Just The Facts

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

A neighbor managed to do
something really funny, but it's
embarrassing to him or her. Any
reader would topple laughing.
Only, the facts, just the facts,
could lead to litigation.

Or, a co-worker's act was
horrific. It beacons to be
written about. Only, writing
just the facts will lead to
the L word, litigation.

"Why can't I write just the
facts?"

It's required to get written
permission to use someone's
likeness, misfortunes, and
comical behavior. I'd go
so far as to say get the
advice of a lawyer.

If a person finds an act
hurtful, his/her family
was impacted as well.
The person, family, could
be recovering from the
pain, and don't want to
re-live it.

Your article, possibly,
forces them to remember,
re-live the incident.
Consequently, it has the
individual turning to t
he courts, litigation.

It's best not to write
the facts unless you
have signed documentation
from the individual,
individual's family, before
writing about it.

Your neighbor was caught
sleep-walking. He visited
a certain bar, was seen
talking to a female, for
example.

I'd change my neighbor's
eye color, build, gender,
My character would work
undercover, frequent a
neighborhood for
information.

There are so many different
ways to write it.

The facts, just the facts,
can be boring. Let your
imagination absorb an
idea, mold it into a
writing master-piece.

Don't let the facts,
just the facts stop you
from writing, but don't
let just the facts pull
you into litigation.

How To Generate Story Ideas

Have a question? Agree, disagree,
with me? Leave me your opinion.

You can be in the middle,
beginning, of a writing
project, but, for some reason,
can't get your creative flow
to start today. Perhaps,
an essay is almost finished.
You can't write the last
stanza to a poem.

"Is there anything to help me?"
You cried out.

Use your senses of taste,
touch, smell, sound, or sight
to generate a finish, or ignite
your creative flow. It doesn't
matter the topic, subject.

Yes, you can generate story
ideas using your senses, even
work already in progress.

"How?"

Think about the writing
project, researched or
not. Bring vivid pictures
to mind as you think about
the subject.

Let's look ay my haunted
house writing idea.

I want to know what
sounds exist in the house.
What sights are in it?
What images touch brings?
The smells?

Taste isn't a sense I'd use
for this story idea.

In order for my characters
to be believable, I have
to understand those senses
as they relate to my story.

I've seen, read, haunted
stories, but what will my
senses say?

My sense points out cracking
floor boards, and unexplained
knocking, coming from the
house. Voices, in the house,
speak from another era.

I see a run-down house.
Its paint is peeling, over-
grown lawn, antique
mail-box sitting near
it, and window panes
shaped like almonds.

On a windy day, foul odors
fill the air around the house.
It's the scent of decaying
bodies.

If a person walks too close
to the house, it pulls him/
her in it.

The ground rumbles, sometimes.
It causes a person to topple.

My senses helped me generate
story ideas. It's not hard.

Simply, ask yourself some
questions about the subject
you're writing on.

The five-senses questions
are answered based on
research, and/or experience.
What does it taste like?
The touch of it? The smell?
It sounds like? Its sight?