Category Archives: book ideas

May 01, 2013   Stacey   advice, book ideas, brainstorming, ideas, Stacey, writing  
5

Let the storm(writing) begin

The idea of brainstorming is one we talk about all the time. For everything, not just in books. But certainly, if you are trying to come up with a book idea or developing a concept for an author, brainstorming is a critical part of the process. Just this morning, I had a brainstorming session with an author and his editor to try to think of ideas for the next book, which will be his fifth.

But sometimes the brainstorm isn’t enough and you’d be better served by digging deeper and finding ideas that come from your “heartbrain”. That’s what guest author on writersdigest.com Elizabeth Sims talks about in this piece adapted from her book You’ve Got a Book in You.

Sims describes your heartbrain as your whole, deepest self. When you bring this to your brainstorming, it takes on a new life. Thinking about it from a more personal and heartfelt place gives you an ability to reach deeper for your big ideas. She compares it to improv for actors: “In practically any stage of writing, when you’re brainstorming, trying to create new material, it’s like doing improv. And just like improv, it requires more than your head. It requires your heartbrain.”

By starting with a couple of key phrases that work as activators for your heartbrain – “Yes, and…” and “What if?” you are setting yourself up to have a successful stormwriting session.

Take a look and hopefully this idea will help you better develop new work that comes from your heartbrain and through the process of stormwriting rather than just relying on the rather dated and  overused notion of more general brainstorming. Good luck, and let us know if you come up with anything great!

January 29, 2013   Yassine   book ideas, fun, inspiration, journal, Yassine  
10

Where do you keep your ideas?

This past weekend, I came across the only journal I have ever possessed. I penned the first entry at the tail end of the summer of 2009, when this journal was freshly purchased on a Glasgow high street. Now it had resurfaced all dog-eared and dusty in a Brooklyn apartment. Having mostly lived in boxes during apartment moves in New York, I had not written anything down for quite a while, nor leafed through past entries. So I delved in, to be reacquainted with my past self.

A thoroughly underwhelming experience. From what I could make out from the barely legible passages, I had not done much but make endless grocery lists and write down school timetables. Coincidentally, I came across this piece on Flavorwire on authors who kept journals and used them as a reservoir of observations that they felt might inspire them in the future.

It got me thinking about where author’s ideas come from. Is it necessary to record these things in the moment? Or leave them to your memory to recall them at the time of writing? Some of the authors in the article contend that they use a diary or journal as a means of having a second life or opening up.

Do you, as writers, have a similar vehicle to expend your creative energies? Or do you have highly tailored or ingenious ways of coming up with great new ideas for your writing?

 

December 12, 2012   Stacey   articles, book ideas, Stacey  
3

Women take note and start reading

Late one night, I was online and came across a link to a Huffington Post piece someone had tweeted about. I followed the link and it took me to this amazing compilation of articles written by, about, and for women in 2012. It’s an eclectic list, covering a broad range of topics (although weight issues and body image seem to be an overly recurring theme). I had read some, heard about others, and a few were introduced for the first time. It struck me while checking out these pieces how many had direct connections to books. Some of them are written by published authors, and others are the basis for upcoming books.

Many are compelling, most well done (some very well done) and worth your time. I really enjoyed Emily Rapp’s piece, as well as the clever review of Tiny Beautiful Things by Anna Holmes, and Jessica Valenti’s piece about women’s desire to be liked. She also links to an upcoming book by Facebook senior exec Sheryl Sandberg, someone I’m so happy to see writing a book for women in the workplace – I talked about how great it would be for her to write a book years ago. And as a mom of daughters, I thought Jennifer Weiner’s piece addressed some important cultural issues about body image that are worth further exploration.

After you’ve taken a look, do you think there there articles here that you feel you’d like to see broadened to book length? I often look to articles for book inspiration, and this list makes me glad to do so. I read some of these articles into the night, and there were a couple that had a real emotional impact.

Good writing is infectious and makes you want to find more of it. These articles exemplify that. I love reading about women’s issues, our struggles, and our hopes for a better world. It makes me want to work harder to find important books that will change lives and inspire. Enjoy these pieces and let us know which ones affected you.