The impatience of some of these people commenting is a dead giveaway as to why they are here in the first place! There is always something to gain, and if you're truly interested in becoming a better writer, you need to stick around people! I found this incredibly helpful! Thank you very much for this.
ZanyProductionz Exactly how i feel. I've been a heavy procrastinator when it comes to writing, so much that it has depressed me. This video (especially its length, allowing for more detail) has made me feel a lot more confident about organizing my ideas, which is the ultimate goal when you feel you have creativity to share. If you don't have organization and persistence (both requiring patience), which this video stresses, then you won't find much success in taking advantage of your creativity. People took the "not writing while inspired' the wrong way, because i still write while inspired, but i don't ONLY write while inspired because then you slip into a habit of only writing when you feel "inspired," which isn't as often as many would like to admit.
There's the flaw limiting this video's commercial viability... It appeals to those who don't want to put a lot of time into writing on the back end, but requires they put in a lot of up front time watching the video! Probably great content, but going to lose a lot of viewers in the process... It's a sad state of affairs, us millennials don't have the patience it takes to truly develop skill at a new trade, but instead would rather be fed, Matrix style, all the tools necessary to be a master on the front end, with no back end work. Then when you write two pages and realize you suck, on the the next adventure!
For someone who wants to teach how to write a short story, you should work on editing your tutorial down to a more concise video. One hour?! The information you cover in this video could be cut down to 20 minutes and you would see your views triple, and it would be a lot more useful. Plus, the length of this video someone damages your credibility as a short story author. Just cut everything that we already know, which in this case is what we already know or don't know about ourselves. Also, 10 minutes in, you're still talking about what this video isn't. Your video shouldn't take 9.5 minutes to get to your course's objectives. Cut out all the tangents, all the irrelevant perspective, that only dilute your teaching.
Chase Thomas H and congratulations. You're the 500th person that has said that since I put the video up 2 years ago, and the 356th person that has said that since I made an abbreviated version. You're always welcome to put in your 2 cents, but it's a little late. May I recommend getting a hobby?
Andrew Heath Just came across the video. It's clear, I offended you. My apologies, really. I meant it only to be constructive. I'd love to check out the other video, if you want to reply the url. And if you're getting hundreds of responses like mine, maybe you could add an embedded link to the abbreviated version. Sincerely, as a fellow educator, I respect your efforts. -- 500th person though, that's awesome!
Chase Thomas Hello, sorry, you caught me when I was irritated about something else. I made the numbers up, but they are still high. The video can be found at th-cam.com/video/bwXw-9nk71E/w-d-xo.html. Thank you.
No worries Andrew Heath. Reading it now, it does appear that I might have taken some of my own writing frustrations out on you in my comment . I'll check it out.
I've heard several writing professors and authors, including Stephen King, give advice that is exactly the opposite of the strategies, and I've also heard several who totally agree with you. The problem is that people figure out something that works for them, and assume it'll work for everyone else. I think the key is for people to experiment with different strategies in order to figure out what works for them.
Saleem Karim which means the real key might be compiling all these different ideas and presenting them so would be writers can respond to what inspires THEM. There's your next book idea... Compiling all the different writing recommendations of successful authors and comparing and contrasting their views and challenging the readers to discover what works for them
A lifesaver! I'm currently taking a semester long creative writing class and unfortunately it never taught how to develop story ideas. I wish I'd found this earlier. I feel much more prepared for my final after watching your video.
This was one of the most helpful lessons I've ever received as an aspiring writer. Thank you so much. My writing has been prolific after learning this basic process - a process that so many other teachers just ASSUME the writer already knows. Thank you so much!
Hey dude, whatever anyone else says about this video just remember that it helped me and I think you done a great job on it. I feel like now that I've watched this video I've learned how to write a first story for beginners and thank you for this tutorial :D
Thank you, Andrew, for sharing your knowledge! Even after hours and hours of self study, plus a recent college level creative writing class, story development has been extremely difficult for me. Your great teaching style is exactly what I've needed. It all makes sense now. I'm 56 years old...and very determined! :-)
Writing while you're inspired does not hurt your writing. "Mania" is nothing more than an elevated intellectual and/or emotional state of being, which can inform your writing and assist writer's productivity, (especially those struggling with self discipline/motivation). When you write while you're uninspired, you tend to find the act of writing intellectually and emotionally stimulating anyway, right? Before long, writing *inspires* you to sit at the keyboard for longer than your initial 1 hour session. Your productivity increases, you accomplished more that day (word count/editing/etc). This is inspiration. It doesn't damage the quality of your work. In fact, I would argue the very opposite: that writing while uninspired is more damaging to the quality of your writing because if you force yourself to perform a task you don't want to do you're much more likely *not* to complete the task or to rush through it (completing it haphazardly). Lack of inspiration (along with inexperience) tend to make writers more impulsive: they rely on cliche rather than using their analytical faculties to exert brainpower when they don't want to. They'll write a derivative of someone else's work or they'll suffer from that real or imagined writing disease we call "writers block" where they can't seem to translate their thoughts into words. Your emotional state of mind also influences the tone and pacing of your work. If you're impatient to finish the work (or otherwise begrudge having to do it), your writing will contain hints of this irritation/impatience/bitterness--which may be inappropriate and have to be rewritten the next day. People in this state of mind are also more likely to misjudge their own writing (quality/decision making, etc). But on the flipside, the very *act* of writing tends to *inspire* interest and motivation in the writer...shifting their negative or disinterested mindset into something more suitable for writing. So I'm afraid I'm on the opposite side of the debate in that regard.
