Story Starters: How to Jump-Start Your Imagination, Get Your Creative Juices Flowing, and Start Writing Your Story or Novel

by Lou W. Stanek

Book Overview

If you have the passion and energy to write fiction, but have trouble finding an idea and getting started, this is the perfect book for you. Lou Willett Stanek has helped scores of new authors in her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380795523
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: Avon
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.4" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Shows you how to find amazing stories in the simplest places

I have read several of this "creative writing books", and believe me, a lot of them are not worth the plastic they come wrapped in. This is definitely NOT the case.The author instructs you in simple yet effective techniques to set your creative genius on the loose. After you read the book and apply some of the ideas in it you will start to see that there is a potential story in almost every event, object or person that you encounter, just need to add a little imagination and you have your story.The best part is that the author has quite some experience on teaching and educating aspiring writers, so the book is structured in a very didactic, simple and solid way. You can even read it orderly or just concentrating on the parts that you're interested, and still get the whole idea of each chapter.Among other things she shows you how to get a story from everyday objects, how to get a story from events, how to help shape your character through action rather than pure description, etc. As I told you before, I have lost quite a load of money on useless creative writing books, and I can tell you: THIS IS A MUST HAVE, perfect for us writing newbies that keep looking around for the perfect story to tell.

Have a big bucket ready to catch your story ideas...!

I picked this book up and flipped it open at random, then started chuckling at how corny the ideas were. How could anybody write a story based on a fairy tale? Based on the Bible? Hasn't it all been done?But then the ideas started flooding into my mind. I literally cannot read this book on the subway anymore because I can't get my notebook out in time to record all the story concepts this book triggers one after another.The key, I've found, is not taking Stanek's suggestions literally, but allowing your mind to free-associate. Yes, the ideas may be corny, but they all work. I'm convinced there are trillions of stories in this tiny paperback book, just waiting for you, the author, to let them out.

Kiss your writer's block good-bye forever!

Anyone who has ever suffered from writer's block should rush out and pick up a copy of "Story Starters" today. This useful volume includes hundreds of suggestions for stories in every conceivable category to help get you over the hump. Each chapter addresses a different type of story, from age old themes to stories pulled from the headlines, then shows the writer how to look at familiar concepts in order to use them for inspiration. I loved this book because it not only makes you anxious to hit the typewriter, but it shows you how easy it can be to draw plot ideas from your everyday life. Ms Stanek also includes pertinent lessons that answer questions you might have regarding technical aspects of different genres. For instance, the chapter on writing based on memories discusses the use of flashback as a literary tool. The book is filled with examples from a wide range of fiction and the story starters themselves are so numerous, the most prolific writer would be hard pressed to work his way through them all. I recommend this book whole-heartedly to all writers everywhere.