Emma Newman is the author of the soon-to-be-published Twenty Years Later, her debut young adult fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic future, which she has been podcasting since last year. She lives in Somerset, England with her husband and two year old son. Though he’s an only child, she considers him her second child – the first baby being her novel.

Emma runs her own copywriting and online PR business called Your Nisaba, named after the Sumerian goddess of writing and knowledge. Nisaba was launched in 2009. She drinks far too much tea, and finds the little real life she spends time in, a curious mixture of terrifying and wonderful.

Longtime readers of Collective Inkwell may recall that Emma won our first Online Fiction Contest, the prize being our redesign of her website.

Last week, Emma released an ebook collection of some of her short stories (see the great cover pictured a bit further down in this story).

1. When did you start writing and what inspired you (also, what kind of stuff did you first write)?

I started writing stories at the age of four according to my grandmother. I wrote all the time until a short story got me into Oxford University when I was 17. That created a block that lasted for ten years! Then I began to write again and the first draft of Twenty Years Later poured out of me over 26 days. I barely felt in control of it. My poor husband was a writing widow.

Inspiration? There was no inspiration to write as far as I recall. It was as natural as breathing and wishing I had superpowers. I remember a desperate disappointment with the world as a child, it simply didn’t live up to the excitement held in books, on film or in my imagination. There was nothing else I could do except read and write myself into more interesting places I suppose.

I wrote stories about magical places, magical powers and weird things happening in the mundane world. I suppose in some respects I never stopped! In my early teens I wrote a huge Star Trek: Next Generation story, mostly because I was obsessed with it at the time. I’m not ashamed of my geeky past… being geeky is one of the few things I’m good at!

2. What genres do you most enjoy writing?

Over the last few months the stories I have written for the short story club have revealed that I have a particular passion for stories that are described as “subtly unsettling” by the readers. I love cross-genre – just to be difficult of course. My novel is in a post-apocalyptic setting, but incorporates urban fantasy themes within a mystery driven plot. Hmmm, perhaps I’m not a big fan of the constraints of genre.

3. Who are your favorite authors?

Oh, that’s hard to answer. Ray Bradbury is a god in my eyes, if I were prone to religious tendencies I’d set up an altar to him and his short stories. I love Isaac Asimov, John Wyndam and Frank Herbert. I’ve recently discovered Stephen Hunt and his steampunk novels, I’m also partial to Neal Stephenson, Michael Marshall Smith and Michael Moorcock – uh-oh… this is turning into too big a list! Favourite you say? Can I have all of them?

4. Who are your inspirations?

In terms of my writing, I can’t point at one person, or one book. I subscribe to Ray Bradbury’s view of inspiration: everything I have ever read, watched or experienced has seeped in and formed a creative mulch within me. If I sat down and really analysed my creative writing, I could pick out threads from so many different places, but I’m not nearly self-absorbed enough to do that. I just enjoy watching the mushrooms grow out of that mulch, and try to write them down as best I can!

5. What is your writing schedule/process?

‘Schedule’ implies that I’ve figured out how to fit regular writing into my life. I can’t lie and say I’ve done that! My life was very different when I wrote my first novel, and now writing is pressed into the cracks and little nooks that are left around the major commitments in my life (family and being the breadwinner whilst my husband is full time Dad).

I have developed a process though. It involves three critical factors: The first is (and always should be) a fine cup of tea. The second is saying out loud “I give myself complete permission to write complete and utter rubbish!” and the third is writing without editing. The first draft is there to be rough and refined later. When I get this process right, the editing time is greatly reduced. If I am in the wrong mindset, the writing takes a long time to flow.

When I write the sequel to Twenty Years Later, I like to listen to Hail to the Thief by Radiohead. It puts me in the mood; I listened to it a lot when I wrote the first one.

6. Tell us about 20 Years Later.

It’s about three extraordinary teenagers who form an intense friendship whilst searching for a girl who has been kidnapped (the sister of one of the trio). It’s set in London 20 years after ‘It’ killed almost everyone in the world. As the children uncover the whereabouts of the sister, they’re unknowingly uncovering London’s darkest secret, and the cause of the apocalyptic event that took place before they were born.

As I mentioned before, it has elements from different genres, grouped broadly into young adult post-apocalyptic fiction. I see the central themes of the book being loyalty and friendship in adverse conditions. Each one of the children swears a personal oath under different circumstances, and the ramifications of those oaths are extensive and world-changing. The children are extraordinary, but they have to deal with the same issues that teens do in the real world; namely absent parents, the emotional turbulence of adolescence and the temptation to join gangs in order to feel safe in a dangerous world.

