Flashwrite #9: Who Cares?
The first thing I ask myself when I come up with a new story idea is, "Who cares?" Is this story bigger than I am? Will I be able to tap into something universal, or am I just indulging myself?
Letter to a Reluctant Traveler
When I was nineteen, I had the opportunity to write for a travel guide called Hanging Out in Ireland. It was going to be my job for the summer: to travel for five weeks around the southern half of the island, taking notes on every castle, restaurant, hostel and pub, then come home and write 100,000 words. I was elated, and I was terrified. My mother felt all the terror and none of the elation. She said, "Can't you get an office job?"
Flashwrite #8: Getting Great Ideas
Where do great story ideas come from? Now, this is always going to be a mysterious process to a great extent, because your subconscious mind is doing most of the heavy lifting here. But I think we can boil it down to two factors, and it will help if we focus on these two: curiosity and time. As a writer, you must be a master observer of human nature, and of nature in general. So you must develop an insatiable curiosity about the world around you. It's absolutely essential.