Realizing this is an old video, please let me comment. I am the procrastinator type. Woke up this morning dreaming that a teacher was telling me that I had 24 hours to write a short story as an assignment. LOL Came here, after telling the teacher in my dreams that I did not think I could get it done in a day. I think I can do this.... LOL My editor is very excited to see more work from me. Thank you. The length was no issue at all, I had time to brain storm my idea while going through the presentation.
Thank you Charles. I'm so glad you liked the video and the book. I hope it helps a lot of people. Thank you so much for your kind words. Good luck with your own writing!
Andrew thank you so much for this video! It's the best video on story writing I've ever seen! In fact, I think it's better than most of the books I've read on writing. You've given me a simple way to start writing - the keyword being SIMPLE. I have actually followed this and written my first story that actually makes sense - nothing special but at least I have an understanding of how things are supposed to flow. I'm the kind of person who is very spontaneous and loves to improvise. However, your tutorial has given me a framework within which I can create freely, knowing that the final piece will make sense to the reader. Thank you once again! I finally believe I can actually write stories people will want to read. (My next project is to write a 100 stories in a hundred days, hopefully at the end of it I will become reasonably good :D )
I am only 20 minutes into this but I want say that it is very true, you cannot depend on inspiration. I tried writing a novel three years ago before I know ANYTHING about writing a short story purely off of inspiration and when I was not inspired, I got into drugs when I was hanging out with friends and listening to music and going for walks with thoughts just leaping out my head. Writing now is a labor and a serious career choice that can not be at the whim of some Greek Muse, great point
Hardly. I'm just making a point, that's all. I have this perfectionist problem so I like to remind myself that to think there is some perfect story or painting or creation is to only set yourself up for disappointment.
This is a fantastic video! Andrew lays out what will make your writing shine and help you catch flaws in your story before you create them. This will save you time in the future from having to go back and do major revisions. My biggest problem with writing is not knowing where the story is going. This video helped me understand not only what makes a story work, but how to plan it out. That's planning, not outlining. I am confused, however, as to why people would complain about the length of this video. If you were to take a course on writing at a school, that would run hours over a period of weeks. If you were to sign up for a workshop at a conference, that could take up to two to three hours. Writing is not learned in 15 minutes. It takes a lot of time and a lot of practice. Your time is not that precious. You are not that privileged. But you are privileged, because you have people like Andrew who knows what they're talking about and are willing to take time out of their own day and share them with you. In this video he gives you gold. Appreciate it or keep scrolling.
This is really, really helpful! I thought my idea was just in the really early stages but it's almost finished according to this, just about the middle of the adulthood phase. It also allowed me to recall some older ideas I had had and forgotten to write down
You really have a great point there, about inspiration. I have written whilst "inspired", banging on the keys and letting it all just "flow" and 100% of the time, I have re-read what I've puked out and thought "wtf is THIS?". I have since given up and the world is a safer place hahaha. Great tutorial :-).
I love your take on inspiration. I don't think I've ever heard anyone else make that connection between altered states and inspiration, but it seems obvious once you say it. I've experienced exactly what you describe -- some amazing idea that felt like a thunderbolt of pure creativity only to turnout to to be a static pop and fizzle when I went back to read it later. Good stuff. Keep it up!
I have just started writing my story and its about two wolf pups called Ozzy and Skye. They are best friends but after a forest fire, both of their parents go missing and so Ozzy and Skye end up going on a quest to find their mum and dad. But after a while, Skye thinks they should give up but Ozzy wants to carry on. Until one day, the Wise old owl sees Ozzy and Skye trying to find their parents. So he goes down to tell them that their parents were killed in the fire by the hunters. So in the end, Ozzy and Skye get adopted by a lovely wolf pack that is one of the strongest in this forest. My story shall hopefully turn out well ;-)
I get your point about inspiration. When writing music I often churn out lots of shitty material when I'm excited and inspired and then discard most of it after the initial excitement passes. I've been making music for long enough that I can do it without being massively inspired at that moment. Inspiration doesn't help really. I find that if you just keep at it then eventually usable material will come and you can keep developing it into something.
Andrew, I am a traditionally-published non-fiction author (I know, big deal, right?) but as one writer to another I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed this. Your points are right on (for example, whenever I write while "inspired" I always have to go back the next day and rework the text!) and I find your tone and mannerism enjoyable. Please do more. I have subscribed and look forward to following you.
Absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for your generosity in teaching the process of how to write. You hit the nail on the head by going right into the nuts and bolts of how to construct a story in such a thorough way with detailed explanations and guidance. Thank you and hope you'll be a famous author soon.
I do not agree with inspiration itself hurting your process. It is a problem when people can't see past it or use it as an excuse. When they tell themselves that they NEED it. Writing is the most fun when you are inspired. Writing isn't done only for money. I have oceans of energy when inspired, and I am not going to let it go to waste.
I 100% agree with you there I stopped watching the video after hearing him say that and went to look for another one because some of the best authors and even artists will tell you to keep a book close, whether it be a writing book or a sketchbook, so that when inspiration hits you throughout the day you can quickly jot those ideas down. Him saying "don't write when you're inspired because it will hurt your work" is completely bogus. If he would have said "Writing when you're inspired is good, but remember to step away, come back and revise because not everything we do the first time ends up as great as we initially thought." THEN I could have agreed, but he said the complete opposite of that.
Inspiration is important, yes. However, sometimes we are bombarded by so many ideas that we never put pen to paper or hand to keyboard to write something. This is where we have to make those ideas that we've come up with work for us by organising our time better. then We have to put those pieces of the puzzle together in a coherent and entertaining way.
Eli Camacho, you missed the point completely. He was talking about when people say “I was inspired to write today” which is process... vs an “inspiration” which is the initial idea, or seed of a story. Two different things.
The title is a misnomer. There is no "perfect" story or "perfect" work of art. Telling someone there IS, I think, is doing them a disservice. Just saying.
