Ideas Just Keep on Coming

Sometimes it's a problem if you want to write, but you just have no idea what to write about.

I find that using prompts is the easiest way to get started. I use online word generators to get three nouns, and then I start writing, even though I have no idea where I'm going. All I know is that I have to use all three words in the first paragraph, and then it all somehow flows from there, and ideas just keep coming.

That's how I wrote my latest novel, Jackolantern. I wanted to write a short story, so I used a random word generator to get my three nouns, and one of them was the word pumpkin.

As I started to write, ideas started popping up like crazy, and when I finished the short story, I realised that it would make a great book. So I set to work on an extensive outline and added loads more creepy action until I had a brilliant outline for a novel.

And because the whole story is centred around a pumpkin, I called it Jackolantern.

The obvious problem with the story being about a pumpkin is that it's an inanimate object, so it can't move or do anything

But when it keeps appearing on the main character's front porch, he naturally thinks that someone is putting it there to annoy him because he hates Halloween. Eventually he wonders if the pumpkin is alive because no matter how many times, or no matter in how many different ways he gets rid of it, it keeps coming back, and its face is looking furious.

I had fun writing this story and inventing so many ways for him to destroy the pumpkin, only to find it back on his porch again, looking more battered and more angry than before.

 At first he is annoyed by it, but eventually, he's frightened of it and feels like he's losing his mind. Then he discovers what is really happening and he’s terrified.

This was definitely one of my favourite stories to write because the ideas just kept coming and coming.

Plus, Halloween is a dark and scary time, which is why there are so many horror stories and horror movies about it.

And, as I discovered, it's fun to write about.

 Jackolantern

Campfire Stories Book Two

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/jackolantern.html

It's OK to Hate. It Makes Great Horror Stories

I think all horror stories are based on a dislike of something.

I always used to admonish my kids if they said they hated something (or someone). I'd say," Don't say hate. It's a strong word." I always think that the word 'hate' is dark and threatening.

But boy does it make a great horror story. 

In Stephen King's The Shining, the main character hated being an alcoholic and was looking for a place to escape to avoid alcohol.

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the main character hated the belief that only God could create humans and tried to make one himself. 

In Iain Reid's psychological horror novel, I'm Thinking of Ending Things (which was made into a Netflix movie in 2020), the main character, Jake, hates his regret-filled and lonely life, so he invents a new one in his mind and plays it out.

In my latest book, Jackolantern, I can easily relate to the main character's hate of Halloween because I dislike all the made-up celebrations that are forced upon us, including Christmas. Most of them are based on fake reasons anyway. 

For instance, take Valentine's Day. It’s originally based on a Christian feast day honouring a martyr named Saint Valentine. 

Or Mother's Day. It originally meant the Mother Church and was a day that families could get together and visit the church where they were baptised or their local church. Hence the term 'Mothering Sunday' because Sunday is the day that Christians attend church.

The modern version of Mother's Day also spawned Father's Day and then Grandparents Day, meaning people have to buy more and more gifts.

All holiday celebrations are now geared towards commercialism and have lost their traditional meaning, including Halloween.

So I can relate 100% with my main character who hates Halloween and doesn't want to have anything to do with it, and is annoyed when he keeps finding a carved pumpkin on his front porch. 

I know that I'm not the only one who doesn't like Halloween. There are millions of others. 

The big problem with Halloween, as opposed to all the other occasions, is that kids going door to door trick-or-treating gives people no privacy in their own homes and little chance to avoid something they want no part of.

On the plus side, this misery that is inflicted on those who dislike Halloween is done by people in scary masks and costumes, which makes for a great horror story.

And my Jackolantern Halloween horror story is unique.

Jackolantern

Campfire Stories Book Two

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/jackolantern.html

Why Jackolantern Isn't Misspelled

My latest novel, Jackolantern, was published last month. I enjoyed writing it and was pleased with the cover design and how the book looked.

But when my daughter saw it, she looked at the cover and said, " You've spelled Jackolantern wrong."