7. How did you decide to put the book online in audio form?

It was a combination of things. I came across a couple of articles about writers promoting their books with podcasts with great success. I also had the pleasure of meeting Isobel Joely Black who has been podcasting her Amnar novels for years. Her enthusiasm and encouragement convinced me to take the plunge.

I was also driven to just get it out there! The thing I found so frustrating about my (at the time) failure to find an agent or publisher was that I wanted to put the story out there in some way. Indeed, when I started my blog a year ago I was seriously considering self publishing. Podcasting seemed to be a happy balance – I would see if people actually liked the story and my writing, and the actual text wouldn’t be in the public domain. It was one of the best decisions I made last year.

8. What is your favorite thing about publishing online? Least favorite?

My favourite thing is getting comments, emails and tweets from people who are listening to the book and genuinely enjoying it. It is reassuring, thrilling and a huge ego boost of course! After spending so long trying to get published, I was wondering whether it just wasn’t good enough. The response to the podcasts has helped to reassure me that people enjoy it and want to read it when it comes out. I think Nathan Bransford calls that fear the “Am I crazies of writers” and this has been the cure.

Least favourite…. I don’t know. I love recording it, as it brings me back into the world every time and that’s so helpful now I’m writing the sequel. I don’t begrudge the time or effort at all. That’ll be the labour of love thing I guess!

9. What is the idea behind the Short Story Club and what has the response been like?

It’s very simple: people join for free and every month I send out a call for ideas – opening lines, what if scenarios, situations etc. I pick a winner, write a short story from the prompt and the winner who suggested it gets to read the story before everyone else. Once they have read it, I send it out to the rest of the members and the process starts again in the next month.

As for where it came from, I was grumping around my house for a couple of weeks wanting to write a short story but feeling uninspired. I had enjoyed your competition so much, entered another one with a second story and wanted more! I realised that I needed writing prompts, but couldn’t find a good source at the time.

The idea of the club grew out of that in part, but really it just came out of nowhere whilst making a cup of tea (I refer you to my earlier statement regarding the importance of tea.) I wanted prompts, I wanted to share my writing but was uncertain about putting everything onto the blog, and wasn’t sure how to get people interested in sending the prompts in. I hit upon the idea of creating a community of readers who sent in prompts and then get to read monthly fiction for free as a thank you.

In one feel swoop it tackled three problems: it ended procrastination as people were waiting for the story every month, it gives me a pool of amazing prompts and it enables me to share my writing in a public yet private way.

The response has been amazing! There are over 100 members now and the prompts they send in are simply wonderful. Most months I have about five shortlisted ideas I agonize between to pick the winner. The members are supportive and enthusiastic. I couldn’t have asked for more.

10. Tell us about your book deal.

Well, the thing I love about it the most is that I got it through Twitter.

Yup. You read that right…

Early last year I was followed on Twitter by another post-apocalyptic genre fan, and he mentioned a new press (@dystopiapress) in a tweet whom I duly followed. This was before the press had even started up! I sent an email to myself (I’m still trying to find a better way to organise my brain) saying “Watch this press!” Over the next few months I chatted with the press founder over Twitter and waited with baited breath. When the press was officially launched and submissions were called for, I sent mine in.

It was just such a pleasant experience right from the start. After nearly thirty rejections, 95% of which were completely impersonal, I had a personal note from the publisher reassuring me that my submission had been received. Bliss! Three days later I had another email saying that he’d read the 50 page sample and wanted the rest of the manuscript. I’d reached that point before so I tried really hard (and failed) not to get too excited and hopeful.

Four weeks later the publisher got back in touch with an offer of a contract. He’d given the first fifty pages to teen readers and they all wanted to read more, and he loved the book.

I nearly died. In the best possible way of course…

It was an odd situation as Dystopia Press is based in America and I found myself with a contract on the table and no agent. I asked for advice and an author friend recommended the Society of Authors, who, God bless them, offer a free legal contract vetting service for members. I joined, got feedback from them and had a serious think about what I wanted too. Between their advice and my instincts, I negotiated some changes to the contract and the publisher was fantastic. One thing that was very important to me was that I be able to continue with the podcasts. By that point there were people following them and I didn’t want to let them down. The publisher was great and understood my reasons and it was included in the contract that I could continue. In fact, I plan to roll it out on a major fiction podcasting site later in the year too.

I feel so blessed to have found him! The book is in pre-production now and slated for release in October. I am still grinning like an idiot.

11. If you could take any book or series by any author and be allowed to write it, which would you choose?

Hmmm. I’ve dithered over this question and still don’t have an answer. I suppose I have so many of my own just dying to be let out of my head that I can’t imagine picking up someone else’s series!

