Tag: writing ideas

IWSG: Have You Put Family Traditions into Your Stories?

Published on by Debbie Johansson15 Comments

Before the end of 2019, I entered a competition, where I managed to write my first Christmas short story, but I have also written a short story that included a more family tradition. The story is an account of a fictional event that happened at a seaside location.

When I was younger, my family and I would regularly spend our holidays at the same caravan park on the south coast of New South Wales. First, we camped and then had a caravan down there and would go down at least three or four times a year. Most often, our visits would be during the Christmas school holiday period, a usual Aussie summer.

We would spend our days on the beach, in the water, bushwalking, fishing or exploring rock pools. Lazy days!

On one part of the beach was a lagoon, which was an ideal spot for younger children. Hanging on the branch of a large gum tree in a corner of the lagoon, was a Tarzan rope, where older kids would swing over the lagoon and fall off into the water. My family and I never did that, nor did we know anyone who did, but I always watched the older kids as they took up the challenge. All these years later, this scenario became the idea behind my short story ‘The Lagoon’. It is included in my short story collection, which I published late 2019.

My ‘tradition’ is more a location than anything else, but nevertheless, one that evokes fond memories to this day.

Other than obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs into your stories?

The purpose of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds.

Main image courtesy Pixabay

Turning a Poem into a Short Story.

Published on by Debbie Johansson2 Comments

Some years ago, despite not being a big fan of poetry, I tried my hand at writing a few; even going so far as to get a couple of them published in a small publication. I even wrote a bush poem. This bush poem would ultimately go on to become my first published short story, The Ghost at Willow Creek.

Some years ago, while visiting relations on their property, I encountered an old grave of a six-year-old boy. Apparently, he had drowned in a nearby creek during a flood. This child was no relation of ours, but my cousins had planned on doing up the grave and taking care of it. Straight away all sorts of questions came into my head. The writer within me thought of the many hardships encountered by our pioneering women and no sooner had I returned home, but I was jotting down ideas.

The loss of a child had attracted me, for having two children of my own (neither one of them easy births), I became empathetic to the parents of this unknown child, especially the mother. The history and the landscape drew me in, and as it would always seem, my fascination with death and the afterlife. I have always had an interest in graves and cemeteries, often finding inspiration amongst them.

Wednesday Addams at Red Riding Hood’s grave.

As luck would have it, a writing competition soon came up and I thought of writing a bush poem inspired by this piece of history. Before entering, I had even sought the advice of a local poet. After reading my piece, she had suggested that the poem could become a short story. In the back of my mind, I had to agree with this idea because I felt there was more to this story than what could be relayed in a bush poem. In that respect, I was grateful that my poem ultimately, was unsuccessful.

As I wrote The Ghost at Willow Creek, it was not only the death of a young child that got to me, but the effects such a tragic loss would have upon the parents and their marriage. Being a wife and mother, I was following the old writing advice of ‘write what you know’.

The Ghost at Willow Creek is ultimately a story of love, loss and things that go bump in the night. A story my husband labelled my best yet, so I’m pretty happy with that! 😉

Have you ever turned a poem into a story? Do you experiment with different writing styles? Where do you get some of your writing inspiration from?

Main image courtesy of Pixabay

Do You Share Your Current Writing Projects?

Published on by Debbie Johansson10 Comments

For some months now I had been working on one of the longest pieces of writing I have done so far. It proved to be a bit of a challenge, including whether or not to mention anything about it on social media.

When we come up with new story ideas or are in the middle of a writing project, it can sometimes be difficult to contain our excitement. We want others to be excited about it too.

Many years ago, I would let my friends read the stories I was writing at the time. My friends were always interested in what I was writing and were eager to read more, but I would eventually reach the point where I had lost interest. I had no idea where the stories were going; there was no real plot and I only had the basic knowledge of my characters. It therefore came as no surprise to me that I never finished these stories, thus leaving my friends disappointed and I had many incomplete stories lying around. I learned the hard way that I was a plotter and not a pantser.

I have seen some authors on social media discuss with their readers about their current projects, but personally I find that can be distracting. Some may think that by telling our readers about what we are currently working on can be a good way of keeping ourselves accountable. I applaud those authors who can pull this off – whatever works, right? However, for writers like me, I have learned the hard way to keep my writing under wraps until the current project is finished.

Talking to others about our projects before we fully understand them ourselves can sometimes destroy an idea before it really gets started. It may be hard to keep a lid on things, especially when we are in the middle of a writing streak or ‘in the zone’.

Perhaps just stating that we are working on a new project or leaving a tiny hint about it on social media may well be enough to satisfy our readers to know that we are writing without giving too much away (and they will be eager for us to finish).

What are your thoughts? Do you tell others what you are currently working on? Do you find it to be a help or a hindrance? Do you prefer to keep quiet about your work in progress?

Main image courtesy of Pixabay