This video has a lot of good technical advice, but the way it suggests going about writing itself is so dead. What's the point of writing uninspired? What's the point of writing a story that you've planned out meticulously? To me, writing is the method of telling a story, not the purpose. But I guess that's just me.
I agree that we need to learn how to write without inspiration. But, inspiration can be predicted more than we think. I find inspiration in reading other books or watching movies, listening to music, being in nature, etc. It gives excitement to what I'm writing. We shouldn't be dependent on it, but definitely welcome it when it's there.
Sincere thanks. Your efforts are really appreciated. As a novice writer, I found your lesson extremely enlightening and very helpful. It is said, "when the student is ready.....the teacher arrives". Your kindness will be rewarded.
Thanks for the lesson, you have teached me more on this subject than my narrative teacher did. I'm straight of to your website to read the short story you wrote!
Many thanks for this video! It's a very practical and pragmatic approach of story-telling! I especially enjoyed the part about ideas development, your advise on not writing under the influence of inspiration, and the necessity to place the story in a debatable area. Thank you Andrew! All the best, Matt.
It's funny to me because I often write my short stories without knowing the protagonist, much less the ending. One of the books I'm working on I started with only the protagonist, one of them I started by writing the first line (found out it's a sci-fi). The other two we're plotting. I write both ways, inspired and not; I think the only thing that's kinda annoying about writing when inspired is that sometimes you swoon over some random turn of phrase in the story and then it takes like eight edits where you keep saying, "It feels weak, why does it still feel weak?" before you finally cut it, and then it's better. That's the "kill your darlings" problem, I assume.
I agree that it is more fun to write when inspired, but I have written 100,000 words in the last seven or eight weeks and it wasn't all inspired writing. I write pulp fiction, and inspiration is too unreliable a source. Sometimes you just have to write whether you feel like it or not.
I'm honestly dying! I have to base my short story from a poem and I've tried with three different poems but my ideas aren't working! I'm stressed the fudge out!!!!😵
What about a story that does not have a character that changes? Like a fan fiction with an established character that has already undergone a story arc?
I really like this. One can tell Andrew Heath is a real writer who knows what the hell he's talking about. His credentials demonstrate the experience that your average English teacher isn't in a position to give
bludluva Thank you. English teachers can be a good start to a writing career much like business school is a good start to a business career. Once you have the basics, you must apply them and as you do you get better. Thank you for the nice words.
None of us are perfect, and we can all benefit from training by other writers. I appreciate the insights Andrew Heath offers in this just under 1 hour talk.
Oh man. Avoid writing when you're inspired? I doubt there's ever a better time to write. To rely on inspiration so that you can write? I can agree that that's a bad idea. In a sustained bout of inspiration I wrote myself through my first dozen rejections. Without the inspiration and enthusiasm that carried me through that, I might've been crushed to the point of quitting. Because of it, and the few bits of encouragement and finally a few acceptances (all from writing borne of that bout of inspiration and enthusiasm), I saw what I was capable of and so I haven't given up. I've learned to slog through the sessions uninspired. Trouble for me is trying to complete a story that doesn't inspire me, excite me, or enthuse me in some way. And I think the major reason I wind up in the middle of such stories is because of 'pointed' writing. By 'pointed' I mean writing to market. Trying to find a suitable market and bending a story I can get behind toward that market. Not having any luck there. When I give myself free reign however, I flow like crazy, but then my stories end up too long. Anyway, thanks for posting your suggestions/guidelines. Bought your 'Bedtime Stories for Grownups'. Looking forward to checking it out after I get through a few other titles in my TBR list.
Im not sure about inspiration impeding writing, but I do believe that grinding on, day after day, is the only means of gaining it regularly enough to write professionally. If you turn up at your desk every day, so will the ideas.
You're welcome Andrew. I also posted a link for the video over at an ebook site I frequent (they have a writer's forum) as well as one for your novel writing ebook. mobileread. It's a good site for both PD ebooks and new ones.
I sat through the whole video and enjoyed it. There were so many helpful points, and your personality made it entertaining. I don't know what these people are on about.
Thank you for making this video Andrew. I think the video could have been shorter. As someone who is busy and wants to get into short story writing i don't have 56 mins to sit here and watch long videos. I skipped to the ideas part of this video. It would be good to have a separate video about goals, writers block & procrastination. I saw the title and came here to learn 'how to write a short story in one hour'. I feel like I've learned a little something but not enough.
2 more steps between action > resolution. Action(out of conflict), awareness/3rd eye/divine entropy happenings that take character through learning and then > action out of love/acceptance/growing that takes place that leads to resolution.
gosh... somebody is kind enough to take the time to put all this information together and put it out there (obviously to help others) and people are criticizing it...?! If you find it useful, great! If you don't, move on....quietly!!!
Charli, there is a growing trend toward micro-fiction as we get further into our ADD society, so I think you're on to something. I've written several pieces that are 1000 words or less. The trick is to think of it as a joke. You pack a lot into a short burst with a good "punch line" at the end that leaves the reader saying "wow." That's the best you can do with a very short story, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with writing something that short.
Thank you for spending your time to create this presentation. I have written nothing but have good advice. Seems stories with living animated characters that people fall in love with and as many situations that cause any strong emotion in the reader equals success. Then if you add some concept that makes people think. Best seller! God bless.
I don't know if I agree with his take on inspiration- I often found that the main idea of a story that is good enough to write comes fro the "manic state" inherent in inspiration.
This was very helpful. I have wanted to be a writer for years but had no idea of how to turn a story idea into a real story. I think I'll definitely be able to put your process to good use.
