“Where do you get your ideas?”  It’s a common question that readers ask writers. 

I’m always tempted to say something snarky like, “I have a medium put me in touch with Dr. Seuss,” or, “they come to me while I chant magic words over a smoldering pot of weed.”  Wouldn’t it be glorious fun to see the shocked reactions to answers like that?  But I can’t do it.  First, it would be a big lie – one that I wouldn’t want anyone to perpetuate about me.  And secondly, I wouldn’t want anyone to try those things in an effort to “get ideas.”

So where do writers get their ideas?  Everywhere.  A single phrase from a country song inspired the entire plot for the novel I’m currently working on.  It came to me while I was on an exit ramp.  Somewhere deep inside my brain some neurons must have misfired, and there it was – the plot for a really dark urban fantasy.  How do I explain something like that?  The last story I finished came from a writing exercise meant to create interesting characters.  It worked.  I couldn’t stop thinking about my little hero and what would happen to someone like him – and a book was born.

Everywhere I look I see ideas for stories.  Some would only serve to make the characters more interesting or realistic.  Some could become sticking points that change the course of the character’s thoughts or actions.  Some could spawn the whole premise of a novel or an underlying theme.  And here’s the catch – every writer will use those same little chunks of inspiration a different way.  After all, inspiration is like an ingredient in a kitchen – different chefs will use it for entirely different kinds of dishes.  It’s magic.

But wait – there’s more!  You too can have a magic idea machine of your very own!  Even if you’ve never been one to dream up stories, plots, or characters.  For no money down and free shipping and handling, you can become more creative than you’ve ever been.  How?  Start creating.  

Hah!  You thought I was going to give some formula for creative thinking?  I can’t.  No one can.  It’s something you do.  Creativity begets creativity.  If you aren’t very creative, it’s because you haven’t exercised that part of your mind – not because it isn’t there.  So start flexing your creative muscles.  Write, sew, cook, draw, doodle, paint, decorate, compose, invent something.  Try new recipes and add your own touches.  Do writing exercises and take them farther than necessary.  Paint a picture without the paint by numbers template.  The more creative you force yourself to be, the more creative you will become.  It’s inevitable.  

Now, I’m not saying that you’ll become John Grisham after making your first non-cookbook-driven omelette or batch of chili, but it’s a start.  (Obviously, you need more than ideas to be a great writer.)  But the more you flex your creative muscles, the more they will give you.  Try it.  Try it often.  It’s free, it’s fun, and you might just end up with people asking you, “Where do you get your ideas?

 Enjoy your week,

Mary

Okay, I have to admit that this rant doesn’t have much to do with actual writing technique.  However, it does have to do with content – mostly website content for manufacturers and businesses.

If you are going to set up a website for the consumer to view, please – please, please, please – take the time to think like a consumer.  For instance, I’ve been obsessively shopping for a refrigerator this week. And you know what?  Very few sites have the forethought to put pictures of the inside of the fridge on their website.  They all show the sleek, shiny outside (that looks like every other outside), and forget to show the guts.  I want to see what I’m working with  – not what I’m wiping off after the dishes are done.  So here, in no particular order, are a few tips for website designers and copywriters hoping to capture consumers on the web:

Think like a shopping consumer – what do people shopping for a fridge want to know?  They may want to know how the cooling system works, but they also want to know the stuff that effects them every time they open the door to reach for something.

Price.  If you aren’t willing to show me the price, if I have to call you to get it (Do you really want a call at 1am when I’m shopping on the net?), or if you want me to push the “add to basket” button to find out the price, you are sorely mistaken, my friend.  I, and I suspect a lot of other consumers, get ticked off when it feels like you are hiding the cost.  This especially goes for college tuition costs.  If you want me to consider your college for my kid, you’d better be up-front and proud of your prices.  Your little credit hour vs. contact hour tuition fees are for the birds.  (Don’t give some sort of crap about how college cost should be secondary to quality – cost always counts to the average citizen.)

Contact info.  If you don’t want people to call you, you’d better give us a really good reason why your phone number is not listed on your website.  If you don’t have an easy to find email address, you make the consumer think that they are going to be in big trouble if your product isn’t what they expect it to be.  In short, if you don’t want contact with your customer, most of us don’t want to be your customer.  Colleges are especially guilty of hiding contact information.  They tell consumers that they are the most user friendly institution around, but when they aren’t willing to pick up a phone and offer real person to person contact, the shopper gets the real picture.  So put your phone number and the hours you can be reached by phone, and list an email.  It really isn’t complicated.

DON’T have music start to play when I open your site.  DON’T have an info-babe video start talking at me when I open your site.  Silence is golden, and if I’m shopping in the car, or crusing the web at night, I don’t want your noise alerting everyone else in ear shot that I’m on the web.  Besides, I value the quiet times in my household, and you have not been invited to break the solitude.

Reviews.  If consumer reviews are available to you, post them.  It helps me to know what others think.  But DON’T make them up.  After reading enough of them, most of us can spot a fake review.  Don’t BS me on your website, it kills the trust factor. 

Love the “compare” feature.  Keep that one.

Think for a minute about what I really visit your site to find out.  If I’m shopping for clothes, I really don’t want your tips on how to be popular.  Warmth ratings are helpful.  Fabric care is helpful.  Shipping and return info is always good to know.  If I’m shopping for appliances, I’m really not visiting your site to find recipes.  Seriously, tell me more about your product.  If you use a higher grade, thicker stainless steel, that might impress me.  If you have the highest consumer satisfaction rating, I might be interested.  If you offer the best warranty in the business, brag it up.  These things build trust.  These things might make me drive to a store to check out your product.  It might even be something that would make me click the “buy now” button.

Tell me where your products are from.  Yes, some of us do look at whether or not something is made in the USA or some other country that we don’t mind supporting.  It isn’t the only thing that matters, but it matters.

I’m sure I will think of more later.  It will give me something fresh to rant about on another day.

Until then enjoy your week, keep writing, and be sure to let us know if you like what you read at Writer’s, Like Me.

All the best,

Mary

Dear Roxie, Velma and Billy (and Harrison, Georgia, Chimes, Ben, Alex, Charlotte, Jack and Sugar)

I relish sleep.  I really do.  I love, love, love every precious second.  So when I’m restless in the morning, like today, it’s irksome to realize the reason is because I have the soundtrack of “Chicago” playing in my head.

Why?  It’s been a looong time since I’ve watched the movie, and Renee Zellweger hasn’t been on my radar. But there it was, “All that Jazz”, “Razzle Dazzle” and, God help me, “Mr. Cellophane” playing over and over like an annoying, off key gnat.

I blame the writer’s brain.  We’re constantly looking for ideas, eavesdropping on conversations, and playing the “what if?” game.  Everything is research, right?

A writer’s brain is constantly juggling character arcs, complicated plot lines, dialogue, setting, goal, motivations and conflict, not to mention marketing and editing.  Our characters never leave us alone. (hint, hint)  We do not need additional stimulation like early morning concerts.

Stay out of my head, Roxie and Billy.  Stay out, characters I’m not working on.  Stay out, future characters.  Leave me alone to concentrate on my current characters.  You’ll have your shot, or already have.  Don’t be greedy.

I appreciate your consideration.

Remember, you can be replaced.  Oh, so easily.

Cheryl