VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

There are many different methods to get and collect ideas. Every writer has their way of coming up with ideas, but where do these ideas come from? James Patterson says, "The more you know about, the more likely you are to combine things to make an idea that’s striking." I found this to be a fascinating thought as many of my ideas come from my life as I have moved more times than my age. I have experienced many things for only being 40 years old. Yep, I just told you how old I am. However, my ideas don't only come from my experiences in life. I also talk to and ask questions of loved ones, family members, friends, etc. For example, my first published short story was inspired by my dad's childhood. I took three different stories from his youth to write the short story "Flying Upside Down" for the former Fandangle Magazine (see below), which was later republished in Stories for Children Magazine. Story ideas can come from other sources too like a wr...

Today's post comes from Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ, WriteSparks! creator Write Possibilities We writers are a powerful lot. We control time. We dictate actions. We control destinies. We can make two completely opposite people fall in love with each other, and we can create family feuds that can last for centuries. We can make our heroine travel back in time to rescue her soulmate, and we can give the most villainous person the punishment she deserves. We can take our characters to the most exotic places and give them their own adventures. Simply put, we writers can create our own possibilities. In our world, nothing is impossible. Try creating your own possibilities using the given prompts below. There are 4 givens: theme, setting, character and key object. Randomly pick 1 from each and use these to start off your piece. Themes : deception, irony, love lost, infidelity, rejection Characters: chemist, divorced woman, doctor, teacher, singer K...

About five years ago, I labeled a personal file as “Act Three,” and filled it with creative ideas for a new work-interest. I first enjoyed an exciting career in New York’s fashion industry, then later, via a circuitous route on the way to opening my own boutique Shop for Pappagallo, I established a successful real estate business in Chicago. But I always enjoyed business-related writing and thought a non-fiction self-help book, with life-lessons I learned along the way, was something to explore during this next phase. But, as often happens when you put yourself out there, I discovered another path and took it: I developed a TV pilot about New York in the seventies because, as they say “Write what you know” and I know New York. I’m a native of Long Island, and between attending school and working, I spent twenty-two years in Manhattan. I was so overwhelmed with ideas, I   created a TV series designed to run for five seasons. Appropriately placed in the New York City of 1975, ...