12. What are your future writing plans?

I am currently writing the sequel to Twenty Years Later and there will be a third book in the series too. The Short Story Club will continue and hopefully grow, and there are several other books crammed inside my brain that are getting increasingly impatient with me. I participate in the wonderful Friday Flash movement, and I’d like to try and do a flash fiction piece for that every week if I can. I’m soon to launch another project but that is currently secret (mostly because I am so nervous about it!)

My ultimate goal is to support my family through my fiction writing alone, but that feels like the holy grail of the profession. I hope that a combination of good fortune, sacrificial offerings of hot cups of tea and the sheer burning madness of simply having to write will get me there in the end.

Subscribe to Emma’s feed here.

Did you enjoy this post? Click here for free updates to Collective Inkwell.

Related posts:

1. The Collective Inkwell Interview: Joel Schwartzberg Our interview today is with writer and TV producer, Joel...
2. 10 Words to Kickstart Your Creative Engine How would you tie the following 1o words together in...
3. A New Collective Inkwell Happy August 20th! I know, the day might not...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Iwrite full time. Ghostwriting, blog posts, comments, emails, tweets. You name it and my fingers might have made it happen. When I first started to write, I had no aspirations for a writing career. Weaving words was merely salve to sooth an aching heart, dulled by my daughter leaving the nest for Kindergarten.

I spent afternoons filling pages for a novel I was shocked to be writing. I wrote every day until four months had passed and I found myself with a finished book and quickly evolving identity.

Those days of discovery have passed, new exploration has taken their place and my love for the art of writing has moved from playful hobby to serious career. The days of verbal doodling have taken a necessary reprieve, but I know there is much I can do to keep the embers hot. Since my heart first began to beat with the blood of a writer, I have longed to bloom words into worlds. Conversation with my muse has never been difficult, it is the time I need to fully engage her when faced with the necessary jobs that see me writing SEO copy about auto insurance, lawnmowers and little league.

Though I have kept a journal intermittently throughout my life, it was only after suffering the loss of unbridled daily creativity when I knew I had to do something to satiate the desire to deposit my ideas. Now I am neither novice or veteran, but I’m quite sure there is no ritual better for a writer than daily pages. A few hundred syllables or a few hundred words, it is the routine that is necessary.

My schedule over the last six months has been haphazard at best; swollen with constant transition. I can’t pretend I’ve kept to my routine with religion, or written words in my journal without fail. I do solemnly swear however, that those times when I’ve ignored my daily pages are also those days when my writing starts to suffer. Even when my pages are filled with nothing but scribbles or rants and ramblings, they are a vessel to harbor the engagement in my mind.

Every river must eventually spill into a sea.

Daily Pages are an excellent avenue for the pent up emotions of a well worn life, those things that bog you down like an iron ball snaked around your ankles. If you maintain your daily drain, then those moments when it’s just you and the bright white of an empty page will be more likely to find you in the throws of a passionate affair with your muse, rather than the cold silence of a slowly dying love.

Methods do not matter. Everyone journals differently. I happen to use whatever is on hand. Sometimes it’s a ten cent notebook or the back of an envelope I transfer to the hard drive later. My favorite place to store my thoughts is in a little desktop app called MacJournal. This journal allows me to stash anything I want and in any format. This is golden for a writer, as we are all pack rats of thought. Whether I birth an idea for a post, a letter for my wife, an poem for my children, or the full outline for a future best seller, I can stuff the journal and feel a creator’s high knowing my muse has been fed and is lying in wait.

Sometimes paradox begets productivity. By emptying your mind into your pages, you are also refilling the well of ideas. Creativity is rarely born in the clutter of one’s mind, though film and legend might try to convince us othewise. Images, scents and sounds will coalesce to burn new ideas into your mind’s eye. Getting truly lost in your pages, even if it’s only for a moment, might be all you need to thicken your thoughts.

This is tired advice, but only because it has had to work so hard. To be your best writer, you must write. I cannot count the number of words I’ve written in the last year, but it’s somewhere well over a million. Some were born from a freelance job where I tried to turn bullet points to brilliance. Others came from deep inside me and are like portraits lining my hallway wall. The common denominator has been my pages, the daily record of who I was, who I am, and who I will someday be.

We can never know for sure where life has taken us, but it is an amazing thing to keep a record of where we’ve been before.

Collective Inkwell Community Question: Do you keep a journal or write daily pages? Could you see the value in doing so?

Sean

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

How to Find Your Writing Style

Finding your writing style is like having a skill that can season your words from weak to wonderful. Each of us has access to the same alphabet, 26 letters and not a vowel or consonant more. It’s what we do with our selection of sounds that lends the greatest strength to our voice. Having a toolbox filled with a few succinct tips might be all you need to push your prose a little closer to perfection.

