If you have other things in your life – family, friends, good productive day work – these can interact with your writing and the sum will be all the richer. David Brin

People are always asking where I get my ideas for stories as if, perhaps, the alchemical process is easy to wrestle into words.  I try to explain that ideas sometimes pop into my head when I least expect it, like mushrooms in a lawn; other times they sneak up on me, troubling at my consciousness until I spend a little time figuring out what exactly I’m planning to write.  Some ideas go the distance and turn into long stories or novels, others peter out leaving me with half finished narratives and tears of irritation.  When an idea seems so perfect that it has to be written down but comes to nothing on the page is when I feel worst as a writer, even worse than when I get rejection letters or unkind reviews (more about those in a later post!) 

But there are some places which I find are gold mines for ideas and so here are my top four for you to get inspired and get writing. 

1- Listen to conversations people are having around you.  Snippets of overheard dialogue can send your imagination on a terrific journey.

2- As yourself WHAT IF?  What if the sun didn’t come up tomorrow, what if your boss fired you in five minutes, what if you could fly?  What if is a key question for a writer, making you rethink your world and the world of your characters.

3- Think about the angle you need to tell your story from: by chosing the right perspective and the right opening you can discover new ideas and ways of looking at something that might have seemed too tired or boring before.

4- Read.  Read.  Read.  I could say this all day.  Books are like art galleries for aspiring (and established) writers, giving a space for the imagination to view and discover new work.  I don’t mean for you to copy what you’re reading, but I do mean let it inspire you and inform your dreams. 

Today’s a good day to think about what you’d like to achieve as a writer over the next few months.  Perhaps you’d like to complete a short story byt Christmas, or finish a first draft of your novel for the New Year.  List your goals.  Try to keep them achievable, focused, clear – so write : Get a story ready for the Malahat Contest by Sept 30th rather than Work on that story. 

Here are a couple of suggestions for goals if you need a little inspiration:

Write for ten minutes every morning.

Write two poems on the theme of loss.

Get a draft of your novel completed and ready to be edited by January 1st.

Pin up your list somewhere you can see it regularly.    

Goals will keep you motivated – disciplining yourself is a big part of being a writer.  Time for me to get to work!

Where do you do your writing?  It’s a question I get asked often.  I have a small office at my house that overlooks a deck and some leafy summertime trees.  When it’s winter, the window becomes glazed with frost in spectacular patterns.  I sit with my back to the view and with a bookshelf to the right of me.  It’s filled with books I mean to read and photographs of my family.  Opposite I have a painting that is dear to me; the desk if filled with CDs, pens and notes.  I think anyone wandering in (not that anyone’s allowed to wander in!) would find it a cosy place to write.  But I’m lucky to be able to write off a home office as a business expense.  Before I could do that, I always tried to make a little spot that was purely for writing – a small desk in the corner of my bedroom when I was a student or a comfy chair in the living room where I could cuddle up with a laptop (not such a good idea if you value your back.)  It’s worth a little thinking time.  A place that is dedicated to your writing is essential.  It shows you (and those around you) that writing is important.