Thank you Andy! Do I dare say you are inspiring and I'm inspired? Your depth of understanding and ability to impart your ideas about writing a short story are outstanding. I watched your condensed version first and went on to the long one. It was worth every minute and I took notes. In your longer version, the "Stages of Ideas" is refreshing and challenging. I have never heard them described like this and it filled in some gaps for me. I'm heading over to "thefictionsite.com" and hope it is still there. Thanks again. Warmly, Elaine in NM
Elaine Carrillo Thank you Elaine. I've actually taken down thefictionsite.com so unfortunately it's no longer available. I'm glad the video was helpful though. Thank you again.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for not doing another of those stupid 10min tutorials. This was really helpful, informative and profesional! For those who complain about the length of the video, this is meant to be a presentation and not a TH-camr Childish tutorial.
Right from the introdtion, this videos proves inevitably impotant, unlike the overwhelming majority of the other ones on can come across sometimes. Indeed, it deserves not only close attention but also a very great tribute. After all, who can speak of writing in more precise words than the writer himself? And it is for this that I would like to express my gratitude and my indebtedness to the author.
A good writer may plan the story's end, the piece's final effect on the reader, without being an absolute slave to it. The planning allows one to commence with writing and structuring the piece, but "creativity" and innovation and exploration (why else write?) comes about when the writer is also sensitive to what he or she might change along the way. This is called revision (re-vision.) Writing is discovery and invention, not factory work. Enjoyed your tutorial. Thanks.
Thank you for posting this. All the advice given is really insightful for anyone new to creative writing. I tried to take everything mentioned to heart.
That's flash fiction. For that, I'd take a broad theme and then choose an aspect of it. Let's say your broad theme is 'Love'. You break down aspects of the broad theme. Ask, what are some aspects of love? Trust is one.So then you'd write your flash fiction on something about trust. From that aspect, you could write a short story on a woman who is distrustful of her partner and maybe go through a conversation of her addressing the issue. Just break down from the main theme and go from there.
I type 70 wpm. I want to write a fantasy story for my creative writing class. I"m still having trouble coming up with items to actually put into the element categories. Could that be an indication that my story idea is too long to incorporate into a short story? Our limitation is 8-10 pages, so it's even harder to do, I think, than 25 pages. So, my typing speed is actually not a hindrance whatsoever, and I'm still not able to do this in an hour. HELP!
If we look at the next slide, then the next slide, and the next one . . . and I will explain the next slide in a moment after I have explained the previous one. This video is an elongated HEAD-WRECKER!!!!!!
Thank you Kathy! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. It's gotten mixed reviews, but a lot of people have liked it. Thank you for subscribing, as well. I look forward to making more videos in the future. Please let me know where I can find some of your work so I can check it out. Thank you again!
Thank you. I've found it very important to write more because it's time to do so than because I'm in the mood. If we only write when we're in the mood, we'll probably not write much of anything.
You're right. I had taken it down a few months ago because I included it in an anthology on Amazon Kindle called Sacrilege by Andrew Heath. I've put it back on my site because you're right, it really isn't fair to use it as an example in the video and then not have it available for review. Thank you for pointing that out.
...meaning that I have too many ideas and I can't narrow it down. How does one narrow down ideas so that they make sense? How does one introduce irony?
Well you make an excellent point. I think this story, like many, requires the reader to suspend at least some disbelief. Would this happen in reality? Most likely not. But then that is why it's fiction. As a side note, neither person sitting in the waiting room is a law abiding citizen. I would encourage you to read the story one more time and see if it appears different.
The planning itself may take a lot more than an hour for the beginner, but I agree that once you get moving, you can get the first draft done in about an hour.
Great, now after I've watched this I have 3:45 minutes to write my short story!
This is awesome
@@thatartgirl7214 whoosh.
@@UltimatePiccolo No
@@lynxz6702 whoosh.
@@UltimatePiccolo Stop
How to Write a Short Story in Three Hours*
1. Watch this video (1hr)
2. Plan your short story (1hr)
3. Write your short story (1hr)
so true
The impatience of some of these people commenting is a dead giveaway as to why they are here in the first place! There is always something to gain, and if you're truly interested in becoming a better writer, you need to stick around people! I found this incredibly helpful! Thank you very much for this.
ZanyProductionz Exactly how i feel. I've been a heavy procrastinator when it comes to writing, so much that it has depressed me. This video (especially its length, allowing for more detail) has made me feel a lot more confident about organizing my ideas, which is the ultimate goal when you feel you have creativity to share. If you don't have organization and persistence (both requiring patience), which this video stresses, then you won't find much success in taking advantage of your creativity. People took the "not writing while inspired' the wrong way, because i still write while inspired, but i don't ONLY write while inspired because then you slip into a habit of only writing when you feel "inspired," which isn't as often as many would like to admit.
There's the flaw limiting this video's commercial viability... It appeals to those who don't want to put a lot of time into writing on the back end, but requires they put in a lot of up front time watching the video! Probably great content, but going to lose a lot of viewers in the process... It's a sad state of affairs, us millennials don't have the patience it takes to truly develop skill at a new trade, but instead would rather be fed, Matrix style, all the tools necessary to be a master on the front end, with no back end work. Then when you write two pages and realize you suck, on the the next adventure!
so did I
Who knows...maybe they're working on 5 minute sets at comedy clubs where laughing will get patrons kicked out.😉
For someone who wants to teach how to write a short story, you should work on editing your tutorial down to a more concise video. One hour?! The information you cover in this video could be cut down to 20 minutes and you would see your views triple, and it would be a lot more useful. Plus, the length of this video someone damages your credibility as a short story author. Just cut everything that we already know, which in this case is what we already know or don't know about ourselves. Also, 10 minutes in, you're still talking about what this video isn't. Your video shouldn't take 9.5 minutes to get to your course's objectives. Cut out all the tangents, all the irrelevant perspective, that only dilute your teaching.
