ve referenced other Blogs and articles that adequately explain subject.
Where to start?
Perhaps as an aspiring writer – and maybe eventually an author – you have a killer idea for a novel rattling around in your mind. If you are anything like me, you didn’t want to dive in headfirst. Instead, you wanted to warm up your writing talents by researching and practising. i.e. learn the art. The whole thing can seem overwhelming, and I experienced this myself when I first started on the writing road. I had, what I thought was a great idea, and wanted to do it justice.
However, it felt like I was trying to run a marathon without properly training. I concluded that, like marathon training, you need to get fit and learn how to run efficiently.
So how do you train – to write?
I’ll cover the basics of learning the writing skill in another post, but in this post, we are exploring what to write, not how to write. When I first started to write, I wrote a lot of short stories and many Drabbles. This allowed me to experiment and try different ideas and methods. As I’ve talked about in other posts, you need to practice, practice, practice!
What is a Drabble?
The Wiki definition is here; however, it’s basically a very short story, normally limited to one hundred words.
Yes, you read that right 100 words!
You may think, “How can you write a story of a hundred words, that’s crazy!” and you’d be right. It seems a strange notion at first glance. However, writing a Drabble teaches you a vital lesson. It builds and focuses your writing skills. You learn how to tune your writing, remove superfluous words and make streamlined sentences.
The Wiki describes Drabble’s origins as a Word Game. As I’ve written them, I can affirm this definition; Removing unrequired words without collapsing the meaning is sometimes challenging, infuriating, and strangely enjoyable for a writer.
As a newbie writer, you may not want to start off writing a Drabble immediately, at least until you’ve done something longer. But when you feel more confident, there are plenty of websites that will teach you more about the subject. You can read other authors Drabble work at sites like The Drabble. Many of these sites will also allow you to submit your own work. If you fancy the possibility of seeing your work published, then you can submit your work to sites like Black Hare Press, who often ask for this format.
Short Story Writing Prompts
As I’ve already said, a Drabble might be something you’ll be interested in once you’ve practised writing for a while, which brings us to the next point and the initial reason for this blog posting. What to write!
I’m pretty good and looking at any scene or object, i.e. river, tree, car, mug, cloud and coming up with a story, but this isn’t as natural for others. As I warned earlier, this is where this posting gets a little lazy, and I point you toward some of my writing peers, who have already covered this subject in details.
I want to point out that you are always learning on your writing journey, and personally, I enjoyed reading other writers blogs on their writing journey. If you want to do your own research on writing prompts, Google search terms like ‘Creative Writing Prompts’ and ‘Creative Writing ideas’, there’s plenty out there.
Take care,
– Scrib
Paul J. Scribbans - Author 