HELP!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!

Chatterbox: Inkwell

HELP!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!

PART ONE: Help 

I'm going to ask the stupidest and weirdest question to ask on the CB... How do I write? I need strategies. How do you plan out a story, come up with plot ideas, and write a story in general? Unless all of your strategies are secret, can you please share some helpful ones with me? I'm going to have to free write for LA, and I don't know how I will do it. I feel like my writing skills were getting rusty, and now they are falling apart. Writing is-was-my favorite thing to do, so I don't know what happened to me.  

 

PART TWO: NaNoWriMo 

I have a story plot, and I want to write a story, I really do, but I'm stuck and stressed.

Stuck

I have no idea how to start my story, how to make it a good story, how to end my story, and how to get it to 30,000 words. If you looked at my plot, it seems stupid, so I need to figure out how to have it not be so stupid.

Stressed

I hate deadlines, and whenever I try to start my story I just get soooooooooooo stressed out. I'm so worried about everything about the story and NaNo. I really don't know if I should do NaNo because of all the stress.

 

Please help!

 

Stressed and Sad Salutations,

Moonlight :_( 

submitted by Moonlight, age 11, Ellesmera
(October 11, 2016 - 1:31 pm)

Don't be stressed. Before you write, get to know your characters. Think about what they might do, in any given situation. Also come up with good plot twists. Good Luck!

submitted by Pepper Star, age age 12
(October 11, 2016 - 4:51 pm)

Writer's block! Not an unknown experience to anyone who chooses to write a story and fall through with it!

Prepare for some thoroughly unhelpful advice here...

The writing experience is unique to everyone who tries it! Some people choose to plan out their stories scene by scene, detail by detail. Some people just make a rough outline. Some people just write what comes into their head. I have somewhat limited patience at times, so when I try the first option it never gets done. Usually I go with the second or third to plan out my plots. Characters of characters just sort of pop into my head, and if they turn out to be boring I work on them. I go on a website called Behind the Name for character names.

I could go into way more helpful detail, but here are several tips that might help you in particular:

1. Keep writing

Your writing skills haven't disappeared from the face of the earth, they're just a little reluctant to come out right now. So even if what you're writing seems horrible and stupid, keep doing it. Write anything at all. If you're really stuck, skip ahead. But don't give up!

2. Edit later. Write now.

Once you write out a perfectly awful first draft (which I'm sure you won't though it may seem so to you) you can fix it. It might

3. You don't have to start at the beginning

In all my failed novel attempts, I've seen this as a major pattern. I mean, it's really logical to start at the very beginning (it's a very good place to start!) but often I spend so much time banging my head against the wall trying to find an intriguing beginning that once I get past the first chapter I'm really tired of it.

4. Don't worry about the word limit

Work on just writing things down for now. When you go back and edit, make longer descriptions and conversations, maybe add a sideplot. This will give you more words. But for now, don't worry about it!

_______________

I don't know much about NaNo, but hope that helps! 

My brother and I are constantly giving each other critique on our novels (well, especially me on his... I'm really secretive about my writing!), so if you gave me some more details I would be glad to give you more specific advice. If you'd prefer not to, that's fine-- I completely understand!

Also, check out the book Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine. It's an enjoyable read with helpful advice and exercises. 

submitted by Shoshannah Lily, Deep in a book
(October 11, 2016 - 4:57 pm)

Thank you so much for the help! I was kind of freaking out at the time. Hehe. |/

submitted by Moonlight @ShoLily, age 11 , Thanks!!!
(October 11, 2016 - 8:25 pm)
submitted by Topping Lily
(October 11, 2016 - 8:10 pm)