Writing Tip Wednesday: Ideas from a disorganized, yet published author

I’m a pantser. I had no idea what that meant the first time a fellow author said that to me. It means I write the way I do life: flying by the seat of my pants! I’ve had to learn how to outline to create great plot, but the one thing that I’ve always done is journal. Not in the organized, everyday at 6:00 a.m. way. Nope, that would be too organized for me! (LOL) I keep track of all my story ideas in a journal and write them down the minute they come to me. I’ve been able to weave many of those ideas into my novels. Country music inspired much of my first novel which took place in rural Georgia. I often wrote down simple ideas I got from listening to a song.

Tip #1: Keep your story ideas in a notebook or journal. Write down as much as you can, including dialogue, so that when you go back and look at it later, it will be a very clear story idea. I always know how my story begins and how it ends, so write down the ending if you know it. It really helps later when you go to write the middle!

Write it down as soon as it comes to you!

Life will get busy and unfortunately you may not remember that great idea! I actually wrote an entire short story in the car (while my husband drove) on a trip back from skiing in the North Carolina mountains. I saw an adorable farmhouse with a sign advertising their Christmas tree farm. I honestly don’t know why it inspired me, but I wrote a Christmas short story that day! So, tip number one is write every inspiration that comes to you as soon as you have the thought!

Tip #2: Even if you think your story idea is terrible and will never get published, write it anyway! I speak in a lot of schools and the one thing I tell the kids is writing is like practicing for sports. The more you practice, the better at it you become. Even if you don’t think a story is worth publishing, write it out from start to finish. Go back later and reread it. You’ll be amazed how much better your writing becomes the more stories you create.

I had an opportunity awhile back to write for a magazine. The story had to be less than 1000 words. I’d never done that before, so I challenged myself to try. I spent an entire day writing and editing to get to under one thousand words. I even read the story to my husband and kids! The next day, I went to submit the story, only to learn I’d misread the deadline which was the previous month! But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve reread that story because the writing skill of creating a complete plot from start to finish in as few words as possible has helped me be less wordy and cut unnecessary words from my manuscripts! So, tip number two, is practice, practice, practice!

Now, go get organized and happy writing!