
The blank page… a new elusive writing assignment, the effort might seem daunting…. few tips and tricks to get the ideas flowing. When faced with a new elusive writing assignment – soar now.
The blank page: When faced with a new elusive writing assignment – soar now. The effort might seem daunting, however, there are a few tips and tricks to get the ideas flowing and the energy moving.
“A blank page can seem daunting. You can prepare by taking time to research and review your notebook. Then start writing – but remember, sometimes the best inspiration comes after the first few pages.
Your ‘preparation time’ might be:
- Gathering information or research: check that you know enough about a character or place or period before you begin to describe them or it.
- Visualisation: perhaps your story stems from a single image? Focus on that; turn it over in your mind. You might not know where it came from or why, or even what it means. Composing a story around this image might be your way of ‘unpacking’ it, and discovering its significance through writing about it.
- Regarding length: have in mind an approximate idea of the length you imagine your story will run to, before you write it.
- Considering shape: will there be much dialogue or description? Will the story be divided up in any way, perhaps into sections or scenes?
© The Open University”

Searching your notebook
“Your notebook is a great place to prepare to write. You have already made notes on people you have observed, and you have written, edited and augmented a character sketch.
Look back through your notebook and see whether you can imagine any of these characters forming the basis for a story. If you can, see whether you can apply any of the pointers (research, visualisation, length and shape of story) to the idea.
Post for discussion any ideas you have for how you might develop a character into a story, or any questions you have about how you might shape your story.
© The Open University”
Should I wait until I’m inspired?
“Sometimes, the best inspiration comes after the first line, or more likely still, after writing a few pages.
Inspiration is very often the result of habit, of getting into a rhythm of work, and of setting yourself goals of how much and about what you wish to write each day. Oddly enough, the determination that you will finish a particular piece of work is a great source of inspiration. So set yourself a realistic goal each time you sit down to write. Find out how much you are comfortable writing each day. Achieve that. Then extend it and try to double your output.
Remember: decide where you’re going before you set out. If you end up somewhere else, simply ask: do you mind? It might be a good thing to have strayed from the path. Assess this once the work is done.
Don’t wait until you have the perfect first line. In practice, it often transpires that perfect first lines no longer fit with the story once it’s written out. Instead, try to think of your opening line as being simply like a doorway that you must pass through to get into the ‘room’ of your story. The doorway is much less important than what’s inside the room – focus on that. If you find yourself ‘seeing the whole story at once’, and you’re unsure where to begin, concentrate on one particular detail and start there.”
Here is an example of showcasing a particular detail, and starting from there…
“Example: You want to write about a young man and his girlfriend. He’s just realised he’s in love with her, and is going to say so, but you think that having him just saying ‘I love you’ will sound a bit flat. So, think about how else you could approach it. You could:
- begin with him trying to decide which shirt to wear
- begin when he’s stuck in conversation with someone else, and can’t get away. He has something important to say, and yet a friend is talking to him about football
- begin after the actual moment of him telling her ‘I love you’
- tell it from someone else’s point of view – for example, one of the boy’s friends, overhearing him, or the girlfriend herself.
In this way, focusing on an apparently ‘irrelevant’ detail might be the perfect way in to your story:
- a plane flying overhead as he speaks, drowning out his words
- a piece of lettuce stuck between her teeth that makes him smile
- a gang of schoolchildren who loiter close by, making him self-conscious.
Peripheral details like this can have the effect of making the scene seem more believable: real life is full of such details and delays, obstructions to the main story unfolding.
If you’re still unsure about how to begin, surprise yourself – approach your story from a different angle. Or surprise your story – make a particular detail appear distinctive. Or start your story randomly, at a point that you don’t think is important. It might turn out to be crucial.
Remember: once you’ve reached the end, you can always go back and ‘add on’ or improve your beginning.
© The Open University”
Finding a voice
“Writing is no more complicated than someone’s voice, telling a story. Different strategies are available to you for getting started. You can use prompt phrases, for instance. These can also lead into approaches to editing.
Explore the following ideas for how to get started with a story and also how you might approach editing the story.
