Story Ideas from a Mega Bestselling Author
By Deb Gallardo
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Super-successful novelist Jonathan Kellerman has added another book in his Alex Delaware mystery series. OBSESSION deals with a deathbed murder confession, a girl whose past is less than respectable, set against the stark and often gritty background of Los Angeles.
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Story Ideas - If I Only Had the Time
By Deb Gallardo
Today’s article includes an excerpt from writing-world.com by Roberta Roesch. She provides 10 tips for eliminating the excuses — usually lack of time — for not writing. Under tip number one, “Write yourself a mission statement,” she says that mission statements empower businesses to move forward. and they do, by providing a real impetus by focusing on what’s most important.
She suggests listing all the steps you’ll need to accomplish your writing goals for the year. From studying markets, to taking writing courses, to attending writers’ conferences, set down your intentions. At the end of a year, evaluate where you are and what progress you’ve made toward your goals, and what you should do next.
I would add to this list an assessment of how realistic your goals were. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t always reach higher than you desire to go. In fact, if you reached your goal, you need to set it higher for next year. If you barely made a scratch on your progress chart, create an interim goal for next year and keep the previous year’s for your long-term goal.
And here is where the whole story ideas thing comes in. As one of the activities for her hypothetical mission statement, Roesch includes:
“…I will start a file of ideas for a novel and put everything I think of or find that pertains to the idea in that file.”
Story ideas are that important. They rank up there with honing your craft and doing market research. And they are worthy of inclusion in your mission statement for the year. There’s no need to wait for January 1 to set down your mission statement in concrete terms. Start now. A year will be gone before you know it.
Carpe Diem! And write down those ideas. Read “I Could Be a Writer If I Only Had the Time!” (opens in new window)
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Story Ideas from a Released Inmate
By Deb Gallardo
Here’s an interview with novelist Eileen Goudge about her multigenerational book WOMAN IN RED. A woman is released from prison and must learn to fit into society and her family again, when both are unforgiving.
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More Story Ideas for Your Non-Fiction Writing
By Deb Gallardo
At Kinetic Ideas, Wendy Maynard has written a list of tips for when you run out of ideas for your blog or ezine. You’ll want to have a list handy for the next time you’re stuck for what to write about. I use the drafts area of my Word Press blog to create and store blog post ideas and posts-in-progress.
As I think of an idea for a possible article, I open a new post, type in brief notes (I’ve learned not to abbreviate too much or to expect that I will remember what the heck I meant if I’m too cryptic. The mind just isn’t what it used to be.), and include links to relevant blogs so I can go back to them when I’m ready to write the article.
I also read other writing blogs in search of someone else’s take on story ideas, creativity and good writing advice. Today’s post is a perfect example. Here you see I’ve made a comment on what another author has to say, included a brief “fair use” excerpt below, and pointed my readers to the blog post at the end of this article.
Be sure to read Wendy’s entire post. This little list doesn’t begin to tell you what you need to know. Her explanations are crucial to your understanding of what she’s talking about below.
1. Answer a question.
2. Respond to hot topics in your industry.
3. Comment on a statistic or study.
4. Use a numbered tip list.
5. Interview someone in your field.
6. Share your latest gem.
7. Use Your Success Stories.
Read Wendy’s “7 Quick Tips to Create Content for Your Ezine or Blog” (opens in new window)
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Story Ideas - a Lost Constitution
By Deb Gallardo
Author William Martin presents an historical thriller, THE LOST CONSTITUTION. When both men of purpose and men of malice want to get their hands on the constitution before its ratification, it is stolen. Is it a weapon or an instrument of change?
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