Welcome to WritingFix   WritingFix: Where getting your daily writing "fix" is more important than fixing your writing.  Write EVERY day!   Hello writers, teachers, and students.  Have you been inspired to do any writing today?

 This has got to be the most comprehensive writing website I have ever seen - it is jam packed with ideas for writing!

 Choose a setting that would help make an interesting story more interesting.  Close your eyes and enter that setting in your brain. Paint a picture in your mind, then open your eyes and write down everything you saw.
Add sensory details.  What things did you see in your setting that you might touch, taste, smell, or hear?  Add these details to what you've written.
Next focus in on one person in your setting.  What would this character notice or do in this setting?  Write your ideas down.  When you have some good ideas written,
What mood would fit your story?  How should the reader feel about this place? Add words or phrases that would help the reader feel the way about the setting that you would want them to.  Write down ideas, then
Get ready to add a second setting.  Where might your character go after being in this setting?  When your character moves to another setting, your story's plot gets bigger.  Brainstorm a second setting, then
Now build a story around your two setting ideas by writing a larger draft.  As you develop your characters, keep finding ways to mention your two settings and to describe them more.  Remember, your setting is just as important to your story as your plot and characters.  When you have a rough draft,
Finally, share your draft with another.  Ask your reader to comment on whether the setting seemed as important as the characters and plot.  Revise as necessary. 

Good Fortune

     Her crystal ball is actually the rounded top of the pasta jar from our kitchen.  Her hands dance around the glass as she pretends to beckon forth portentous spirits.  Her eyes look neither at her hands nor her crystal ball; she is staring directly, instead, into her customer's eyes.  I, in my buck-toothed bunny shirt, am watching her hands, which I have always been fascinated by.  Our backyard in Fresno is watching us.

Student Instructions:  Do you have a photo lying around...just waiting to be put in an album or a safe place?  Photographs like this often become amazingly good pieces of writing!  Especially if you write about them using the zoom in/zoom out method.

Want to try?  Get some scratch paper and sharpen your pencil.  Get that photograph (for real or in your mind--for real is better though) that is going to inspire you.  A sample is below to help you see the technique this workshop encourages.

 "Find a photograph that sparks a memory.  We suggest you use one of those photographs you've placed in a drawer--one of the ones you've been intending to paste in a photo album some day.
"Study the photograph like you've never studied it before.  Find an object in the photograph that a camera could zoom in on...it can be a thing or a part of a person--like someone's eyes or hands.  Write a beginning sentence that describes just the object you've zoomed in on..........................When you have finished your first sentence,
"Pretend your writer's camera has now zoomed out just a little, giving you a bigger piece of the photograph, but not the entire photograph yet.  Add a second sentence to your description that describes an even bigger piece of your photograph................When you have finished your second sentence,
"REVISION MOMENT:  Before going on, look carefully at the first two sentences...Could you have made the descriptions of the zoomed in items more interesting?  Take a moment to 'tweak' your writing and make it a little stronger before moving on.  Look specifically at your verbs and adjectives as you do this..........................When your revision is done,
"Write two more sentences in your description of your photograph.  With each sentence, zoom a little more out, but don't zoom out all the way yet....Use strong verbs and adjectives as you write this time..........When your next two sentences are written,
"Now it's time for your last sentence of this descriptive paragraph about your photo.  For the last sentence, describe as though you are looking at the entire picture at once, and capture the details that still haven't been captured...........When your final sentence is written,
"Revise the entire desciption as you print the paragraph neatly into your notebook or journal.  You may want to tape the picture in your journal or notebook first so that you can surround it with the words you've written.  It's okay to continue writing about the picture with another paragraph that tells more of the story in your photograph, but you don't have to.  Do this same activity with other photos for your journal or your notebook.  It's excellent practice for looking at details differently............

 "Write down as many reasons as you can think of about why people lie."
"Now think of as many different times that you have lied as you can.  Try to be very specific.  The more you remember, the easier the next step will be.  Don't worry...no one here is going to tell on you!"
"Pick the most interesting of your own lies.  Brainstorm everything you can about that lie. How old were you?  Who did you lie to? What did you lie about? Why did you lie? What reason did you use? Did you lie to save yourself from a punishment? To get out of going to school? To protect someone else?  Did you ever get caught? Should you tell the truth now?  Why or why not?
"Look at all the ideas in your brainstorm.  Group the ideas that go together. Use colors to help group them, if you have any handy."
"When you write your best story out now, arrange your grouped or same-color thoughts into paragraphs.   Don’t forget a catchy beginning.  Have fun writing this!"

Student Instructions: Have you ever been hurt and needed a Band-Aid or just a hug?  Did you fall off a horse or fence, or did you try to fly...only to find the landing left you a little wounded?  Let's see how well you remember your own experience.  Have some paper and a pencil or pen?  Click the button below when instructed and try to remember the details of a time when you got hurt.
"Brainstorm or list times you were hurt in any type of accident."
"Pick the time that you have the strongest feelings for."
"Now brainstorm just the one time you've chosen, but try to remember the pain, who was there, where it happened, when it happened, what happened, why it happened. Did it require a hospital visit?"
"With a crayon or marker, color code similar thoughts from your brainstorm. For example: color in yellow all the ideas about pain, color in green all the ideas about where the story happened, etc..."
"When you write the story now, arrange same color thoughts into paragraphs.   Don’t forget a catchy beginning." "Share your writing with a friend for feedback. Save the writing, maybe even revise the piece when a new idea occurs to you.