Almost all writers are familiar with the power of the “what if” question. Every novel, story, and article is inspired by those words, even when the question isn’t articulated. Many of us, however (myself included up until a few years ago) fail to tap the question’s full potential. Why? Simply because we don’t make a conscious effort to answer it. […]
August 23, 2009 by 42 Comments Writing InspirationWhy Genre Writing Could Kill Your Career
The title of this week’s post is easily a very controversial, debatable, and in some respects downright wrong statement. After all, we have only to look at the latest copy of the New York Times to see that the fiction categories in its bestseller lists are inevitably headed by established genre writers. Very obviously, genre […]
May 18, 2009 by 10 Comments Writing Inspiration5 Ways to Capture Brilliant Ideas for Your Novel
I think it’s safe to open this post with a broad, sweeping generalization: We write because of inspiration. Not only because without inspiration we wouldn’t have anything to write about, but also because inspiration is the writer’s version of runner’s high. It’s this top-of-the-world, explosion-of-joy experience that makes the personal sacrifices and hard work of […]
July 20, 2008 by 35 Comments Writing LifeThe Ridiculously Surefire Way to Write the Perfect Novel
Is there such a thing as the perfect novel? And, if so, how does one go about writing it? I think most of us would agree that that the answer to the first question is an indisputable no. Perfection in art is unequivocally subjective. What one reader hails as perfection, another will throw across the […]
March 16, 2008 by 30 Comments Writing InspirationConscious vs. Subconscious Creativity: Which Is More Important to an Author?
I’ve always been intrigued by the left-brain/right-brain theory—the idea that creative thought stems from the right hemisphere of the brain, while logical thought flows from the left hemisphere. Growing up, I always considered myself a right-brainer, due to my imaginative ramblings. But, the older I get, the more my left-brain (logical, sequential, rational, analytical, objective) tendencies […]