Chase Thomas H and congratulations. You're the 500th person that has said that since I put the video up 2 years ago, and the 356th person that has said that since I made an abbreviated version. You're always welcome to put in your 2 cents, but it's a little late. May I recommend getting a hobby?
Andrew Heath Just came across the video. It's clear, I offended you. My apologies, really. I meant it only to be constructive. I'd love to check out the other video, if you want to reply the url. And if you're getting hundreds of responses like mine, maybe you could add an embedded link to the abbreviated version. Sincerely, as a fellow educator, I respect your efforts. -- 500th person though, that's awesome!
Chase Thomas Hello, sorry, you caught me when I was irritated about something else. I made the numbers up, but they are still high. The video can be found at th-cam.com/video/bwXw-9nk71E/w-d-xo.html. Thank you.
No worries Andrew Heath. Reading it now, it does appear that I might have taken some of my own writing frustrations out on you in my comment . I'll check it out.
+Chase Thomas so much respect in youtube comments. very cool
I've heard several writing professors and authors, including Stephen King, give advice that is exactly the opposite of the strategies, and I've also heard several who totally agree with you. The problem is that people figure out something that works for them, and assume it'll work for everyone else. I think the key is for people to experiment with different strategies in order to figure out what works for them.
Saleem Karim which means the real key might be compiling all these different ideas and presenting them so would be writers can respond to what inspires THEM. There's your next book idea... Compiling all the different writing recommendations of successful authors and comparing and contrasting their views and challenging the readers to discover what works for them
It was sooo worth the hour..I already wrote my first story from this. Thank you so much!♡
you did????????omg This can be all I waited to hear
A lifesaver! I'm currently taking a semester long creative writing class and unfortunately it never taught how to develop story ideas. I wish I'd found this earlier. I feel much more prepared for my final after watching your video.
This was one of the most helpful lessons I've ever received as an aspiring writer. Thank you so much. My writing has been prolific after learning this basic process - a process that so many other teachers just ASSUME the writer already knows. Thank you so much!
Have no idea why people are complaining about the length of the video. It has a lot of thought provoking information. Just saying.
yea at first I thought it might be a bit boring but i quite liked it it was interesting.
Hey dude, whatever anyone else says about this video just remember that it helped me and I think you done a great job on it.
I feel like now that I've watched this video I've learned how to write a first story for beginners and thank you for this tutorial :D
Thank you, Andrew, for sharing your knowledge! Even after hours and hours of self study, plus a recent college level creative writing class, story development has been extremely difficult for me. Your great teaching style is exactly what I've needed. It all makes sense now. I'm 56 years old...and very determined! :-)
Writing while you're inspired does not hurt your writing. "Mania" is nothing more than an elevated intellectual and/or emotional state of being, which can inform your writing and assist writer's productivity, (especially those struggling with self discipline/motivation).
When you write while you're uninspired, you tend to find the act of writing intellectually and emotionally stimulating anyway, right? Before long, writing *inspires* you to sit at the keyboard for longer than your initial 1 hour session. Your productivity increases, you accomplished more that day (word count/editing/etc). This is inspiration.
It doesn't damage the quality of your work. In fact, I would argue the very opposite: that writing while uninspired is more damaging to the quality of your writing because if you force yourself to perform a task you don't want to do you're much more likely *not* to complete the task or to rush through it (completing it haphazardly). Lack of inspiration (along with inexperience) tend to make writers more impulsive: they rely on cliche rather than using their analytical faculties to exert brainpower when they don't want to. They'll write a derivative of someone else's work or they'll suffer from that real or imagined writing disease we call "writers block" where they can't seem to translate their thoughts into words.
Your emotional state of mind also influences the tone and pacing of your work. If you're impatient to finish the work (or otherwise begrudge having to do it), your writing will contain hints of this irritation/impatience/bitterness--which may be inappropriate and have to be rewritten the next day. People in this state of mind are also more likely to misjudge their own writing (quality/decision making, etc).
But on the flipside, the very *act* of writing tends to *inspire* interest and motivation in the writer...shifting their negative or disinterested mindset into something more suitable for writing.
So I'm afraid I'm on the opposite side of the debate in that regard.
+Me Myself and I I couldn't agree more. I actually thought I was getting trolled when I reached this part of the video.
I was gonna watch this but then i saw it is an hour.
Soap no.. Actually that's what i was thinking.. But its worth to watch. I really learned and its relevant.
Lazy
Realizing this is an old video, please let me comment. I am the procrastinator type. Woke up this morning dreaming that a teacher was telling me that I had 24 hours to write a short story as an assignment. LOL Came here, after telling the teacher in my dreams that I did not think I could get it done in a day. I think I can do this.... LOL My editor is very excited to see more work from me. Thank you. The length was no issue at all, I had time to brain storm my idea while going through the presentation.
Thank you Charles. I'm so glad you liked the video and the book. I hope it helps a lot of people. Thank you so much for your kind words. Good luck with your own writing!
Yes, the blog came down temporarily, but it is back up. Thank you for letting me know.
Andrew thank you so much for this video! It's the best video on story writing I've ever seen! In fact, I think it's better than most of the books I've read on writing.
You've given me a simple way to start writing - the keyword being SIMPLE. I have actually followed this and written my first story that actually makes sense - nothing special but at least I have an understanding of how things are supposed to flow.
I'm the kind of person who is very spontaneous and loves to improvise. However, your tutorial has given me a framework within which I can create freely, knowing that the final piece will make sense to the reader. Thank you once again!