Writing with the right style can render your language more precise. Precision = Power.

You may believe you are already writing with clarity, your words ringing with the clear chime of a chapel bell and loudly declaring the depths of your soul, but others might only be hearing a faded warble of your heart’s true song. The difficulty in defining style lies in it’s subjectivity. Every person will approach your prose with a different perspective, each of them having a different idea about what makes for interesting style.

Everyone places language in their own unique packaging, yet there are a few clear choices when it comes to finding your finest voice. Pick a few of these tips, memorize, and you’ll be wielding words in a whole new way before you even know it.

Color Outside the Lines. It’s cool to be messy. You can rarely ignore conventions, a comma is a comma and even Stephen King can’t make it otherwise, but staying fixed on the same rules that echo through the halls of grammar school probably won’t win you a Pulitzer, or even a Newbery for that matter.

Give Your Thoughts Breath. Nothing is perfect the first time through. Period. If you labor over your work, sentence by sentence, you will never allow your ideas a chance to spill over the lip of restriction. Write, pause (if you must), keep writing, repeat. It isn’t always easy and you might make a mess, but you can always clean up later. It is far more important to unleash your thoughts than it is to get them perfect.

Read Your Work Out Loud. I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. Sometimes our words read differently than our thoughts. Reading our work out loud affords our lips a chance to catch the errors our eyes gloss over. It is best to read out loud to an audience, but the best way to know if you’re writing has voice is to use the one in your throat.

Be Authentic. Never try to sound more intelligent than you are. That’s not writing with style, it’s writing with embarrassment. Write naturally and your innate intelligence will surely shine through. Though it is tempting to try to gild your words with intellect, it is almost always a mistake. If you wouldn’t use a word in a spoken sentence, you shouldn’t use in your prose.

Cook without a Recipe. The best chefs, even when cooking from an index card, can also cook by taste. Instinct is (by far) the most important ingredient for finding your unique writing style.

Pay Close Attention to Your Tone. It isn’t only what you say, it’s how you say it. Tone is important and knowing your audience is key. Your reader should feel as comfortable with your words as they are engaged by your rhythm.

Creativity is Borrowed. No one holds copyright on thought. Plagiarism is theft, but we are each the aggregate of every book read, movie seen, or conversation heard. No one in the world shares your exact canvas of experience. Use what’s in your head. Don’t worry about saying something that no one’s said before, just make sure you say it in your own way.

Write every day. The patch of land that gets the water is the soil that swells with life. The only way to improve a skill is to practice. Those who write without routine are less likely to be writing with consistent voice than those are arranging words within their sleep.

Believe. Writing with style won’t happen if you don’t believe in your topic. Believing in yourself comes first. A common fear among writers is that they will run out of things to say. Don’t allow the fear of running low on ideas paralyze you. The well of ideas is bottomless, but you must lower the bucket to draw from its depths.

Know What You Mean and Your Reader Will Too. Readers know when their author lacks confidence. Daily speech is filled with um’s and ah’s. Writing is no different, often stuffed with more than its share of this’s and thats. Cut the fat. Choose clarity over word count. There is always room for beautiful prose when you make it, but you must mow the lawn to highlight the garden.

Your arrangement of words gives voice to the thread of your thought. Every writer will develop their own tool box of 2 or 10 or 20 tricks (or ticks) that will help tickle their text and transform it to terrific. Mine is alliteration.

Finding your style will give you control, controlling your prose allowing the reader to truly hear what you’re saying. It isn’t always easy, but is always worth the effort.

The Collective Inkwell Community Question: What methods do you use to give your work voice and inject it with style?

Sean Platt is a dad and ghostwriter who also tweets.

Related posts:

1. 10 Ways to Pull More From Each of Your Days. There were plenty of things we did well during our...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

7 Easy (And Fun!) Exercises to Boost Your Creativity

NOTE: This is Collective Inkwell’s first guest post, written by Sherice Jacob of ielectrify.

Are you stuck wondering how you can even think OUTSIDE the box when you’re stuck IN the box?  Whether you’re tackling a difficult problem or are suffering from complete burnout, these seven creative exercises are guaranteed to spark your creativity and give you a lot more brain with a lot less storm!

1. Doodle! Did you know that our random, seemingly “mindless” doodles actually reflect what our subconscious mind is thinking about?  Doodling is a great way to get in touch with that innovative side of your brain, so grab a pen and paper and go for it.  It doesn’t matter if you can’t draw a stick-man, no one is judging your artistic creativity here.  Mull your problem over in your mind and start sketching out what comes to mind.  You might be facing a blank page at first, but eventually ideas will start to flow more readily.

