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Voodoo is an ancient religion found in modern day. Terrifying yet fascinating, the rituals and magic of Voodoo are found in books and movies today. There are thousands of myths, rituals and beliefs to explore if you’re interested in Voodoo and want to incorporate it into your story.

New Orleans was the gateway for the religion brought to the new world by slaves in the 1800s. It is a religion of power, embraced by the powerless. Slave owners forbade the practice of Voodoo under penalty of death so the rituals and amulets were hidden, often behind the guise of Catholicism. Over the years, the two religions have become inextricably mixed.

Santería evolved in a similar manner; the combination of religions brought to the New World by slaves imported to the Caribbean and Christianity.

Marie Laveau was the original practitioner of Voodoo in New Orleans, a high priestess whose spells and amulets were sought by ladies of all social classes. Legends of Marie Laveau persist and her tomb is a curiosity to tourists and sacred site to voodoo practitioners. Marie Leveau’s best documented exploit involved the murder trial of a young Creole man, whose father sought her help, despite his skepticism. Marie placed several charms in the courtroom and when the boy was declared not guilty the father gifted Marie a house.

Voodoo dolls are a pop icon of the religion. Bocios were wooden totems that contained medicine and their owners would nail pegs into them when seeking favor from the gods. The idols were outlawed so slaves disguised them as rag dolls. The malevolent use of Voodoo dolls is considered a form of Bokor (Black) Voodoo, but most of the time Voodoo dolls are used to heal, find love or spiritual guidance.

Zombies in Voodoo are reincarnated corpses, brought to life and controlled by others. It is a fate feared above all others. Wade Davis wrote The Serpent and the Rainbow, recounting his visit to Haiti and investigation of a real life “zombification” case of Clairvius Narcisse. Davis discovered a poison in puffer fish that could simulate death, causing complete paralysis while victims remained conscious.

This might explain the cases of people declared dead, buried and then brought back to life. An Astral Zombie is a soul captured and enslaved to do master’s bidding.

Spirit possession is a miraculous moment of realization in the Voodoo religion, in which the spirits “ride” practitioners. Individuals lose all control of their body, surrendering to the spirits within.

Voodoo drums are used to summon the gods, deities who have a wide range of human traits from arrogance to compassion. Offerings are made to please the specific appetites of each deity. Sometimes the offerings are blood sacrifices, usually involving animals.

Today this practice is considered abhorrent and associated with Voodoo, witchcraft or demonic cults, but even the Bible is full of examples of blood sacrifices to God. Abel used a blood sacrifice and found favor with God and Abraham was asked to sacrifice his firstborn son to God.

More Story Starters and writing tips @ fictionway.com

How to Write Horror Stories

True art reveals the artist, whether a painting or a book, the idea is just the beginning. As our DNA makes us individual so do the words we use to express our ideas. I collect ideas in my journal, jotting down my thoughts, feelings or moments of insight. Ideas are everywhere, waiting to be embraced and expressed.

Fictionalize an actual event. Take a real life issue and approach it from a different direction. Always ask “What if?” An article about a new medication may become the basis for a story with mutant humans. The human interest piece about a good samaritan may become the story of a con artist.

Combine elements of various stories. Unrelated stories will yield surprising results. Take elements of an adventure story and mix in romance, or sci fi mixed with suspense. Make a list of stories you like and consider the elements which make them stand out. For example:

A lion cub is orphaned when his father is killed by a traitorous uncle. He grows up to avenge his father and take his rightful place as leader of the pack.

A woman and man correspond and fall in love before ever meeting face to face.

A girl is transported to a magical land and finds her way home with the help of her new friends.

A team of researchers travel to other worlds and encounter various life forms, some hostile and others friendly.

By combining parts of these stories, I can create something new and different.

A researcher who has traveled to other worlds is willing to sacrifice her career for a man she has never met face to face.

A girl is orphaned when her father is killed by a witch and she is banished to a magical realm. She must enlist the help of new friends to return home.

Tell a familiar story from a unique perspective. Start with any story and consider how the story could be told from another perspective. Tell the story from the villain’s viewpoint or make a supporting character the star of the show.