I finally believe I can actually write stories people will want to read. (My next project is to write a 100 stories in a hundred days, hopefully at the end of it I will become reasonably good :D )
I am only 20 minutes into this but I want say that it is very true, you cannot depend on inspiration. I tried writing a novel three years ago before I know ANYTHING about writing a short story purely off of inspiration and when I was not inspired, I got into drugs when I was hanging out with friends and listening to music and going for walks with thoughts just leaping out my head. Writing now is a labor and a serious career choice that can not be at the whim of some Greek Muse, great point
Hardly. I'm just making a point, that's all. I have this perfectionist problem so I like to remind myself that to think there is some perfect story or painting or creation is to only set yourself up for disappointment.
True
This is a fantastic video! Andrew lays out what will make your writing shine and help you catch flaws in your story before you create them. This will save you time in the future from having to go back and do major revisions. My biggest problem with writing is not knowing where the story is going. This video helped me understand not only what makes a story work, but how to plan it out. That's planning, not outlining.
I am confused, however, as to why people would complain about the length of this video. If you were to take a course on writing at a school, that would run hours over a period of weeks. If you were to sign up for a workshop at a conference, that could take up to two to three hours. Writing is not learned in 15 minutes. It takes a lot of time and a lot of practice. Your time is not that precious. You are not that privileged. But you are privileged, because you have people like Andrew who knows what they're talking about and are willing to take time out of their own day and share them with you. In this video he gives you gold. Appreciate it or keep scrolling.
This is really, really helpful! I thought my idea was just in the really early stages but it's almost finished according to this, just about the middle of the adulthood phase. It also allowed me to recall some older ideas I had had and forgotten to write down
You really have a great point there, about inspiration. I have written whilst "inspired", banging on the keys and letting it all just "flow" and 100% of the time, I have re-read what I've puked out and thought "wtf is THIS?". I have since given up and the world is a safer place hahaha. Great tutorial :-).
I love your take on inspiration. I don't think I've ever heard anyone else make that connection between altered states and inspiration, but it seems obvious once you say it. I've experienced exactly what you describe -- some amazing idea that felt like a thunderbolt of pure creativity only to turnout to to be a static pop and fizzle when I went back to read it later. Good stuff. Keep it up!
Great vid. I plan to write my novel as a short story first then add meat to the bones to end up with more action and story.
Thats pretty genius. I'll try that.
I have just started writing my story and its about two wolf pups called Ozzy and Skye. They are best friends but after a forest fire, both of their parents go missing and so Ozzy and Skye end up going on a quest to find their mum and dad. But after a while, Skye thinks they should give up but Ozzy wants to carry on. Until one day, the Wise old owl sees Ozzy and Skye trying to find their parents. So he goes down to tell them that their parents were killed in the fire by the hunters. So in the end, Ozzy and Skye get adopted by a lovely wolf pack that is one of the strongest in this forest.
My story shall hopefully turn out well ;-)
Oh please. Inspiration is a great thing. Without it I wouldn't be writing at all.
Great lecture! Taught by a talented, practicing writer, detailed and illustrated by examples - exactly was I was looking for.Thank you so much!
Thank you for your comment. It means a lot to me 😊
I get your point about inspiration.
When writing music I often churn out lots of shitty material when I'm excited and inspired and then discard most of it after the initial excitement passes. I've been making music for long enough that I can do it without being massively inspired at that moment. Inspiration doesn't help really. I find that if you just keep at it then eventually usable material will come and you can keep developing it into something.
Andrew, I am a traditionally-published non-fiction author (I know, big deal, right?) but as one writer to another I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed this. Your points are right on (for example, whenever I write while "inspired" I always have to go back the next day and rework the text!) and I find your tone and mannerism enjoyable. Please do more. I have subscribed and look forward to following you.
Really well done. Exactly the motivation I was hoping for. Thank you!
Really helpful video.
Plz make more videos sharing you insights of story writing.
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope it has been helpful to more people than it hasn't been helpful to.
Absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for your generosity in teaching the process of how to write. You hit the nail on the head by going right into the nuts and bolts of how to construct a story in such a thorough way with detailed explanations and guidance. Thank you and hope you'll be a famous author soon.
I do not agree with inspiration itself hurting your process.
It is a problem when people can't see past it or use it as an excuse. When they tell themselves that they NEED it.
Writing is the most fun when you are inspired. Writing isn't done only for money.
I have oceans of energy when inspired, and I am not going to let it go to waste.
I 100% agree with you there I stopped watching the video after hearing him say that and went to look for another one because some of the best authors and even artists will tell you to keep a book close, whether it be a writing book or a sketchbook, so that when inspiration hits you throughout the day you can quickly jot those ideas down. Him saying "don't write when you're inspired because it will hurt your work" is completely bogus.
If he would have said "Writing when you're inspired is good, but remember to step away, come back and revise because not everything we do the first time ends up as great as we initially thought." THEN I could have agreed, but he said the complete opposite of that.
Inspiration is important, yes. However, sometimes we are bombarded by so many ideas that we never put pen to paper or hand to keyboard to write something. This is where we have to make those ideas that we've come up with work for us by organising our time better. then We have to put those pieces of the puzzle together in a coherent and entertaining way.
Eli Camacho, you missed the point completely. He was talking about when people say “I was inspired to write today” which is process... vs an “inspiration” which is the initial idea, or seed of a story. Two different things.
The title is a misnomer. There is no "perfect" story or "perfect" work of art. Telling someone there IS, I think, is doing them a disservice. Just saying.
I agree when it comes to a story’s style, it’s highly subjective, story structure, however, can be said to be perfect or objectively bad.
A trick : you can watch movies on Flixzone. Been using them for watching a lot of movies lately.
