Sometimes hitting the books (internet, encyclopedia, local expert) is the best way to galvanize creativity. Immerse yourself in something that interests you. The information may not become useful right away, but then an internal click will sound and that knowledge will have a place. An unplanned immersion for me has been Alzheimer’s and Dementia. My…
Multitask the process of writing Let’s face it, if you are working at a job that you enjoy and that also pays the bills and writing for publication in your free time, than multitasking is probably a necessary evil. I don’t advocate the idea of using up every moment for productive result at all times:…
Overwhelmed by stuff, use anticipation to inspire. Creativity is best when the appetite is wet. I have already said that teaching encroaches on my writing time. Remember the movie The Thing? That is the life of the English teacher: pursued by an engulfing pile of stuff. The teaching thing just eats everything up. So I…
Be ready to pounce on the writing moment. So last week I blogged about how creativity can be dependent upon routine. I do use this to a degree during the summer months, but I am just as likely to use the capture mode. This is when you sit down to do one thing and inspiration…
Be ready to write Creativity is such a personal experience. No matter who we are, we search for it. A kid wants to say something funny to his buddies, a man needs a good line to catch the woman’s attention, a painter dreams of that perfect aesthetic impression on canvas, the computer programmer must revise…
mixing it up in SF genres One of the really difficult things I have found about writing SF is that there are so many subgenres. I have been doing research so I can be certain which one(s) I fall into. After reviewing the various sites that explain SF subgenres, I sat down to list the…
Not just plants are regional: words, too. I moved all over the place when I was a kid, and I collected words and differences in pronunciation of words like most kids collected bubble gum trading cards. Milkshake, cabinet, frappe Even though these words reference the same thing, each brings a different feel to the image….
Readers need to connect the content to their own lives. Recently I was reading Jane Eyre. The narrator and main character Jane was describing a view of Rochester seated alone in a darkened room, and suddenly I was transported back about ten years and the memory of walking into my father’s office to see him…
