Writing, like any other artistic or creative undertaking, is far from an exact science. We ain’t masters of the game. We don’t have a special rulebook. But we do know a thing or two about writing that’s helped us out from time to time. And here’s where we share our secret voodoo methods with you!


Inspiration:

I was sitting around with one of the other contributors of Stumblebum Studios and one of the issues that seem to always come up popped into the conversation yesterday, inspiration. Fiction, the articles, pretty much anytime we put anything to paper. Where does the inspiration come from?

For me, there is no direct correlation between what I am trying to write and where my inspiration comes from. Fiction novels and novels of short stories normally don’t give me the inspiration to write fiction or ideas for my next project. I don’t read articles to decide what to write my article about, although I do a lot of perusing to research them. But my inspiration is not totally from different sources either. I could be driving home and see a billboard on the side of the road, a commercial on television, or a dream I remember only bits and pieces of. I can’t really force it to happen. It doesn’t happen more often when I read than if I glue myself to the television. It all seems pretty random. The trick for me doesn’t seem to be how, but when.

When inspiration strikes I have to be ready to take full advantage. At work, in the middle of the night, whenever I think the words are willing to pour from my fingers. It never matters what is coming out either. Incoherent words and phrases in the middle of the night may look like gibberish and garbage in the morning, but if only a few sentences make it through the mess, then that could be the little nugget of a story I need to get the ball rolling into something bigger.

Saying that, it is very difficult for me to just sit down and write something. I can stare at my computer screen for what seems like forever and get nothing more than a flashing cursor, and sometimes I can just grab the computer and in a matter of a half an hour or so and put together something that I can sit back and be proud of.