The Story Ideas Virtuoso

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The Story Ideas Virtuoso – Milestones

By Deb Gallardo

In honor of the milestone of publishing my 200th blog post recently and the celebration I’ve had this week giving away a free pdf on writer’s block, This is part one of the a short series of The Best of the Story Ideas Virtuoso. I’ll present excerpts and a link to each article.

From August 2007: How to Find Story Ideas In TV Listings

One of the fastest ways to find a story idea…is to take a look at TV listings in your newspaper.
…These short summaries are a virtually unending supply of story ideas.

…Let’s examine some actual examples, but before we do that, I need to explain the format I’ll be using.
…Our goal is to find an encapsulated idea… We want the most generic synopsis we can find, or one that we can rewrite until we make it generic.
[Here are some examples]

Psychopath stalks teens in small town.
Nun befriends death row inmate during his final days.
Wall street whiz invents non-existent male partner to bag clients.
Corporate raider hires hooker to act as business escort.
Former baseball player coaches misfit Little League team.

You probably recognize a number of these. Some you may not have a clue about. What’s important, however, is what you can do with them.

And it all starts with 6 little words: read the rest of How to Find Story Ideas in TV Listings (opens in new window)

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From September 2007: Should You Write An Ebook?

You’re a writer interested in writing fiction. That’s why you’re here. (Either that, or my mother made you promise to visit my blog to be kind to me.)

But let’s assume the former, that you’re interested in writing fiction. if you’re looking to make consistent money with your writing, novels probably won’t do it for you unless you beat the odds and become a bestselling author.

…[If you're like many writers who] have this thing about eating regularly, satisfying their landlord or mortgage-holder, and keeping fuel in their car, [what are your options?]

Freelance writing
Ebook writing Read Should You Write An Ebook? (opens in new window)

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Two follow-up posts on this same topic (Both open in new windows)

http://www.debgallardo.com/virtuoso/54/why-write-an-ebook-1/

http://www.debgallardo.com/virtuoso/55/creative-writing-why-write-an-ebook-2/

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From October 2007: Confessions of an Internet Marketing Wannabe

This post is my response to a cross-blog posting on Lynn Terry’s ClickNewz site where she asks a newbie what she thinks of Internet Marketing.

Lynn,

What about hearing from an in-between-bie — neither a newbie nor someone experienced in IM? You know. The person who knows a lot of the pieces of IM but hasn’t been able to fit them all together, so she’s still not making money online after 2 1/2 years? Would you like to know what THIS kind of person thinks about Internet Marketing?

I started studying IM in earnest in April of 2005. I shelled out big, big bucks for Yanik’s Underground Seminar that same month, which was probably not the best event for a newbie to attend and I could have used that same money in better ways at the time.

Oh, well. Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20 vision.

That September my full-time job was downsized to part-time and so I was forced to seek full-time employment, even though what I really wanted to do was get an online business going. Read the rest of Confessions of an Internet Marketing Wannabe (Opens in new window)

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From November 2007: The Writing Life: Go With Your Strengths

This article started out to be a part of my previous post on writer’s block. But the more I wrote, the less it became about being blocked and the more it became about giving yourself permission to be who you are.

I’m no psychologist, but I’ve come through some profound experiences that taught me a great deal about life and being true to myself; about following my dreams; and about not denying the gifts and talents I was born with. I’ve also learned the high price we pay when any of those areas is neglected.

But probably the most important take away from the latest 20-plus years of the 58 I’ve been breathing, and in particular the last seven, is that I’m in no position to say that the lessons I’ve learned must apply to everyone right now. Each of us is in a particular stage of life, navigating specific circumstances and events, and we’re all from unique backgrounds. Yet so often I’ve read books or articles by people who have come through great struggles and they espouse a laundry list of universal truths that supposedly apply to us all every minute of every day. To that, I say, “Nothing in life is one-size-fits-all.”

Where I am today can be light years from where I will be next year emotionally, spiritually or physically. There are, no doubt, universal truths. But if God is in the details, then where we are in our personal journey on this earth has more to do with which universal truths apply to us at any given time. My belief is, our personal journeys are custom-tailored to our specific needs (not wants) and while we’re in the throes of particularly difficult portions of that journey is never the time to find meaning in our circumstances. It takes the perspective of time and a different vantage point to make sense of the “why’s” and the “why not’s.” Read the rest of The Writing Life: Go With Your Strengths (Opens in new window)

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From December 2007: Link Love: Writing Blogs

The beauty of blogs is that we get to know bloggers through their words. This is one of those easy-peasy articles to write, because it’s a list of blogs related to writing. Enjoy!

http://howtowriteashortstory.wordpress.com

http://booksforallreasons.blogspot.com

http://workingwriterscoach.com

http://writerway.blogspot.com

http://mademoisellevictorine.com

http://www.coachcreative.com/blog

http://www.nanowrimo.org

http://www.neilgaiman.com

http://www.1000dollarfilm.com

http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/articles/aarticleix.htm (not exactly a blog, but useful resources are here)