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So, you think that you have that perfect topic for your short story or novel…you think that you have a good idea of what your storyline will be. You’ve written down some character names…You’ve chosen your location, your setting, and such…You’ve even started writing the first chapter…As you near the middle of the seventh page, [...]

When was the last time you were at a carnival? You know, one of those signs of summer…the crowded, dark, and sometimes littered parking lots with the Tilt-A-Whirls, the Ferris wheels, the bumper cars, and those all tempting carnival games…Cotton candy, all sticky and sugary…Snow comes, so icy and and drippy…Corndogs so, well, so corn [...]

If you were throwing a party, where would you hold it? Would it be at your house? In the living room? Or, backyard? Would your party be at the small, family restaurant down the street? Or, would you host it at the convention center? Oh, what were you saying, you are more of a party-goer, [...]

Whether you share short stories, knit novels, or compose poetry, you are constantly in search of a subject. Where do you find your inspiration? Where do you search for the sanity that is the focus of your piece? The challenge usually is finding something, someone, or some essence worthy enough to place on paper so [...]

You know what your day looks like. You know when you have time to write. You also know when you don’t have time to write. There are really two challenges though…Finding the time when you are not asleep and finding your particular muse somewhere along the way. They are both elusive creatures. Neither seem to [...]

“Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine.” Fran Lebowitz

“My stories run up and bite me on the leg-I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off.” Ray Bradbury

“His life has been spent in devotion to ideas. The passions of his brain have consumed the passions of his body.” Sherwood Anderson

“Ideas come from curiosity. When I settle one idea, my confidence takes command; and nothing can shake it, and I am constant to it until it comes a reality. Then I drop it abruptly, and rarely mention it again.” Walt Disney

“Our heritage and ideas, our code and standards – the things we live by and teach our children – are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.” Walt Disney

Good storytelling is an interesting creature…sometimes it hides in the most unpredictable places…search the shadows..

Whether you are struggling for a topic, or looking for a muse…look here for our weekly, or more frequent poetry topics. This more frequent poetry topic is FLOWERS…Whether you think about the colorful petals, the calm swaying in the breeze, the soothing smell, or the artisitic layout of the petals against the rich verdant terrain…remember [...]

Amazon.com Widgets So many of us have attended some type of camp…summer camp, art camp, scout camp, rodeo camp…OK, the last one I just threw in there, but it exists (check out Rodeo Camp…speaking of camp, that is today’s short story topic. When you write, think about the smores, think about the campfires, think about [...]

Whether you are struggling for a topic, or looking for a muse…look here for our weekly or more frequent topics. This more frequent short story topic is FLOWERS…Whether you think about the colorful petals, the calm swaying in the breeze, the soothing smell, or the prickly sensation during your last campout…remember to evoke, engage, and [...]

“A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.” Mark Twain