If it helps, you can also discuss your problem with a friend or colleague and doodle while you talk about it.  Do this exercise with someone who isn’t in your immediate brainstorming circle – who possibly has never heard of the issue you’re trying to address.  Sometimes two heads are better than one – and you may find an innovative solution you never would’ve uncovered!

2. Write it Down – This is my personal favorite and the one I use constantly.  Just like with a diary, sometimes it really does help to get it all out and “on paper” (or screen).  Start writing about your problem.  Write how it makes you feel, how you hate being stuck, what you wish you’d rather be doing.

Don’t stop to analyze or edit your writing – just write!  After a few minutes of venting, you’ll not only feel better, but real ideas will start to stick their heads out as you clear out all the stress and mental clutter that’s been jamming up your creative pipes.

3. Ask the Dictionary – This is a sure-fire idea generator.  Open up a dictionary and choose a random word.  Now think of new ideas around that word.  What images come to mind when you think about the word?  For the purpose of this article, I tried this myself and the word I ended up on was “chemical”.  What comes to mind?  Harmony (or explosions), interactions, science, beakers, teamwork.  Try it yourself!

4. Candy + Classical Music – I once had a math teacher who swore this worked, and, being “mathematically challenged” myself, I can say that I really did do better on tests when she used this method on the class.  Pop a piece of hard candy and turn on some Bach or Mozart.  That burst of sugar goes right to your brain as “quick energy”  (but don’t overdo it or it will go straight to your thighs!) and there are countless studies attesting to the positive results of classical music.  Put the two together and see what happens!  Try this with point #1 or #2 above!

5. Mix Up Your Routine – Let’s be honest.  How many times have you gotten up and gotten ready for work and actually stopped to THINK about what you were doing that very minute?  Even something as routine as making a cup of coffee seems so “automatic” these days.

To help bust out of your rut, try something different every day – or even several times a day to get the full effect.  Drive a different route to or from work, brush your teeth with your other hand, buy a random magazine from your local bookstore on a topic you know nothing about and read it.  You’d be surprised at how this can “reset” your brain and give you more interesting points of view you might not have considered before!

6. Explore Your Senses – Sometimes we’re so burnt out by a problem, we forget that we’re concentrating too hard on it.  To help loosen up your creative muscles, take time out to do something small for yourself, but instead of just “going through the motions” of it, explore it with all your senses.  Take time to enjoy the touch and smell of something you’re eating, for example.  If you’re doing point #6 above, take in everything about the new part of your routine.  Is there something you enjoy more or less about it?  Why?

7. Watch Other People – Go to a busy area such as a mall and watch people. Consider what they might be thinking about and make up a life story for them.  What would you do if you were in their shoes right now?  You may discover that your “big” problem was actually rather trivial compared to what someone else is going through – which gives you a renewed boost of energy to tackle it again with a fresh new perspective!

Give these creativity tips a try for yourself and do them often.  Then watch as ideas start to come more easily and new innovations you may never have considered before suddenly appear when you’re “turned in.”  It works!

Sherice Jacob is a web designer, copywriter, and author of Get Niche Quick! You can follow her @Sherice

Related posts:

1. Fear, the Ultimate Foe of Creativity and Success What is the one thing holding you back from...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’m a television junkie, my habit formed early in life, then groomed along a few steady decades of dependence and practiced routine.

Fortunately, controlling the cravings for my coaxial crack has been made easier by a sharp shift in my recent schedule. Now I’m a writer spending my days writing great copy. I’ve modified the methods in which I feed those ravenous parts of my brain, always starving for stories and essential truths.

The solution was simple. Now, like blowing bubbles instead of smoke, these days I deliver ideas rather than simply soaking them in.

Don’t get me wrong, were it entirely up to me I would still be mainlining my digital opiate directly from eyeballs to frontal lobe, but the mass reduction in my high definition addiction has led me to cling only to the future classics. Where my plate was once filled with empty calories, now it is mostly protein and nutrients.

The digital dance is different for everyone. For me, there is no weekly prescription I’d rather have pushed at my peepers than LOST. The show, now in its fifth season, is far from idle television. LOST is both demanding and rewarding. The most observant of its viewers conclude each episode with dots connected, parallels drawn, and a few more questions that almost always come packaged in patience.

Like great copy, LOST has me hook, line and sinker. There isn’t another show on television I’m more inclined to catch. This is no accident. LOST’s room of writers know exactly what they’re doing.

Here are the 5 ways LOST has taught me about writing great copy.

