Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Today's topics are generating story ideas and overcoming writer's block. Omorose Panya grammar I used to write fiction stories all the time but I stopped. Then I started writing poetry, and now I write song lyrics. I miss writing stories tho'. Feeling my creative juices rushing through my veins was always invigorating. I think I'll try some of the contests you mention--particularly the 100 word ones. I haven't written a long (or short) story in a while, so I think it's best to start small. In other news, I have never heard of "Johnna". It's in spellcheck, too. What an interesting name. Thanks for the podcast =) http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=18540#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=18540#Comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:24:30 GMT Kayleigh grammar I am trying to write a book but I have writers block what do I do! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=18100#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=18100#Comments Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:17:01 GMT Anonymous grammar i love writing, but I have trouble in class when it comes to writing things fast. I need help Anonymous... http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=16864#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=16864#Comments Wed, 06 May 2009 04:32:09 GMT Courtney grammar I am a twelve-year-old kid. I love writing. It is one of my best hobbies. I am good at it, and enjoy it. However, I have a terrible case of writers block. No matter what I do I cannot think of a subject to write about. I would like the genre to be fiction or fantasy. Can you please help me overcome my writers block and maybe help me think of some good topics to write about. Thanks I look foward to hearing back from you. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=16592#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=16592#Comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:13:18 GMT ashutosh pratap singh grammar this is good site for improoving ur communication. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=15702#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=15702#Comments Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:48:53 GMT Connie grammar I am a writer with a deadline. I have never listened to your podcasts until today, and I'm going through them all in order. I'm now on the episode about overcoming writer's block and procrastinating. I understand that the choice should not be between playing solitaire or writing. But what about listening to 50 podcasts or writing? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=10392#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=10392#Comments Tue, 27 Nov 2007 02:29:07 GMT jurgen wolff grammar Another fun technique for fiction writers is to look at two totally different newspaper stories and imagine who a person featured in one of them might connect with a person from the other one. This kind of "forced association" is a great creativity technique for any kind of brainstorming. ----- -------- http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=569#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=569#Comments Sun, 27 May 2007 04:01:48 GMT dpeach grammar When I took writing courses, they always made a big deal about doing some writing every day. I have notebooks full of stuff that no one will ever see. And, consequently, I never put much effort into that. Now, thanks to blogging, I try to write some (or a lot) each day. It may not always be my best effort, but I know that I am writing for an audience who hopefully appreciate what I am writing. Later, I can go back to my blog postings and use them as springboards to longer stories or articles. I have used this several times as a help to get me started on a project. ----- http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=568#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=568#Comments Sat, 26 May 2007 16:22:17 GMT MikeK grammar "Data" is the plural form of datum. The correct usage would be to always treat it as such, so "Data are transmitted by..." is technically correct. In common usage, I think most people do not recognize the word "data" as being plural, and think of data = information. Since the term "Information is transmitted by..." is grammatically correct, the term "Data is transmitted by..." sounds correct too. I would suggest you tailor your sentence to your audience. If you are writing for PhDs, then use the correct form, if you are writing for the general population, you could easily use the technically incorrect form and it would be easier on your mind's ear (and your reader's). ----- http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=567#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=567#Comments Thu, 24 May 2007 20:25:55 GMT Jason grammar Don't forget about National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) to get those procrastinators going! "National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30." ----- http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=566#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx?commentid=566#Comments Wed, 23 May 2007 20:59:46 GMT Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:24:30 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/story-ideas-and-writers-block.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us