Imagine Robin Hood told from the perspective of a Sheriff trying to bring an outlaw to justice or Cinderella told by a step sister who is a social outcast and jealous of Cindy’s popularity with the boys.

Graham Green, an accomplished author, attributes his success to writing at least 500 words daily, whether he felt like it or not. Ideas are easy, creating a story from an idea is art.

How to Write a Story

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

If you are considering starting your own business and enjoy writing, then freelance writing may be for you. There are millions of freelance writers earning a living but breaking into freelancing isn’t easy.

If you find a company that promises a short cut to success steer clear.  A few online businesses take advantage of people who are unsure of where to begin or those who think paying a fee will save time and hard work.  It’s difficult to spot the con artists as they’re quite sophisticated these days, but when in doubt apply the golden rule: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Begin by setting up a website or a blog. You can create a blog using a free domain and hosting, such as: Peoplefuel or WordPress.  You might want to buy your own domain name (available for ~10 USD) and host your own site. 

Whichever option you choose, start writing. 

1. Write everyday.  The only way you will ever succeed as a writer is to write everyday.  If, after a few days, you develop cold sweats when you turn on the computer or avoid writing in favor of cleaning the toilets, it’s time to reconsider freelance writing as a career.  You can make lots more money doing other things you don’t like.  Writing should be a joy. 

2. Write about something that interests you.  When you begin, focus on what you love.  This will make the writing easier to begin and the results will be better because your passion will show through.  Soon enough you’ll be writing for others and you won’t be able to choose what you write about.  When that time comes remember how it felt to write with interest and instill that same enthusiasm in every piece you do.  No matter what I’m writing I find a way to relate to the topic. If I write about Residential Solar Systems I just remember my last electric bill and suddenly I’m much more invested in learning about the topic.

3.  Mention you are willing to write for others.  In your site state that you are a freelance writer and you will write for others and provide your email address.  Your site is now an online resume to potential clients. 

4.  Promote yourself and your site by writing supplemental articles and pointing them back to your site using key words or phrases.  If you have an expertise in a certain area, such as writing grants, find key words related to writing grants. These might include:

Grant Proposals

Grant Writer

Grant Writing

Writing a Grant

How to Write a Grant

Write an article for each of the targeted key phrases on your site, as well as two or three supplemental articles to point back to your site.  When a client is searching for a Grant Writer or one of the other key terms, you’re site will rank in the search engine results.

5.  Know what you can do before you commit.  By writing for yourself first you learn how much you work you can do in a week within your comfort zone.  You might be surprised at how little you have to show for all your writing efforts. I usually only write five articles a day, not because I run out of time but I run out of creative juice.  I take my personal limitations into account when accepting work and I don’t commit more than I can do.  Know your own limitations. 

There is just too much information to cover in one article.  You’ll need to learn about operating a home based business, time management techniques and be sure to brush up on your writing skills.  There is a wealth of information available, thanks to all the freelance writers around the world.

Few writers are able to create characters who have that type of impact. Stephen King (who you all know my now is my all time fav) is one, along with Jonathan Kellerman, Stephen White, Tami Hoag and Dean Koontz.

I think the best way to develop really strong characters, whether your readers are meant to love them or hate them, is to consider them real people first.  Don’t just consider them protagonists or antagonists, forced to act in a certain way to move your story forward.

Mix good and evil traits in each character.  Heroes should be flawed so they are more relatable.  Villains who possess some good qualities will gain empathy, so their actions and motives are more understandable.

Start with a basic profile: name, sex, age, physical appearance, profession, relationships, hobbies and beliefs.  I keep my character profiles in a notebook, so I can refer back to the details quickly.  I also keep a calendar to track the time in which the story occurs.  I’ll also include antidotal information for back story.  For example, one of my characters is a single mother. She named her daughter, Samantha, in honor of the child’s grandfather, Samuel.  Whether or not I use this bit of information in the book isn’t important. Instead, it represents the values and relationships which are most important to my character; family oriented, devoted daughter, traditional, etc.

Your character’s core beliefs will drive their actions.  Consider what they believe about themselves, others and the world around them. 

