FEATURED CRAFT ARTICLE

"WHAT DO I WRITE?" Copyright © 2002 P. June Diehl

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You're a new writer, yearning to let your passion run free. Where do you begin? Maybe you're a more experienced writer, sitting down to work, staring at a blank screen or sheet of paper.

"What do I write?" you ask yourself.

This doesn't need to be a question you're afraid to ask. Use this to spur yourself onward. It's a question I've asked myself many times. You are not alone in wanting to know what you might be able to write.

Let's look at your experiences, interests, memories, and hobbies. Through the use of several writing exercises I'll guide you along the path in your search. Then we'll see how you can use this information in your writing.

Complete at least three of the following exercises (of course, try them all if you wish):

Exercise One. Think back to your childhood. Write down everything you can remember that interested you. For example: bugs, horses, astronomy, traveling, pets, clothes, gardening, unicorns, aliens. Are you still interested in any of these? Circle your areas of interest.

Exercise Two. If you could do anything or be anything in the whole wide world, what would you do or be? You don t need to be practical here--go wild if you wish. Try putting at least ten items on your list. Be creative! For example: live in the ocean, explore the deserts of the world, be an astronaut, collect the strangest pets known on earth, sprout wings, plant an exotic garden, redecorate your home in period styles, build an elaborate jungle-gym for your pets. Place an asterisk beside the three things you would be most interested in doing, without concerning yourself about whether it's fantasy or real.

Exercise Three. Make a list of your activities, including hobbies not related to your work. Put an asterisk beside each activity you enjoy.

Exercise Four. Write a list of everything you can remember seeing on television in the past several days. Place a checkmark beside the ones that interest you the most.

Exercise Five. What do you enjoy reading? List the last three books you've read. Look through the books in your house. Make one list for fiction and one for nonfiction. What are the common themes or interests? Look through your fiction and nonfiction entries. In each list, circle the two areas that interest you the most.

Exercise Six. Write down a place you've visited on a vacation or an extended weekend. What did you do? Did you make new friends? Did you visit relatives or old friends? What exciting places did you visit? Put a check mark by the three things you found most interesting or exciting.

Exercise Seven. Take a notebook and go to a public place where you feel safe. Sit quietly for several minutes and watch those around you. Who catches your attention? What does their body language tell you? Who might they be? What are they doing? What might they be talking about? Review what you've written. Put an asterisk beside the three or four things that you found most interesting.

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On a clean sheet of paper or new page on your screen, create a new list of the items you selected (those that you circled, checked, or put an asterisk next to). Try grouping the items in different ways or in a different order.

Review this new list. What strikes you? What grabs your interest? What are you passionate about? What generates strong emotions--positive or negative?

Now write down the one thing that grabs you the most.

Write three reasons this area interests you. What do you feel? What attracts your attention?

Then write five things you know about this area.

What are your experiences with this area of interest? What's your funniest experience? The strangest? The experience that touched you the most? You don t need to write in full sentences. Try using only single words or phrases. Remember, these are notes.

What's the setting for your piece? Remember, nonfiction also has a setting!

If this is a piece of fiction or poetry you are interested in writing, what characters might fit into this setting? Give names to two or three characters. Describe how they know each other.

If this is nonfiction, what characters/people are involved in your area of interest? How might you use these people in your article or book?

What events might take place in your article, story, or poem?

Take a break. Look at the last page you wrote, your notes. Read it aloud. You've made some great progress to beginning your work.

Go to a fresh page or screen and write your piece. If you wish, begin with the same first line from your notes to get you started. Now write! No editing, no going back. Get your words out, tell your story.

Congratulations! You no longer have a blank page.

~~~~~~~

P. JUNE DIEHL recently returned to writing fiction after numerous years spent writing nonfiction. She has a book proposal in circulation and is completing a draft of a SF/Romance novel. June has published poetry, fiction and articles in minor publications, and has developed a writing course that she'll be teaching online and locally.