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Fun Tools to Help With Creative Writing

Creative writing, as a process, can be difficult. Whether you have problems coming up with story ideas, characters or simply are stuck on a passage in your work, writer's block will inevitably hit you at some point. Going outside and taking a break from writing can help, but if you want to take a more proactive approach to dealing with writer's block or get a new story idea, look for online tools to aid you.
  1. Random Generators

    • Random pitch and story generators draw story components from a database of random parts and put them together in a unified whole. The website Seventh Sanctum contains one of the first random story generators. It specializes in speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction and alternate history. The "Writing" subsection includes a romance story random plot generator.

    Write or Die

    • Even if you have an idea for a story, the actual writing process can become hampered by your natural desire to edit as you write. Write or Die is an online tool that forces you to write without editing, second-guessing or thinking about what you plan to write next. The Write or Die utility allows you to set a word count and a time limit within which to achieve that word count. Failing to write within a certain time frame results in a reminder to write, a buzzing sound playing from your speakers until you input text, or your text being deleted at the rate of one word per second.

    TVTropes

    • TVTropes is a wiki dedicated to analyzing and categorizing the tropes present in all forms of fiction. A trope is a common literary device, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online. Tropes are, simply put, the building blocks of plot, setting and characterization. TVTropes has an informative but light-hearted tone. The site lists tropes by a site-given name, describes them and offers a list of examples of that trope by medium, such as anime, comics, literature and video games. Reading about the various tropes present in fiction can give you ideas on how best to implement them within your own work.

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