Do they believe they are righteous or entitled?  Do they believe people are essentially good or evil.  Do they strive to attain money, power or love?  Why?

Once you know who you’re dealing with, you’ll be able to predict how they’ll behave in situations. 

Imagine your characters in real life situations and observe their behaviors. Are they outgoing or shy?  Calm or excited?  Hesitant or eager?  Do they stand out in the crowd or blend into the background? Are people attracted to them or repelled?  Why? 

Visualize their body language as they move through environments.

These are just a few ways to develop your characters. You should spend at least as much time researching, outlining and developing  the characters as you do the etting of your story.

First, consider your definition of “published”. If you consider only books bound and sitting on the shelf of your neighborhood Barnes and Noble, it’s time to expand your definition.  E-publishing and self publishing are legitimate alternatives to traditional publishing; however, they are not a shortcut to success. In fact, the low quality control of early e-books and vanity press books has left readers wary of unknown authors.  Traditional publishing at least offers a prescreening process that weeds out the weakest submissions. 

If you are considering e-publishing or self-publishing for your book, be prepared to offer free content to prove yourself to your readership.  You may post short stories, essays or write articles to demonstrate your skill and develop a fan base.  Do not expect to post an eBook and see sales immediately.  There are hundreds of thousands of eBooks available, many by authors who have already established a name for themselves.  You are an unknown entity.

Traditional publishing houses can offer marketing support, backed by years of experience. They have experts for book design, jacket copy, advertising and releases.  If you decide to self publish, you will need to learn a bit about marketing. 

1.  Begin with an online presence, create a blog to develop a relationship with your readers and provide evidence of your competence as a writer. You may write about personal experiences, current events or add stories and book excerpts.  The content should be of interest to you and related to your book.  For example, I have written two books in the mystery genre so I have blog about True Crime Stories.  I research true crime, police procedures and forensic techniques for my writing so it is easy to blog about these topics.  I believe visitors interested in true crime will also be interested in fictional crime stories. 

2.  Promote your blog by writing articles.  To get visitors to your site, they need to know it’s there.  Search engines are the primary way visitors locate sites and there are certain strategies to optimize your ranking with search engines.  One of the strategies is to have back links to your blog with key words.  You can write articles and then submit them to sites such as People Fuel, Squidoo or Hub Pages.  The added benefit to these three sites is they enable revenue sharing, so if you place ads on these articles, you may also generate revenue.

3.  Write well.  If you want people to read your book, provide evidence that you are a capable writer. I would highly recommend you offer excerpts of your work to build trust. Make sure your book is polished to near perfection. Hire a professional editor and be willing to rewrite until you get it right.  You may sell a few sub par books, but you won’t develop a fan base or positive word of mouth. 

This is the best time for writers because we are in control of our success with publishing and marketing opportunities at our fingertips. You should explore all your publishing options, but be prepared for the hard work to come.  When opportunity comes knocking on your door, you can invite it in, offer cookies and tea or you can build a guest house and extend its visit.      

To start, let me just offer a couple of suggestions for finding ideas:

1. Evening News – It would be impossible to create a fiction more disturbing than the true crime stories reported on the evening news. If you are fascinated with mystery, suspense or forensic and crime investigations, the best place to begin is real life.  The translation from fact to fiction is not literal, but you can take inspiration from the circumstances, the motivations and the aftermath.    

2.  The Classics – Consider fairy tales, legends, classic literature and rewrite them with a modern twist or from a new perspective. A terrific example of this is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.  Maguire transformed familiar characters by exposing them with a new perspective.      

3.  What If – Carry a journal to jot down all the “What Ifs” that occur during the day.   Whenever the struggle to start a story occurs, refer to your journal and explore a “What If” scenario.  Stephen King discusses this technique in his book, On Writing. 

 4.  Observations – Observe people around you, their body language, and their facial expressions. Take in the world, the texture, smells, and colors, employ all your senses and then describe all you observe.

These are ideas to start a story, but really the most important thing for writers is to WRITE.  The more you explore ideas and develop your voice, the more prepared you will be when that BIG IDEA comes your way.  Try a few of these starters, and see where they take you.