1) LOST makes me think, in part due to the multitude of well threaded story lines woven from the first episode forward. Yet it is the intelligent elements of the show that truly make it shine. Heavy in science and synchronicity, the writing in LOST rarely fails to brighten the burning bulb above my head, encouraging me to ponder my place and wonder how the world unfolding in front of me at 32 frames per second relates to the world that swirls around me each day.

2) LOST always leaves me eager for more. I am never quite ready to bid farewell as that bone white logo floats to the surface of the screen behind a single beat of steady percussion. I am so keen to see what’s coming next, I am willing to rewind and review what I already know.

3) LOST always has me in thought long after the final fade. Where is the story going? Was there anything I missed? What was I supposed to glean from the episode? Great television, like any great art or compelling copy should leave the audience with something to wonder. Writing great copy means you either leave them pondering what to do or whether to buy, but your purpose must be palpable.

4) LOST leaves me feeling like I can’t afford to miss a moment. The most consistent argument I hear from people who have not yet experienced the show is that it is too difficult to jump into mid-stream. No argument from me. LOST is an island away from formulaic, situation TV and has consistently built upon the scaffolding it set early in the first season. Missing an episode of LOST is missing a lot.

5) LOST is imbued with intelligence and an overall plan. Sure, there have been moments in the last five seasons where I’ve wondered if the writers really knew where they were going. Yet the writing is so consistently solid, that even if they are making it up as they go along, the audience could never prove it. This makes me trust the writers not only as storytellers, but as master craftsman. Solid trust between author and audience can lead to places few other things can.

LOST is a spectacular show and I can’t wait to inhale it all for the second time in a week long binge someday in the future. For now, I am happy to revisit the remarkable writing once a week for a few months at the dawn of each year and reflect at how the wonderful writing in widescreen can translate to the published copy in my browser. Thanks LOST, for teaching helping me write great copy.

The Collective Inkwell Community Question: What television, movies or music has made a difference in your copy or art?

Sean Platt is a ghostwriter and the man behind WriterDad.

Related posts:

1. 51 Questions That Will Take Your Book From Good to Great You’re finally finished. You can’t believe it’s done. Too many...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

This is the first in a series of posts on Greasing Your Creative Wheels. Whether you’re a blogger, a writer or another type of artist, there are times when the creative machine gets jammed, the cogs get all gunked up and you need a Creative Tune-Up. This series aims to get your engine going again using some of the time tested techniques that we use. Up first – filling your idea tank.

I never run out of ideas.

Surely, you get writer’s block?

Nope. Never. In fact, I’m a writer with more ideas than I have time to execute them. Between numerous comic strips, books, articles and blog posts, I have no shortage of ideas. Granted, they’re not all GREAT, but each is a seed capable of growth as long as there are the right nutrients in the soil.

Sitting and staring at a blank screen or page but being unable to come up with anything is a terrifying feeling. I have good news for you. Whether you are painting a picture or writing great copy there are ways to make sure it won’t happen to you again.

I kind of lied above when I said never. I wasn’t always this chock full of ideas.

During my years as a newspaper reporter, I was responsible for submitting a certain number of stories per issue. Prioritizing and scheduling were key to ensuring I met my deadlines. I was great at meeting deadlines. However, sometimes a story would simply fall apart. There are a number of reasons this can happen,  too many to mention here, but one night of panic that I might miss a deadline was all the inspiration I needed to make sure I always have something waiting in the wings.

So I created my idea tank

This is my system. Feel free to modify, improve  and claim it as your own. Call it whatever you want. Your Box O’ Ideas, your Idea Well, Hell, call it Bob. The name isn’t important so long as you develop some sort of system.

Conquer writer’s block

The FIRST thing you need to do if you’re stuck for inspiration is GET UP! Change your scenery. If you’ve been sitting at a desk for hours, get out and go for a walk, jog or run! Just get up and get moving!

I know it seems counterproductive, especially if you’re pressed for time, to leave your writing area. Trust me. Sitting in one place for too long allows both your body and spirit to fall into lethargy. Walking is not only good for its obvious health benefits, it also gives your brain a jump start, freeing you to think beyond the limitations of your house or office. Suddenly, you’re out in the world, wide open spaces filled with possibilities. I always think of new ideas while out on a walk. By the time I’m halfway through, I’m in a rush to get back and record my ideas.

Take notes

I carry a reporter’s notebook (or some variation of) with me wherever I go. (Although, I don’t take notes while on my walks) This is a habit I developed long before I became a reporter. You never know when an idea will strike. Odds are, the less appropriate the place for writing, the more likely you’ll think of some killer new idea. Funny how the mind works. Never be caught off guard. On the road, in line or in bed, have a pen and paper of some sort to jot down your ideas. Bonus – If you’re like me and hate waiting in lines or traffic or doctor’s offices, a notebook makes for a great way to make use of your waiting time! I try to keep my ideas on separate pages for the next step.

