Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Creative cross-training [Plus a video!]
One of the most common questions I get about writing is, “Where do you get your ideas?”
I usually hem and haw and mumble something about ideas being everywhere.
And it’s true. They are everywhere.
But my most creative works (in my opinion) occur when I mash disparate ideas together.
The weirder, the better.
In my Wits’ End series, I’d promised the next book I’d write would include Bigfoot.
Then I realized it had to be a holiday story too.
And when I came up with the name Gnome Alone (long story), I had to add garden gnomes to the mix.
The result, I think, was hilarious.
Who would have thought you could mash-up Bigfoot, garden gnomes, and Christmas?
But to keep the creative energy flowing, I like to do creative cross-training.
A few months back I told a fellow mystery writer about a course I’d taken on food writing, and she gave me a bewildered look.
“Why would you want to write about food?”
(Answer: Because characters in my books eat).
Currently, I’m taking an Improv course, because I thought it might improve my public speaking and video presence.
And next month, I’m taking a course on stand-up comedy though I have zero desire to be a stand-up comic.
It looks like a brutal business.
But I hope it will improve my ability to tell jokes while I’m speaking, and maybe improve my humor writing as well.
Sometimes, these learning side-quests are simply fun.
Sometimes they give me a few nuggets of knowledge I can use. And sometimes they’re transformative.
But I believe they all build the creative muscles.
And that’s useful whether you’re in the creative arts or not.
Creativity is a gift we’ve all been given. We just don’t always use it.
Though given my lack of hand-eye coordination, there are certain creative arts I should probably stay away from.
A lot of people like signed books—especially when they’re holiday gifts.
Since most of my books are sold on Amazon (you can still find Pie Town in bookstores), this makes signing them difficult.
So for the month of December, if you buy a paperback from me off Amazon (I’ve got a few stray paperbacks on B&N and Thrivecart too) and email me a pic of the receipt, I’ll send a signed holiday card to the person of your choice.
Just be sure to include a photo of the receipt, and the name and address you want to the card mailed to.
Send all the above info to the email address on my contact page, HERE. (My contact form doesn’t accept attachments, so it has to be email).
P.S. All Raven(ous) Society members in good standing are invited to join us next Saturday evening for our annual Bleigießen. (New members: it’s an old German New year’s tradition of predicting the future by pouring molten lead into water and interpreting the shapes it makes.) We’ll either predict the future for 2025 or accidentally discover new ways to redecorate the carpet with molten lead!