Thursday, January 22, 2015

Writer's Tip #1: Ideas in Local Places

(Me: 690 Feet Underground/ Hutchinson KS / Buying Coffee) 

From where does your inspiration come?

I write a ton. Every single day I'm writing. Whether it's for one of my 4 blogs (two syndicated), submitting short fiction, poetry, or non-fiction articles for various hobbies and issues, working on my current trilogy, writing a restaurant for the city  newspaper, or interviewing filmmakers for Filmmaker In The Cloud--I'm always collecting short ideas.

That's what gave me the idea for this first writing tip.

TIP #1: Take Advantage of Local Entertainment
I was asked to come up with a unique Zombie short for a UK magazine, by an editor friend. I wasn't really in the 'Zombie' frame of mind and all my ideas had been done -- way too many times.

While writing another story for a Midwest magazine about the Hutchinson Salt Mines (Arcadia) the thought came to me: 'What would it be like to get stuck down here -- 670 feet -- underground during the apocalypse?'

I decided to call the mine's customer service line and share my story idea. A few days later I got a call back from a manager who loved the idea and gave me a free tour of the place. It was way better than I had first thought. Great ideas flooded my dreams, which resulted in a great short, and has led to the beginning of a novel WIP.

Don't ever discount your city's little hidden treasures. They just may end up being your next (several) paychecks.

Cheers!
SamTheWriter

Check out my Writer's site:
www.SamTheWriter.com
Twitter: @SamuelwConnelly



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