Observe your surroundings

It’s funny how often we ignore those things we take for granted.

When you pass the same street day after day, you probably fail to notice all the little things that make it unique. Start noticing. Better yet, start writing down some of these observations, as they are some of the ingredients which will inform your creative work and allow people to lose themselves inside your words and worlds.

Everybody has a story

People watching is a favorite activity for many writers, myself included. Next time you’re out, try to imagine the lives, or the back stories if you will, of the people around you. People provide wonderful inspiration. Crowded places such as malls and public transportation often have an eclectic mix of denizens. Surely one person will glow with potential.

Perhaps the blue collar guy in the dirty shirt with the calloused hands sitting quietly in the back of the bus, his head down, his eyes tired, might have a compelling story. Perhaps there’s something special in that paper sack he is carrying. Something wonderful, or maybe something horrible, which will change the world of those around him. The only limits are your imagination. Use real life to jumpstart your creative side.

Better yet, talk to people

Your imagination will only get you so far. If you really want to write about other people, try getting to know them. Strike up conversations with people you might not otherwise talk to (assuming its reasonably safe to do so and you’re not putting yourself at risk). If you’re not especially social, try listening to others. Listening to the way other people talk can lend voice to your own creations. Authentic dialogue always sounds better than the clichéd banter that permeates bad television and movies.

Invite the creator inside you to your next conversation. Pretty soon you will have plenty of inspiration to tap into.

Filling your idea tank

As you record your ideas, you’ll want a place to store them. I use a giant index card box with dividers. You can use whatever works for you: a computer program, a shoe box, a series of notebooks, whatever you like. Each idea falls into a category and gets filed away. Note: you don’t have to store JUST your ideas in this bank. You can also store other people’s work which inspires you in some manner. Perhaps you saw a photo in a magazine of some place which triggered an idea in your head. Cut it out, write down some notes and attach it to the pic and file it away.

Some sample categories:

• story ideas – long
• story ideas – short
• books by name
• blog article ideas
• magazine article ideas
• column ideas
• print or online clips which inspire
• research
• memorable quotes
• biographies
• sketches
• photographs
• site design
• color schemes
• other art

The important thing is to have some easy way to categorize them and call them up at a later date. Because when it comes to writing, ideas are your friends. Treat them well, invest time in developing them and they will reward you greatly in return.

Next time: we’ll discuss your digital idea tank, how to use an RSS feed for inspiration and other tools to keep your creative engine chugging.

The Collective Inkwell Community Question: We’re interested in some of the tricks and tools you use to fill your idea tank. How do you get your inspiration? What tips would you like to pass along? We want to hear from you! Comment below and join the discussion.

Speaking of writing, there’s still time to enter our contest to win a free premium Thesis Wordpress Theme and other prizes!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Remember when you were little and you used to go to the movies, you would pay ten cents for your ticket and a nickel for your popcorn, then amble in, find your seat and watch the exciting adventures play out from the week before?

No? Wrong decade, huh?

Well, coming up in the wrong decade didn’t stop George Lucas when he took the serial aesthetic and threw it on the big screen in 1977, and that first success flowed straight into another when he teamed up with Spielberg a few years later to pour some more serial with Indiana Jones.

Serialized fiction is wonderful. Today, some of our favorite TV shows are fine examples of exactly that. Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Dexter, The Shield, Veronica Mars, the The Wire and (drool) LOST. There’s something about ending on a cliffhanger and starting with a bang that rolls our blood to a boil.

When we were designing the Inkwell, we knew for certain that we wanted to play with some fiction, and this old school format that’s been around since The Illiad and The Odyssey seemed to be the perfect mechanism. Now that I’m a writer I know just what to do.

Next week, and every Friday thereafter, the Inkwell will publish a fresh installment of a serialized story. Our first installment is a horror tale that’s been buzzing in David Wright’s brain for more than two decades. It was gathering dust when he decided to pitch it to me for fun to see what I could do with it.

The collaborative effort of both of our voices have jolted this monster to life and we can’t wait to unleash it on the world. We’ll talk a bit about the story behind the story next Thursday as an appetizer.

Make sure to subscribe by email or RSS so you don’t miss a single adventure!

Question: What is your favorite example of serialized fiction and why?

See you Monday.

Related posts:

1. The Secret to Finishing Your Book and Becoming a Better Writer I never would have believed it. But it’s true. Writing...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

“Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted.”

