Welcome to Part Two of my creativity series, BIRTH OF DREAMS, a peek into the steps that bring a creative idea to completion (and my attempt to prove there is a method to creative madness!) Last week, I talked about how to gather ideas in The Junk Drawer. Today I’ll explore pinning ideas together, especially those ideas that seem attracted to each other. 2. THE PINNING…
I have a great idea but…I feel too inexperienced, too clumsy, too {insert insecurity here} to do it justice. So I throw it away. That beautiful silver thing gets crumpled and stuffed into the trash can. It doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve learned that, in the creative process, there are a many steps to it, and most of us don’t feel highly qualified. But…
Step 1: Collect the following ingredients: 4-6 passionate friends who get along and want to develop their creative goals House, cabin, or hotel, preferably beautiful and cheap (Ask your friends if they know someone who will offer it for free) Edibles to cover three days of meals for all Miscellaneous clothes Writing essentials (Laptop, notebook, pens, playlists, headphones) Step 2: Carefully mix the above ingredients, then…
When I first began writing, everything was about extremes. I focused on making my characters as beautiful they could be, having as much fun and excitement as possible, and the bottom line was that I kept myself entertained. I wrote because I found storytelling exciting, and all of my stories had the requirement that they continuously enthrall my imagination. My first “writing” was actually illustration with a few…
Are certain places more "lucky" or "fruitful" to write in than others? Are there spots that have proven so inspirational and productive to ghosts of authors past, that writer-pilgrims can visit them and be filled with fresh ideas? While James and I were vacationing last month in Rome, I discovered in my Italy tour book that there was a certain little cafe near the Spanish Steps…
In two and a half days, I logged over 10,000 words of story architecture, plotting, and brainstorming for my newest novel idea as a byproduct of a writers retreat that I and seven other individuals enjoyed this last weekend. Was the writing retreat productive? Absolutely. But it was so much more than word counts and fresh pages of prose. Can you remember those time-freezing, luminous moments that your…
A philosophical thought... A friend of mine brought up this probing question-Is writing dangerous?-yesterday while we sat in a circle of poets, lyricists, fiction and nonfiction prose writers. The thought hadn't really occurred to me to ponder until that moment. And so we did ponder it, over frozen yogurt in honor of spring's warmth. Is it dangerous to spend so much time writing? Hours and hours spent creating,…
I took this picture on the beach, a few minutes' walk away from the cabin where I and three fellow writers retreated for three nights and four days (last Thursday through Sunday) that we dedicated to writing. You do not have to be rich to go on a writing retreat. We've used cabins that belonged to friends. You do not have to be a brilliant established writer to go a…