by Halee, age 12

Girls Horse Club is filled with utterly amazing writers, thinkers, and of course horse lovers. I’ve read many things by all of the members since 2006, and am stunned and awed by many of your writing. I myself have written many stories and nine novels. I’m not much of a poet, and envy those who are.

Everyone here is so talented, but what do you do when your muse has run away? There are lots of ways to trigger your creativity, and here are some of them!

1) Write about what you know. If that is about sports, horses, dancing, a place, or art — go for it! It might sound boring saying just write what you know, but if what you know excites you and other people who are interested in the same thing, then it is not boring. I know that when I see a well-written, sensible horse story I am interested, as well as with a nice fantasy tale.

2) Try to use your senses when writing. This not only means not making something impossible (like a dragon) appear in a non-fantasy work, but also to write about things like what your character(s) see, feel, hear, taste, and smell. What does a sidewalk smell like after it rains? What does a tight wool sweater feel like? What does a new food taste like? Is it spicy? What is its texture on your character’s tongue? Use your own experiences to describe what’s going on, but don’t be afraid to use your imagination — it’s what drives you in the first place!

3) Conflict is your friend. Make sure your story is a streamline of events, but use your instincts to know when to slow things down, speed them up, or take a jump into the past. If your character is flawless in the beginning and still the same dozens of pages later, it will not be entertaining. Same goes for events; it is unlikely one event should be drawn out for three chapters. Keep in mind that while this might appeal to you, it might leave you with no readers when your story is through.

4) Find someone to listen to your ideas and read your writing, like a writing buddy. Don’t be afraid if they don’t like something in your story. There is no such thing as negative feedback, there is always some way to turn it into a positive way to improve your writing. And if you really don’t want to change the thing they don’t like, don’t! Follow your heart when writing, but your brain helps very much. Ask them for an honest critique of your writing, but make sure it is someone whose opinion you value or a writing buddy, not someone who will just be slowing you down instead of making you do a double-take on your work. Be willing to listen to advice on things she or he knows about. When writing a story, I take horse advice from horse friends, and horsemen and women I write to for advice if need be. If I need help on plotting, I’ll ask another friend who writes. You can have multiple critique partners, as long as they can serve a purpose and help you become a better writer. And the best part is, they can be online, or offline in the real world!

5) Don’t be afraid to go out of the way to make something in your story HAPPEN. If you are writing about something you don’t know very well, find someone who does know. Search the net (with permission and caution), look up some people who work in the field, and maybe write them a letter or drop them an email if the option is available. It might seem like going out of your way to learn something, but the payoff is a well-written story.

6) Enter contests and talk to friends, adults, and teachers about your stories. They could give you advice and opinions, and it helps get your writing noticed. When entering a contest, try to enter one that is limited to those people in your age group. Like many times I’ve entered a 10 to 12 year-old contest, but there are always contests for pretty much every age range. The point is, this cuts down your competition and gives you a better chance of winning. Always remember, winning isn’t everything.

7) Find out which publishers are printing the sort of stories you want to write. If you wrote a fantasy book about unicorns you wouldn’t submit that to a publisher that published technical works. A great source for everything in the writing world, from publishers to editors, is the Writer’s Market. I own the Writer’s Market, but it is difficult to obtain because it is often at a high price, so try checking it out from your local library.

8) Remember that even the best writers need input for their writing. In other words, READ. What you read will influence you writing greatly, whether or not you notice it. That’s why it’s good to read a large range of authors, because then you will have a good variation of vocabularies, attitudes, and styles all contributing to your style. That way, you also don’t end up snagging someone else’s plot. And yes, each writer has their own style, no matter how much it is influenced. Don’t be afraid to find your style, search for it, change it around, and work on it!

9) Write often. This doesn’t mean sit down and write a lot and then not write for ages and ages, it means to write a bit everyday, take it slow if you need, and don’t worry if you don’t like what you write. No one ever got good beating themselves up. If you simply CANNOT turn cheek to what you think is horrible writing, fix it. Examine what you thought was not acceptable, and figure out what parts you like and what parts you don’t. Think of what could improve it, maybe different wording, a little twisting of the plot, a faster or slower pace. And if you just can’t seem to get it right, don’t let pride get in your way of a great story. Ask a friend for help or thoughts after they read it, sometimes your perception of yourself and your own writing is a bit blurred.

10) Don’t strain yourself to write. If you try too hard or write when you honestly don’t have the drive to, it’s not going to turn out very good. Remember, there is a fine line between being determined to finish something, and stressing yourself to the limit.

11) You can’t find your muse if you don’t do anything. Sitting in a room all walled up isn’t likely to feed your inspiration, so go for a walk, watch a video, read a book. It just might give you the boost of muse and input you need. Think about the robot from the movie Short Circuit, “NEED INPUT.” Next time you feel drained, go into Short Circuit mode and GET INPUT. If you’re sitting in the house all day, unless you have an extremely vivid imagination, most likely you are not going to have something to help you with your writing. Go out, go to the ocean, feel the way the breeze hits your face, listen to birds singing. Go for a ride with some friends, visit your favorite horse and touch his coat. As Ray Bradbury once said, “Great writers touch life often.” Even the most creative people get input for their work, whether they realize it or not.

12) Try looking at things, like plants and rocks, then try explaining what you see and feel. This is not necessarily part of a story, but just for writing practice. For example, I tried this on a piece of paper in a notebook a long time ago: The light was caught onto the stone, reflecting on some of the tips that seemed to be broken, jutting from the rock. While on others, the light did not echo off, but darkness left deep and mysterious space to gaze at. At running my hand across the bottom, I find rough texture I would honestly not be able to distinguish from any other rock on the ground.”

When you make little descriptions like the one above, think of it like in an artist’s sketchbook. Some sketches will be used for being completed or added to a work, and some are just practice. Think of your descriptions like the one above as a sketch, a work in progress, to be used or discarded. Either way, you improve your skills and learn.

13) I know this has been said before , but writers read, readers write. I only repeat this because I really want to put a strain on how what you read effects your writing. Reading works from authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Walter Farley, Shakespeare, etc, helps me greatly, but do not limit yourself to a few authors — read many varieties of novels, comedies, romance, science fiction, horse books, etc. Read as much as you can. Trust me, it helps. The more you read, the more you will be able to recognize what kind of story is a pleasing experience from cover to cover, and what will leave you snoring. You’ll also learn to recognize types of plots, types of writing, and the proper way to use different dialects.

14) Don’t make yourself keep one style. You never know what will become your comfort zone. Try different styles of writing. You don’t have to stray too far from whatever style you have, or if you don’t write much this could help you find your place. I myself bounce between horror writing, horse-themed stories, and science fiction, and sometimes all blended together, though I must admit that writing about horses and the people who love them is my favorite thing. I’m not saying go so far out of your usual writing style that you become lost, just don’t limit yourself. I find it very admirable when someone can write a beautiful piece of poetry one day, and then a gripping tale the next, and I know many of you at Girls Horse Club are capable.

15) And for the final tip, bring a notebook and pencil with you as much as possible. You never know when you’ll have some great idea. Whether you just want to jot down a plot line or write the beginning of a story, this is a good idea. I found this out the hard way after having ideas at many times and nothing to write them down on, then forgetting them when I do have something to write on.

Read Halee’s latest poem The Mustang

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