Author/Screenwriter Tips Help and Advice?

Hi!


I am seventeen and I am told I am an excellent writer. I have written several short stories. I have had poetry published. I need some advice. I have so many ideas and I don't know how to keep them going. I want to write something that has meaning. Something I can inspire someone with. And so far. Nothing. I have plenty of ideas just nothing that hasn't already been done. I am passionate and determined, I just need a little help.


Any suggestions?Author/Screenwriter Tips Help and Advice?
Well, Cathy, I totally dig how you started your question w/ ';Hi!';, an exclamation mark and everything. No one ever says hi, which makes you magical.





Some advice someone else said on this website I went on one day said to always try to write so many pages per day, like make a goal of it. That's more to reduce procrastination than better writing I guess, but idk, anyway.





My personal advice to you, though, is, whenever you get a sudden burst of inspiration to write, never leave your computer or notebook(depending on if you type your stories/poems or write them on paper), and just stay up all night, because I have learned that whenever the sudden spirit to write flows through you, never ever ever let it go for even two seconds, cause whenever one gets a burst of inspiration, that's when the greatest writing comes. Even if it's 2am, and you have school the next day, and your eyes are sore, don't stop writing, cause your inspiration WILL go away, as it is only temporary, and you have NO IDEA how long it will be until the next time you get all pumped about an idea like that and can type it. Sure, maybe it'll be another week, but what if it's another 3 and a half months?





Point is, use it while you got it. And my apologies for lack of proper paragraphing. Doubt you really care either way though, so whatever.





Also, sometimes just go to bed like earlier. Don't always wait till you're sleepy until you go to bed, cause then your gonna fall asleep like right away. If your laying in bed awake though, that's when some of my best ideas come to me.





It was terribly annoying too, b/c I kept getting fantastic ideas one night like every ten minutes and had to keep getting out of bed, turn on the light only to make my EXTREMELY sleepy eyes flinch from the sudden brightness, and force myself all the way to my computer, which is like 10 steps away from my bed, but that's alot more when you were really really sleepy, and then I had to go to works word processor, wait for it to load, (oh, the screen was unbearably bright too, and made my eyes itch), put in my floppy disk, type the idea in, save it to my floppy, pull out my disk, exit out, turn the screen off, crawl back into bed, and ten minutes later be mere seconds from sleep and have anotehr freakishly amazing idea.





I didnt know whether to be annoyed or amazed at my sudden waves of fantastic ideas, but I was definatly a combination of the two.





So, yeah, many of my ideas come at night, and maybe your the same, so... yeah. I guess that's really all I have to say. I'm actaully going straight to bed after I finish typing this, so... yeah. Toodles!Author/Screenwriter Tips Help and Advice?
The issue here is that it's all been done. Some people will tell you there is literally no originality left in the world.





You best bet is to no longer consider this a goal. Instead, write what you want, how you want, when you want. If you do enough, then eventually someone, somewhere, may 'accidentally'/'coincidentally' stumble upon the words and find them inspirational. (aka) It can happen by chance, not by strive.
Write to inspire yourself, don't worry about inspiring anyone else. That is just a bonus when that happens.





Everything has been done, just not from your own perspective. Perhaps you have something new to offer.





For other great tips visit


http://www.writersdigest.com
I know the problem and I sympathize, but it may take a while for ideas to come together (bad if you have a deadline next week to get a paycheck, not so bad if you are 17.)


I would suggest filing your ideas and beginnings so that you can work on them separately. With a computer that can mean simply have each one start on a new page in a Word document (or other word processor) because you can always add stuff later. If you are putting stuff down in a handwritten note book, make copies of the pages and cut them up if need be, recopying them on to full pages, so that you can have a file folder or folders with at least a page for each idea.


That is just organization. To progress, you review each of the pieces you have filed and see if you can generate extensions, new notes, or ideas about it. (New Ideas go on a new page) If nothing strikes you, go on to the next page/topic. You can ask questions like what kind of person would fit with this? What if this happened to me? What if this happened in 1860 (or other years)? To add material.


I will say that ';something that has meaning'; ';something I can inspire someone with'; sounds rather ponderous and simply extending the ideas so they are pleasant to read and come to a point may turn out to do what you want because you have that background feeling affecting your writing.