Tag Archives: ideas

The Idea Notebook

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Jodi

Fellow writer friends of mine have talked about how ideas seem to attack them at random. It’s as if this happens constantly and if they don’t stop what they’re doing immediately, they will forget their bolt of inspiration and it … Continue reading →

Posted in Organizational Skills | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Writing Exercise: Active Idea Search

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Jodi

We hear it over and over, editors are searching for unique ideas and stories they haven’t read before. That’s the tough part, because it seems that most all stories have been told already. Or have they? Finding a new idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing Exercise | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Fearing the Blank Page

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Jodi

  Starting something new is hard.  It doesn’t matter what it is. It could be trying painting with water colors, snorkeling, or crossing a rope bridge.  There always has to be that first stroke, that first plunge, that first step. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art of Writing, Concept Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Cheese Influenced Dreaming

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Jodi

Some of us pull our ideas from personal experience, some from movies or music, some from the air, and some visit us in the dark hours of the night. Dreaming has never been a reliable way of conjuring up new … Continue reading →

Posted in Featured Resource, Inspiration | Tagged , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Plot Flowcharts

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Jodi

There are probably hundreds of different ways to organize a plot line but when I saw this I knew I had to share it.  The creative minds at XKCD have created a movie narrative chart that is as useful as … Continue reading →

Posted in Plotting, Writing Exercise | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Snack Time Ideas for Writers

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Jodi

No writer I know can eat everything in sight and still keep up a girlish (boyish?) figure.  Heck,  it’s a rare day when I can find pants that fit, I’d hate to “grow” out of them. The sad fact is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Weather? Or Not?

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Jodi

Last night, lightning boomed across the sky in a summer storm.  It made me start thinking about the use of weather in writing.   One of the unofficial rules of “good” writing is to talk about the weather sparingly, and never … Continue reading →

Posted in Concept Creation, Editing and Revision, World Building | Tagged , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Did you know?

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Jodi

Technology and writing go hand and hand.  We can see it in the way we acquire new information and how we transfer the ideas from our heads to our readers hands.   Nowadays if we need to know something we … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Resource: KQED’s “The Writer’s Block”

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Jodi

The first thing I did when I got my iTouch was look for podcasts to listen to while driving.  I stumbled across The Writer’s Block, a weekly program featuring writers reading their latest work, including short fiction, chapter excerpts, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Featured Resource, Inspiration | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Intellectual Stimuli

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Jodi

I have harped about getting out in the world and experiencing the “new”.  New places, new ideas, new foods, the list goes on.   From a writer’s perspective seeking new ways to see, feel, and taste, are vital to inject color … Continue reading →

Posted in Featured Resource, Inspiration | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments