  Mystery
This week: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Edited by: esprit  
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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words When it's a Prompt
It happens to all of us; we feel the urge to write but when placing our fingers on the keyboard, they refuse to move. We conjure up phrases and discard them. We write an opening paragraph, reread it, and delete it in disgust. We stare out the window, then get up for something to drink. We check our email and facebook. For want of a definite idea, the creative impulse has frittered itself away.
Remember when you were in school and the teacher said, "Write a composition on any subject you want"? Usually that was all it took to drive every interesting thought clean out of your head. Somehow it was always easier to get started if you were given a list of five or six topics and chose one. A bit of pre-thinking had been done for you.
New writers often have trouble coming up with the first idea for a story and that's why picture prompts are often recommended. Choosing a picture prompt works better than a list of topics. Flip through magazines until you find a picture that appeals to you most in terms of subject matter and the age level you're writing for.
Speculate about what's going on in the picture you've chosen. What might have led up to that particular scene? What might be about to happen next?
Keep in mind that the picture exists only to help you get started on your story--that your potential readers will not have seen it. Your story must be able to stand on its own. You don't have to use everything in the picture, or even 'match' the scene at all, if your ideas lead you in a different direction. Just take the picture elements that interest you and go from there.
As you begin tentatively piecing together a story in your mind, just start writing. It may not come easily at first, but don't be discouraged. You may find the opening develops with no trouble at all, but you can't think of a satisfactory conclusion. In that case, open a new page, forget what you started out with, write an ending you like, and then think backwards from there. Detective stories are frequently written backwards, the ingenious solution to a crime being clear in the writer's mind long before he or she has thought about its motive.
As you work, don't try for a smoothly written or perfectly crafted story the first time through; even professional writers don't expect that of themselves. Instead, think of yourself as an artist with a sketch pad, jotting down a detail here, balancing it with another there, noting the main elements to be included in the finished painting.
The important thing at this stage is just to get your ideas down on paper. Then you can play with them, rearranging them if necessary so that your story beginning leads logically into the situation you've chosen to dramatize, and then goes on to a satisfying ending.
Happy writing!
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Comments on "Invalid Entry"
Kitzie
Comment: I just wanted to let you know how much I liked the editor's letter in this edition of the newsletter. Although I have been dabbling at writing for many years (too many to count), it was only recently that I decided I needed to get serious about it. One of the very first books I read on the subject stated that elements like "pacing" were part of the art and not the craft of writing. That craft can be taught, while art is instinctive, but has to be practiced. I felt the light dawning on me when I read this last part. Craft can be taught - and needs to be learned. I think as writers we are too often guilty of thinking talent alone will get us by, or that a great idea is all it takes to make a great novel/story. But storytelling, like all art forms, has its rules, and codes, and you need to understand them. So thank you for the great wake-up call on this one.
Thanks, Kitzie, I'm glad it helped. I read a big debate on a web site a while back about which was more important to a writer--craft or talent. I think craft won. 
Donna 
Comment: Love this newsletter, so much great material in it, but you are missing a great place to find crime information -- crimescenewriter on Yahoo -- a lot of people on there write crime fiction and answers are given by the LEO's, and others in the field. Urge people to check them out, since writers can ask questions of them and get the correct answer.
Thanks for the link, Donna. I tried to check it out but I would have to be a Yahoo member to do that. Good specialty links are always welcome and I hope someone uses it.
We always appreciate the feedback, thanks!
Editors:
Kate - Writing & Reading 
Vivian 
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Mystery: March 24, 2010 Issue [#3625]
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