TheWritersBag.com

Experts say there are only 20 or so master plots – that every story in the world is simply a variation of one of these plots.

I’m not sure that’s right in every case. I’ve read some fairly bizarre stories that seem to be wholly unique. But the principle is true. I think it would be safe to say that most stories derive from one or more of the age-old master plots. The fact is, certain stories show up again and again over the millennia and were around long before mankind ever wrote a word.

If you’re looking for a story to write, you’ll find a treasure trove of plot lines in those weird little stories you heard growing up: fairy tales. Thumb through The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm or The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales . (Great authors, playwrights and script writers have been finding inspiration and ideas in these stories for a very long time.) If you don’t find dozens of wonderful mythical themes and story lines to play with in the pages of these and other fairy tale tomes, you’d better check the vital signs of your imagination.

One last note: Fairy tales can be downright terrifying. I’m surprised some of them haven’t been labeled “For Adults Only” – especially the ones about mothers selling their children to wicked witches, parents trying to lose their children in the forest because they don’t have enough food to share with them, little girls being accosted by dirty old wolves … and that’s just scratching the surface.

In short, fairy tales are not for pansies.

I was hiking with my daughter when I saw the sign on the side of the trail. I quickly realized that the first sentence was not only for hikers. Its message was for writers.

The fact is, every year the world exacts a toll of writing victims from the unwary, the unprepared and the unfit….

• Literary agents and publishers turn up their noses at wonderful story and book ideas because the writers don’t know how to present their ideas and make glaring punctuation, grammar or spelling mistakes in their queries.
• Superiors at work shake their heads and make negative performance notes on employees who write rambling, error-saturated, off-target reports, sales letters and other business communications.
• People turn away from blogs they would otherwise subscribe to because the blog writers haven’t learned how to convey ideas in succinct, logical, compelling and interesting ways.

This list could go on and on. The point is, too many people with the raw talent to become excellent writers – perhaps even famous authors – fail to achieve their goals because they are unwary, unprepared and unfit in terms of writing skills. Too many people in the business and professional arenas are “held back” because they are unwary, unprepared and unfit when it comes to the foundational communication skill that has become so deadly important since the advent of the personal computer and e-mail: writing.

Why do so many would-be authors, bloggers and business people who must write at work think they can survive and prosper without learning the basic skill sets involved? Would brain surgeons keep their licenses if they just “felt their way” through surgeries? Would accountants stay in business if they depended on their intuition alone? Would fine artists sell any paintings without knowing the basics of drawing, perspective and color?

I’m amazed that so many otherwise intelligent men and women think they can become successful writers without first learning and practicing the basics of grammar, spelling, punctuation, style, organization, format, point of view and so on! Such an attitude is the height of hubris.

Be wary of the dangers lurking out there in wait for those who haven’t taken the time to learn how to write effectively. Prepare yourself by learning the rules, the techniques and the strategies of powerful writing. (Read good writing books and manuals, such as those you’ll find here.) Make yourself a fit writer by regularly giving your writing muscles a good workout. (The Word Shot exercises I publish on this blog every Monday are just one excellent way to do this.)

Learn. Practice. Sharpen your skills. Be a winner – not a victim.

I loved the submissions for last week’s Word Shot, few though they were. (Check out what Tombo wrote. It should make you laugh out loud. Glanda’s might startle you with a O’Henry-like twist at the end, and Tim’s is a pleasure to read. Good for all of you!) You can read these comments here.

Okay – on to yet another Word Shot … another opportunity to give your writing skills and imagination a good workout. Here’s the image:

As you probably know by now, here’s what you do: Look at the photo (really look at it), then think about it, then write down what comes to your mind. Submit that as a comment to this post. You can submit anything from a single word to a full story. And if you participate in 10 Word Shots, I’ll e-mail you my three e-manuals on writing.

Though there are no rules to this, here’s a tip: Ask yourself obvious questions, then answer them in non-obvious ways. For example, obvious questions for this photo would be, “Why are these people lined up? What are they waiting for?” Obvious answers might include, “They’re lined up to sign up for a race, or to buy tickets to an event or ride in the park.”

Those are boring answers. Stretch your imagination as come up with answers that are not obvious. For example, your answer might be that these young people are waiting to board a time-travel module because each desperately needs to escape a particular problem in his or her life. Such an answer could be the premise of an entire book.

Take a shot at this one. What can you come up with? Even if it’s just a word or a phrase, we’d all like to hear from you.