@Ruben Niko Definitely, I've been watching on Flixzone} for months myself :D
This video has a lot of good technical advice, but the way it suggests going about writing itself is so dead. What's the point of writing uninspired? What's the point of writing a story that you've planned out meticulously? To me, writing is the method of telling a story, not the purpose. But I guess that's just me.
The key is change throughout the story, not just wake up in the final chapter and go, "Hey, I want to do something different."
Please no death threats. That was funny.
Great video. It got me inspired. Oh wait, I shouldn't be writing now :c.
This is exactly what I needed to help me with all the stories I started then left as I fell right off the brick road lost and confused
I agree that we need to learn how to write without inspiration.
But, inspiration can be predicted more than we think. I find inspiration in reading other books or watching movies, listening to music, being in nature, etc.
It gives excitement to what I'm writing. We shouldn't be dependent on it, but definitely welcome it when it's there.
Sincere thanks. Your efforts are really appreciated.
As a novice writer, I found your lesson extremely enlightening and very helpful. It is said, "when the student is ready.....the teacher arrives".
Your kindness will be rewarded.
Short stories aren’t my strongest craft, but I’m practicing to get better. Nice video! 👍
Thanks for the lesson, you have teached me more on this subject than my narrative teacher did. I'm straight of to your website to read the short story you wrote!
When Im that person listed in "Three types of ppl that need these course" lmao
and here I thought I was just one kind of bad writer, not three types of people wandering around in one body...
Many thanks for this video! It's a very practical and pragmatic approach of story-telling! I especially enjoyed the part about ideas development, your advise on not writing under the influence of inspiration, and the necessity to place the story in a debatable area. Thank you Andrew! All the best, Matt.
Thanks, It was very helpful for a beginner like me.
Lecture actual starts at 10:20
It's funny to me because I often write my short stories without knowing the protagonist, much less the ending. One of the books I'm working on I started with only the protagonist, one of them I started by writing the first line (found out it's a sci-fi). The other two we're plotting.
I write both ways, inspired and not; I think the only thing that's kinda annoying about writing when inspired is that sometimes you swoon over some random turn of phrase in the story and then it takes like eight edits where you keep saying, "It feels weak, why does it still feel weak?" before you finally cut it, and then it's better. That's the "kill your darlings" problem, I assume.
I agree that it is more fun to write when inspired, but I have written 100,000 words in the last seven or eight weeks and it wasn't all inspired writing. I write pulp fiction, and inspiration is too unreliable a source. Sometimes you just have to write whether you feel like it or not.
I'm honestly dying! I have to base my short story from a poem and I've tried with three different poems but my ideas aren't working! I'm stressed the fudge out!!!!😵
What about a story that does not have a character that changes? Like a fan fiction with an established character that has already undergone a story arc?
For a person like me, who's very new to the whole story-telling process, this was very helpful, thanks!!
I really like this. One can tell Andrew Heath is a real writer who knows what the hell he's talking about. His credentials demonstrate the experience that your average English teacher isn't in a position to give
bludluva Thank you. English teachers can be a good start to a writing career much like business school is a good start to a business career. Once you have the basics, you must apply them and as you do you get better. Thank you for the nice words.
None of us are perfect, and we can all benefit from training by other writers. I appreciate the insights Andrew Heath offers in this just under 1 hour talk.
How to watch a video about how to write short stories in an hour
Oh man. Avoid writing when you're inspired? I doubt there's ever a better time to write. To rely on inspiration so that you can write? I can agree that that's a bad idea. In a sustained bout of inspiration I wrote myself through my first dozen rejections. Without the inspiration and enthusiasm that carried me through that, I might've been crushed to the point of quitting. Because of it, and the few bits of encouragement and finally a few acceptances (all from writing borne of that bout of inspiration and enthusiasm), I saw what I was capable of and so I haven't given up.
I've learned to slog through the sessions uninspired. Trouble for me is trying to complete a story that doesn't inspire me, excite me, or enthuse me in some way. And I think the major reason I wind up in the middle of such stories is because of 'pointed' writing. By 'pointed' I mean writing to market. Trying to find a suitable market and bending a story I can get behind toward that market. Not having any luck there. When I give myself free reign however, I flow like crazy, but then my stories end up too long.
Anyway, thanks for posting your suggestions/guidelines. Bought your 'Bedtime Stories for Grownups'. Looking forward to checking it out after I get through a few other titles in my TBR list.
Im not sure about inspiration impeding writing, but I do believe that grinding on, day after day, is the only means of gaining it regularly enough to write professionally. If you turn up at your desk every day, so will the ideas.
Excellent and very helpful for those like me, clueless about where to start. Thanks for sharing it.
I've been published already, but still found this extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Lol I never had a 10 minute college class....get over yourselves. Great tutorial!
You're welcome Andrew. I also posted a link for the video over at an ebook site I frequent (they have a writer's forum) as well as one for your novel writing ebook. mobileread. It's a good site for both PD ebooks and new ones.
really informative video! keep up your tutorials!!
I sat through the whole video and enjoyed it. There were so many helpful points, and your personality made it entertaining. I don't know what these people are on about.
Thank you this video helped and encouraged me to write a story. I'm 11 years old bot I want to become author at a young age.
Thank you for making this video Andrew. I think the video could have been shorter. As someone who is busy and wants to get into short story writing i don't have 56 mins to sit here and watch long videos. I skipped to the ideas part of this video.
It would be good to have a separate video about goals, writers block & procrastination.
I saw the title and came here to learn 'how to write a short story in one hour'. I feel like I've learned a little something but not enough.
2 more steps between action > resolution. Action(out of conflict), awareness/3rd eye/divine entropy happenings that take character through learning and then > action out of love/acceptance/growing that takes place that leads to resolution.
gosh... somebody is kind enough to take the time to put all this information together and put it out there (obviously to help others) and people are criticizing it...?! If you find it useful, great! If you don't, move on....quietly!!!