~Jules Renard

I‘m a writer. It makes no difference that I first picked up my pen just a year and a half back; a woman is no less a mother when her milk first begins to flow.

Writing, to me, is the music I make for a dance of my own design; the legacy I will one day leave of the life I lived. I am a writer because it is a sterling affair, each of those moments when I find the sound of swirling syllables speaking in a symphony born from the abyss of my soul; a tangle of thought unraveled upon the page revealing my inner self and then placing it on display for the reader as I stand back both bashful and proud.

I’m a writer because I mourn the brevity of our existence and am selfish enough to wish I might live through the best of my moments more than once. A born writer, I believe, is fortunate to inhabit more than a single existence. One life he lives firmly fixed in the reality swimming before him, along with the million or so versions waiting patiently at the opposite end of his mind’s eye, eager to reveal their own romantic record of yesterday.

Now the knowledge that I am a writer swims through my senses, deeply submerged and rarely rising for breath. I ponder at where it might take me. What worlds will I create and who will my mind manufacture to fill them?

For a writer, imagination is the only horizon.

For the dozen years preceding my life with a pen, I made my living with flowers. Perhaps it was there where I learned to manipulate beauty and discover I could take something simply beautiful and shape it into something breathtaking.  I was fortunate to find myself in a shop with no shortage in its selection.  I discovered my favorite flowers, combined them with colors that echoed, and found that nature itself was merely a suggestion.

I long to write like that.  I would never wish to labor in a standard store with only two flowers in a half dozen colors, I want to wander the aisles among roses of every color.

Primary colors coalesce for the rainbow, but the remaining hues paint the world that lies beneath.

I want to write where every single sentence brings me closer to the essential truth of what makes me who I am, painting my life with the tip of a pen or stroke of a key, rinsing memory in vivid color, then carving a future from the words I create.

I’m a writer.  Now, for the first time, I have a place to messy my desk with paper and pen and pull the best from inside me.

Welcome to the Inkwell.

Sean

Related posts:

1. The Secret to Finishing Your Book and Becoming a Better Writer I never would have believed it. But it’s true. Writing...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Is your blog a GREAT blog?

Does your blog burn brightly or is it just another fading star in cyberspace? Are your readers informed and entertained or are you delivering the same tired copy and uninspired, poorly functioning web design which assaults the senses and insults the intellect of your audience? Does your blog resonate or does it come off like the internet equivalent of cheesy late night television infomercials?

These are the kinds of honest questions GREAT bloggers must ask themselves.

Hi, we’re David Wright and Sean Platt. We’ve created Collective Inkwell to help you create a GREAT blog.

As artists, we are obsessed with perfecting our crafts. We’ve spent countless hours in discussion about our inspirations and critiquing and editing each other’s writing. As a freelance writer or artist, an honest partner who calls things as they are, is an invaluable asset that can only help you tighten your focus and sharpen your voice.

In the relatively short time we’ve been blogging, we’ve developed a close knit circle of fellow bloggers who we’ve come to both learn from and consider friends. We talk a lot about blogging trends, what works and what doesn’t, and what kind of content we most enjoy.

Then we thought, why not widen the circle by creating a site that not only serves as a portfolio to showcase our freelance services, but also serves as an online writer’s room to talk shop? In that shop, we will discuss what inspires us and more importantly, what inspires YOU.

Consider Collective Inkwell your friendly café, to use a term that Chris Brogan has popularized, to talk shop. We hope to enrich both your blog and your life. If we happen to entertain you along the way, all the better.

We encourage readers to post in our comments section and join in the friendly discussions on creativity, blogging trends and whatever topics we post about.

What you can expect

Collective Inkwell aims to offer quality content, lived-in advice, and topical discussions relative to a creative bloggers’ growth. We will also feature a long line-up of interviews with today’s most creative and interesting bloggers and creative masters. We aim to post at least three times per week, but may post more often as time and content allows.

Additionally, we are trying something new for this sort of blog – we are excited to offer up a weekly chapter of co-written fiction, with a fresh installment of Serial and Milk each Friday.

Subscribe to our feed via RSS or email, by clicking on the buttons along the sidebar.

You can follow us on Twitter by clicking on the appropriate button, also located in the sidebar. We will also set up a dedicated Twitter feed for The Inkwell this week. Speaking of Twitter, please Tweet us and let others know to check us out.

If you want to contact us, we’d love to hear from you. Our collective email is collectiveinkwell (at) gmail.com

Thanks for stopping by, please comment, we’d love to hear from you.

We’ll see you again on Wednesday when we announce a killer contest to kick things off! Trust us, you won’t want to miss it!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.