- Immediately, without thinking where it might lead, write approximately three lines that follow on from the phrase ‘Emma said that …’
- When you’ve finished, cut ‘Emma said that’. Notice how little has been lost: you’re still left with whatever Emma said.
You can use whatever names you want. Here’s an example: ‘Joe said that it was always the nice girls who hated him. They took one look and …’ This would become: ‘It was always the nice girls who hated him. They took one look and …’
When you have trouble starting a piece of writing, it might be helpful simply to begin with a formulation like that, that you can cut later on. Simply use the name of whoever is telling the story, or whichever character it’s about. In this way, you can think of writing as no more complicated than someone’s voice, speaking – just ‘telling a story’.
© The Open University”
More starting ploys
“There are many other tactics you can use to help you to launch into your writing.
For instance, begin with ‘I remember’, write three lines to follow on from that phrase. For example: ‘I remember that last week there were thunderstorms. It rained and was grey right up until Friday evening.’
Delete the initial phrase and you would be left with: ‘Last week there were thunderstorms, right up until Friday evening.’
There are numerous other starting phrases, just to get you launched. These are grammatical formations which you might then go back to edit out, if you so wish.
Discuss with your fellow writers whether the phrases suggested so far (‘Emma said’ and ‘I remember’) have been of help. Did they help you to attain a voice for telling the story? Also discuss what other opening phrases you might use to get you started.
© The Open University”
Ideas for a story
“Writers often worry that they won’t be able to think of ideas for a story, but ideas can come from anywhere.”Writers often worry that they won’t be able to think of ideas for a story, but ideas can come from anywhere.
Turn on the radio and take note of the first thing that is mentioned. Alternatively, open a book randomly and take note of the first thing you read at the top of the page. Use this one thing as the basis for either the start of a story or an entire story, whichever, it should be no more than 500 words. Imagine a character, someone who is central to what the story is about. Try to use clear, vivid language so that your reader can see the character. Use some of the characterisation techniques we have talked about so far:
- physical description
- thoughts and inner life
- personality
- where the character is located
- the character’s back story
- how the character acts in the world.
You might not wish to include all of these various aspects in your story but you might like to know something about them nonetheless.
And if you wish, to help to get you started, use some of the starting tactics suggested in Finding a voice and More starting ploys (‘Emma said’, ‘I remember’ – or any other similar starting phrase.)
Write this story in your notebook, on your blog or in a Word document on your computer. You’ll come back to this story in Week 3 and improve it by reviewing and redrafting.
© The Open University”
When faced with a new elusive writing assignment – soar now.

This is my attempt at the above Submission: On like Donkey Kong!
Stuart was “on”! So “on like donkey kong”! He’d had three shots of vodka from the bar, liquid fire to steel his nerves, and now sat wiping his forehead dry with a wad of napkins.
It might be a work-flight, but it was a flight nevertheless. As he prepared to board , scrolling for the last time before cellphones were to be turned off, the news on his phone alerted him to the devastating plane crash.
No thank you. He turned a full one hundred and eighty degrees , apologised to the grey haired manager standing alongside and started moving towards the airport’s nearest exit. He would consider a flight again when it was not heading to Nepal. He had a son to worry about, his beautiful caramel coloured baby boy. Why chance it.
His car was parked at the airport’s medium term parking, but right now his pores held tell tale signs of the potato spirit. Settling into the Uber to take him to the local office, he realised with obscene clarity, “I need a new gig”.
Summary of Week 2
“What inspires you to write? At the end of Week 2, you will have thought about your motivation, rituals and maybe tried out some new writing practices.”What inspires you to write? At the end of Week 2, you will have thought about your motivation, rituals and maybe tried out some new writing practices.
As you embark on your first story (or start of a story) for the course, remember what you’ve learned about character and about how you can be original in your writing. Do some research if you need to – it is important for creating authenticity in your writing.
In Week 3, you’ll come back to the story and learn about the importance of editing and gathering feedback from others. If you want to get a head start, mark this step complete and move on to Week 3.
If studying this week of Start Writing Fiction has inspired you, take a look at the area specifically created for you to explore more about writing fiction on OpenLearn.
© The Open University”
Interested in my story using this logic? See this post below.