What are some good sites for helping writers create stories? Example: Plot, characters, names, etc.?

Answer 1

If you're looking for inspiration, or interesting ideas to help you out at the start, I would suggest http://seventhsanctum.com/

They have some rather interesting things on there, as well as some great links to writing related sites.

If you want to create characters though, the best way is to go out and people watch for awhile. I do this sometime, take a notebook and jot down ideas. You tend to see some very interesting personalities when you're around other people. It also help if you look at the way people interact with one another on a daily basis. Even if it seems tedious write down actions as you see them and try to see a character you create walk around, or run. It also helps to look for situations and figure out how your character would react to certain situations.

Generate a list of questions to answer for all of your characters. It helps flesh out personalities and quirks, as well as background information. You, as an author, should know what happened to your character before the story to make them what they are. This helps you put a believeable person/being in a story. It is a good thing even if your readers won't be getting to know the background in great detail.

A good system for coming up with unique names is to picture your character in your mind. What doe he/she look like? What does he/she sound like? Keep that image in your mind and start writing nonesensical letters on the page. When you're satisfied with the string of letters go through them one at a time from beginning to end and keep pulling that image of your character to the front of your mind, keeping the letters you want and discarding the others. A simpler thing to do is go and look at a name generator. They come up with good names sometimes, but it depends on what you're looking for.

Plots are a little bit more difficult though. Something that will jumpstart a plot (at least...I've found this to be true) is to just start writing. Write whatever comes to mind on the word program or paper you're using and don't think of anything in particular. Eventually something will come out and your story will begin. If that doesn't work, try putting your character in some sort of simple situation (i.e. Fighting, dancing, writing, driving, etc.) and go from there. Eventually things should build up (Fighting a large dragon in the middle of the ocean, dancing in a life or death situation in hopes that he/she won't be executed, etc.).

After you've written for awhile your character tends to take on a life of its own and will begin to help yu write. This can go too far though, and then the character is in control of the story. theres a thin balance between controlling the flow of the story and letting your character run rampant in the world you've created.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Ouch, I'm a little wishy washy about answering that question. On the one hand there are sites out there that do give out little tidbits for helping with a story, but I personally don't really like them.

I kinda understand how a person may need character names, so I'd usually suggest a baby book or just reading the newspaper. Locations? Well, do what you know or get a REALLY good travel book because if you can't describe it well, you probably shouldn't use the location. I often keep my locations a bit ambiguous because I don't like my stories set in a particular city or country.

Now, if you need a plot, like I said there are sites that can give you that... but what are you writing for if you can't find a plot? If you must, start out with an interesting or unusual situation and just start writing. If you don't get a general idea for a plot within a few pages then save your work and come back later. The screenplay "The Matador" was written this way. The writer / director just started writing a scene where an assasin and a businessman walk into a bar and a plot started to evolve from that.

For me, I often come up with an ending. I do a lot of the situation writing as well but my endings really drive my writing. Once I get the ending it's pretty easy to come up with a begining and then I simply spend my time wondering what happens in between the two events and boom. I'm writing.

Now, I can't remember who this is credited to but there is an anecdotal story to go with the story called "A Piece of String". Apparantly the author of that story made a boast that any REAL writer can write a story about changing a persons life about anything, so some smart@ss picks up a piece of string and tells him to go to town. So in the story a man is jailed all for a piece of string. Maybe you should try that... what's in your pocket right now? How could that end up drastically changing a persons life?

Answer 3

The news.

Answer 4

Barnes and Noble has a site that has writing help.


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Answer 5

I'm sorry hon, but if you have to rely on websites for story ideas and plot lines, you need to rethink trying to write, it takes long hours of very hard work and the most important element is your own imagination.