Charli, there is a growing trend toward micro-fiction as we get further into our ADD society, so I think you're on to something. I've written several pieces that are 1000 words or less. The trick is to think of it as a joke. You pack a lot into a short burst with a good "punch line" at the end that leaves the reader saying "wow." That's the best you can do with a very short story, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with writing something that short.
Thank you for spending your time to create this presentation. I have written nothing but have good advice. Seems stories with living animated characters that people fall in love with and as many situations that cause any strong emotion in the reader equals success. Then if you add some concept that makes people think. Best seller! God bless.
I loved your video and took lots of notes. I hope you post more videos on writing. You're a great teacher!
I don't know if I agree with his take on inspiration- I often found that the main idea of a story that is good enough to write comes fro the "manic state" inherent in inspiration.
This was very helpful. I have wanted to be a writer for years but had no idea of how to turn a story idea into a real story. I think I'll definitely be able to put your process to good use.
Thank you Andy! Do I dare say you are inspiring and I'm inspired? Your depth of understanding and ability to impart your ideas about writing a short story are outstanding. I watched your condensed version first and went on to the long one. It was worth every minute and I took notes. In your longer version, the "Stages of Ideas" is refreshing and challenging. I have never heard them described like this and it filled in some gaps for me. I'm heading over to "thefictionsite.com" and hope it is still there. Thanks again. Warmly, Elaine in NM
Elaine Carrillo Thank you Elaine. I've actually taken down thefictionsite.com so unfortunately it's no longer available. I'm glad the video was helpful though. Thank you again.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for not doing another of those stupid 10min tutorials. This was really helpful, informative and profesional! For those who complain about the length of the video, this is meant to be a presentation and not a TH-camr Childish tutorial.
I clicked on the link and got an expiration notice, the page is pending renewal.
Very well done. Thank you for taking the time for posting what is certainly a valuable lesson for many.
Right from the introdtion, this videos proves inevitably impotant, unlike the overwhelming majority of the other ones on can come across sometimes. Indeed, it deserves not only close attention but also a very great tribute. After all, who can speak of writing in more precise words than the writer himself? And it is for this that I would like to express my gratitude and my indebtedness to the author.
Beautiful explanation. Thank you very much.
A good writer may plan the story's end, the piece's final effect on the reader, without being an absolute slave to it. The planning allows one to commence with writing and structuring the piece, but "creativity" and innovation and exploration (why else write?) comes about when the writer is also sensitive to what he or she might change along the way. This is called revision (re-vision.) Writing is discovery and invention, not factory work. Enjoyed your tutorial. Thanks.
Thank you for posting this. All the advice given is really insightful for anyone new to creative writing. I tried to take everything mentioned to heart.
That's flash fiction. For that, I'd take a broad theme and then choose an aspect of it. Let's say your broad theme is 'Love'. You break down aspects of the broad theme. Ask, what are some aspects of love? Trust is one.So then you'd write your flash fiction on something about trust. From that aspect, you could write a short story on a woman who is distrustful of her partner and maybe go through a conversation of her addressing the issue. Just break down from the main theme and go from there.
I type 70 wpm. I want to write a fantasy story for my creative writing class. I"m still having trouble coming up with items to actually put into the element categories. Could that be an indication that my story idea is too long to incorporate into a short story? Our limitation is 8-10 pages, so it's even harder to do, I think, than 25 pages. So, my typing speed is actually not a hindrance whatsoever, and I'm still not able to do this in an hour. HELP!
Great stuff, I'll will use this info for sure.
One question though, I like to write slice of life stories. How does this work for that?
If we look at the next slide, then the next slide, and the next one . . . and I will explain the next slide in a moment after I have explained the previous one. This video is an elongated HEAD-WRECKER!!!!!!
Had to skip the first 10 minutes of pre-amble but otherwise solid advice. Really liked the way you described the lifecycle of an idea.
This was quite informative. Thanks a lot.
Thank you Kathy! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. It's gotten mixed reviews, but a lot of people have liked it. Thank you for subscribing, as well. I look forward to making more videos in the future. Please let me know where I can find some of your work so I can check it out. Thank you again!
This helped a lot thank you. I feel more sure of myself.
Thank you. I've found it very important to write more because it's time to do so than because I'm in the mood. If we only write when we're in the mood, we'll probably not write much of anything.
I just found this but I still want to thank you for putting this out. I really enjoyed it and am learning a lot.
You're right. I had taken it down a few months ago because I included it in an anthology on Amazon Kindle called Sacrilege by Andrew Heath. I've put it back on my site because you're right, it really isn't fair to use it as an example in the video and then not have it available for review. Thank you for pointing that out.
Half way through vid and already best vid on fundamentals and theory on writing
The idea stages help me so much.
I'm certainly gain something with the presentation, especially the "Idea stages' part". You make it looks easy to be creative. Thank you.
Thank you, very valuable presentation
...meaning that I have too many ideas and I can't narrow it down. How does one narrow down ideas so that they make sense? How does one introduce irony?
great video. i would mute the part where you describe emails as a qualification though. your book also looks interesting.
Well you make an excellent point. I think this story, like many, requires the reader to suspend at least some disbelief. Would this happen in reality? Most likely not. But then that is why it's fiction.
As a side note, neither person sitting in the waiting room is a law abiding citizen. I would encourage you to read the story one more time and see if it appears different.
Andrew,
Great informative video! Thanks!
I'm not sure I agree with, or understand, not writing while inspired, but the rest was very helpful!
Thanks
The planning itself may take a lot more than an hour for the beginner, but I agree that once you get moving, you can get the first draft done in about an hour.