That was it. No congratulations, the book looks great, just a brief comment about what she thought was a wrongly spelled word. Of course, she was wrong. I hadn't misspelt anything-especially not my novel's title. Why? Because it's my book, so I can spell anything anyway I want.

The story is about a jackolantern, but all the way through the book I refer to it as" the pumpkin; '' so the spelling of the title is irrelevant.

Jackolantern is the story of a man who hates Halloween. One day he arrives home from work to find a carved pumpkin on his front porch. He thinks one of his neighbours put it there as a sick joke because they all know he doesn't like Halloween, and he always sneers at their Halloween decorations in their gardens.

He throws the pumpkin in the bin, but it keeps returning, and each time it looks angrier.. He soon realises it's not a joke. The reason the pumpkin keeps returning is much more sinister and evil.

And that, in a nutshell, is the story of my book, Jackolantern, and the freedom of writing fiction gives me the freedom to spell words anyway I please.

And, the way I see it, spelling something differently makes my title. stand out and might intrigue more readers.

Because, as the saying goes, why fit in when you can stand out?

It's not too late to grab a copy of Jackolantern before Halloween. Or buy a copy anytime.

Because a Jackolantern is for life, not just for Halloween.

Jackolantern

Campfire Stories Book Two

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/jackolantern.html 

How To Stay Motivated and Write More

Sitting alone in a room and writing for hours can sometimes feel hard, because being a writer is so different to how others earn a living.

Writers don't have to get up at a certain time and don't even have to leave the house to travel to work. We just sit and write, which is why it sometimes feels hard, and why motivation can sometimes feel like it's lacking.

So, what is motivation, and how can you have more of it?

The word 'motivate' has the word 'motive' built right into it, which is why you need a good reason to do what you're doing.

I find that sometimes I lack motivation to write because I have no set deadline to finish what I'm working on, and no one will know if I've done my writing or not. That's why I always schedule my time so that I can sit down at a designated time and start writing.

Naturally, it's not as easy as it sounds, and many different things get in my way and try and stop me.

Just the other day, I promised myself that I'd sit down and write at 9 a.m. But I got distracted reading an article, and when I looked up, it was way past 9 o’clock, and I was angry at myself for getting distracted. But clearly, having a writing schedule doesn't always work.

It can be that the lack of motivation comes from a goal not being important enough to stick to. 

I found that the best way to stay motivated is to have a clear goal of what I want to achieve, and then I map out a plan of how I'm going to achieve it. Then all I need to do is stick to my plan. But the goal has to be important, otherwise, why would I care? These are the 3 things I need to stay motivated:

- A goal that's worth reaching 

- An action plan to get me there 

- A deadline

I think that the most important of these is a deadline. And this doesn't just apply to writing. 

As an example, when we were recently refurbishing the house we have now moved into, we knew what we wanted to do, but we didn't give ourselves a deadline. After a few weeks, we were sitting discussing what we still had to do and how long we thought it would take. We wanted to get out of the house we were renting as soon as we could because it was costing us nearly $600 a week to live there.

So we set a deadline for the end of the month, ev
en though the timing was a bit tight. 

Then we gave notice on our rental property, organised a removal company, organised the flooring and carpets to be installed 2 days before that, then we told the tradies who were putting in a new bathroom and kitchen that they had to be done before the new flooring went in. Not only did this deadline make us work faster (and longer hours at 12 hours a day), but it also mustered the tradies who were mostly not even turning up every day. Without a deadline, it might have dragged on for weeks.

And it's the same with my writing. If I have a deadline to meet, I get the work done no matter what. And I also need a goal and a plan to get there.

Once I know what I have to do, I have to make sure I stick to it the best I can. Every time I have a plan of what I want to do, life has an ugly habit of throwing as many obstacles in my way as it can, which often makes me want to quit.

But then I think to myself that the time is going to pass anyway. The only question is, how am I going to use it?

With the right motivation, I know I can achieve anything.