So for days–more like a week now–I’ve been struggling to find a topic to write about. Sadly inspiration did not come from skimming my old writing journal or browsing other blogs as it usually does.
So while I smacked my head for ideas I realized I had a topic to write about all along: What do you do when you have nothing to write about? All writers periodically must wrestle with their brains for ideas, which can be like beating a piñata with a toothpick. You’ve probably all had staring contest with a blank page, thumb wrestled with your pen, spent hours tapping your fingers on your keyboard (making music but no words).
Inspiration can be found everywhere, even the app store. Today I found the The Fiction Idea Generator (FIG). This is a fun resource to help writers come up with ideas from the very first sentence to the master plot.
To give you an idea of how it works, below are the ideas it gave me in each category.
Masterplot: A lawless person, being put to a test in which love will be lost if more material fortunes are advanced, emerges from a trying ordeal with sorely garnered wisdom.
Tense: past
Narrator: 3rd person
Period: 3 days ago
Situation: a kidnapping
Protagonist: a female street sweeper who is insensitive
Tritagonist: a male psychiatrist who is arrogant
Their Relationship: insecure
Character: A male millionaire
Key Trait: he is in love
Ethnicity: Irish
Name: Cavan Robinson
Word: guile
First Sentence: It was a Sunday evening in October, and in common with many other young ladies in her class, Katharine Hilbery was pouring out tea.
Emotion: tense
Item: Cat
Location: A Pub
Hints and Tips: Creativity is 99% perspiration and only 1% inspiration. However; a good amount of perspiration is essential before any eureka moment. Inspiration never just happens.
So according to my hint, I just wasn’t perspiring enough to write.
From the example above, this could be a great tool to develop ideas for novels, short stories, or writing prompts.
I’m not saying this app is going to plan your entire story for you, but it will certainly help get the brain cogs going. Give this a try. It’s free to download and very easy to use.