I aspire to write fiction, but I find practice comes hard. Whenever I feel motivated or am struck with an idea, I hit a roadblock I'm not sure how to bypass, and I tend to get stuck in a rut on minor details. I have a bunch of "Guide to Writing" books, but I want to actually apply all the reading I do. Do you guys have any advice to give, like prompts to start the juices going?
If it's a detail that's stopping you, just don't let it. Skip it if you have to. Honestly, finishing the first draft of whatever it is you're writing is far more important than any single point of detail, and you'll probably figure it out as you're working on the rest of the piece.
If you're stuck on a particular script, short story, novel etc. are you clear on what you want the piece to be? Can you write down a short summary (just a couple of sentences, a logline) that you're excited to write? If not, it may be the actual idea itself. Write down summaries of ideas until you hit one you just have to write. What's the theme, what are you trying to say? If you have clarity on these things then move on to the beats.
If you're still excited to write it (and if you're not, why are you writing it?), then have you broken down the major beats of the story? If you have a basic framework of how the story breaks down and how it pays off, then you should know you have a good story. The details can be worked out, but if you have a strong idea, a solid beginning, middle and end, a good idea of who your characters are and how you want them to change, then you can carry on without letting something like a detail stop you in your tracks.
Once you have that, write an outline. This is an overview of the story itself. If there are things you haven't fully worked out, don't worry, short-hand things and be OK with it. When we were sorting out the outline for The Reckoning, there were a few things we hadn't got nailed down, "Graves helps TF to escape" was part of the outline. We hadn't figured out the minutiae yet, but we knew we wanted Graves to sacrifice himself as it would be part of showing that he was putting aside his selfish, blinkered view of TF. You'll then work out the details, how to dramatize who the characters are, and it'll be much easier when you have a strong framework and direction for your story that you've carefully built up in stages.
Personally, I start with the character. How can you sum up the core of the character in a line or two? What's the motivation? What does the character want? What does the character need? Wants and needs are usually different, but often related. What is the flaw in themselves? What is the external obstacle? What conflict would highlight the difference between the character's wants and needs?
Graves wanted revenge on TF and to understand why he betrayed him. Graves's main flaw is his stubbornness which can lead to myopia. Therefore Graves needed to look at things from his friend's point of view in order to grow and get the prize of reconciling their partnership. The shorthand for the two of them very early on was 'Graves never backs down, TF always has an out.' It gave us a focus to build from and a straight parallel on why they could drive each other utterly crazy and also learn from each other in order to grow. We then built that out and dropped the details in.
Then it's just writing it, you know, the easy bit ;)
Sorry if that's a bit of a stream of consciousness, I'm headed out the door with my family and my son is getting annoyed with me. I hope it helps a little.
To practice their writing, Lore Team, AKA "Narrative Team", does a strict regimen of 200 pushups in the morning followed by a 5 kilometer run. They play a game of basketball in Riot's gym, before lifting some weights and heading to lunch. After lunch, Riot's Lore Team goes for a brisk jog around the facilities to cool down before doing an intense core workout. They stop for a coffee break around 3:00, spending the rest of the day arm wrestling with each other. Unfortunately, practicing writing takes up their entire workday. They do not have the time to do anything else, hence why no lore is being produced.
I find the easiest thing to "practice" writing with is to take one character, give him a clearly defined desire, and then put one character opposite them with a clearly defined opposing desire.
"Life just isn't what it used to be."
The armoured man sat on the dirt beside the Gromp, staring down the path. He rested his head in his hands, a sullen look on his face.
"It used to be life was simple," the man continued. "It used to be I knew my purpose. My goal. But lately, well... It's become harder to see."
The Gromp nodded. It stared at the man curiously, wondering what this man, this champion was saying. It knew the words, but it made no sense, like the wolves further down.
"Maybe you want a hug." The boy bundled in bandages said. He sat beside the man, and opened his arms for a hug.
The man did not hug.
"Haven't you ever felt like that?" he asked. "Like some great purpose has eluded you? As if nothing even makes sense." As if black were white, up were down and Ionia had an effective government.
The boy shrugged. "I just want friends," he replied. "But for some reason, no one wants to be my friend. They say I'm too depressing."
"You want friends," the man repeated. "But do you fight for your friends? What do you fight for?"
"Because... I have to?" The boy gazed up. "I don't know... Everyone just tries to kill me. Except you. You're nice." He smiled beneath his bandages. "Won't you be my friend?"
But the man had risen, a glint in his eyes. "I see... I see now! That's precisely it!"
The boy looked at him, not comprehending.
"Don't you see, Amumu? I have made things too complicated! It doesn't matter that I've been taught new things. It doesn't matter that what once was good and true no longer is the best to do. I still have my purpose. My ultimate goal." The man lifted his heavy sword, and smirked. Everything made sense again.
"Please don't!" The boy shrank back as the man rose to his full height. Moments ago, he had managed to convince the man to lay down arms. Moments ago, he thought he'd found a kindred spirit. A friend.
He knew he had not.
"DEMACIA!"
So you have Amumu, whose desire is to make friends. And then you have Garen, who just wants to kill his enemies. You introduce a conflict (Garen wants to kill, but Amumu wants friends), and then resolve it. Then you just write and stop caring about making sense. Practice isn't about making sense. It's about getting those words onto paper and figuring out what works for you best.
