N – Nothing, Nada, Null, Rein, Zero

What if I have nothing to write?

There comes a time in a writer’s day that they are stumped as to what to write about. So how do I resolve this dilemma? The simplest solution is I don’t write, which is probably the one I choose more often than not. But if you are looking to write, or have to write, because it is April 15th and you need something that fits the letter “N”, here are some ideas:

Two books that I’ve used in the past are, Steering the Craft by Ursula K. LeGuin ©1981 and In the Beginning – Great First Lines From Your Favorite Books collected by Hans Bauer ©1991. The first book gives you exercises that you can do to improve your writing, the other gives you a lot of first lines on which to base an idea you might have. Actually reading the first lines of any books you have can be good starting off points. I’ve also used the book, Telling Your Own Stories by Donald Davis ©1993. Davis’s book is really good if you are looking to write some personal narratives. It is full of memory prompts.

Of course, ranting is a great way to start of writing. Go after those things that annoy you and write away. You’ll have to wait until my “R” entry to see what some of that looks like.

The last way that I use is to start writing. Describe a place or a person, and let it evolve into something on its own. Here is an example of the start of one of my pieces of writing:

It was cold and dark in the small cottage. The wind howled as the couple clung to each other to maintain warmth. It had been a long time since they could afford wood for the fire. Food supplies were minimal. Their chance of survival was slim unless their son returned soon to save them with much-needed supplies.  He had been gone for two days.

Their son had problems of his own. It had been a long time since he had seen his parents. They sent him away to another village where people could afford to satisfy the needs of a growing boy shortly after he was born. He had returned to his natural parents as a strapping 16 year old. He was not aware of state he would find them. He had returned for only 3 days when they sent him off in search of sustenance and basics necessary for all their survival.

Though he understood the need to help his parents, they abandoned him for 16 years, so he didn’t feel the driving compulsion to assist. He was doing it more out of expectations of a son, than heartfelt desire.

Being new to this area created another problem. He was in the middle of a dark forest and had no clue as to where he was. He was lost and time was running out.

When I wrote this I had no idea of the plot of the story or where it was going to go. But I did get it written down. So now that I look at it almost 1-½ years later, I’m encouraged to pursue it. Anyone wishing to give me suggestions as to where I should take this story feel free to make them; at the moment I have no idea.

Doing this kind of writing leaves you with a bank of material to work from when you are stuck with no things to write about. As a teacher, I taught my elementary students the elements of story (see http://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=28). In the process, we designed all of the elements for a particular story – character, setting, time, problem, helpers, hinderers, and solution. I would take all that information and write the beginning of the story and then pass it back to the students to finish the story. I still have all those beginnings of stories that I had written.

So when you have nothing to write, my suggestion is that you keep writing. You can even fill up a page of writing like I just did for today and it still can be meaningful.

And just imagine, what if one of those ramblings goes on and gets you published? Wouldn’t that be exciting?