Author Inspiration and This Week’s Writing Links

Ideas are like rabbits...

Ciao, amici! Happy Friday! This week sure flew by. I hope you have a restful weekend planned. I’m still playing catch-up, and I have some personal business to attend to, so that’s not in the cards for me. I’ll just have to live (or relax) vicariously through you.

This week’s quote comes courtesy of John Steinbeck.

Ideas are like rabbits.
You get a couple and learn how to handle them,
and pretty soon you have a dozen.

That’s how my writing went this week. I always have an outline. It’s a fairly basic one, but I can’t start a long work without one. I always seem to make additions and changes as I go, but this week my outline sprouted detour routes in all kinds of directions. Before, that would have made me nervous. This time, though, I loved it. Every new idea fostered another, then another, and even after careful consideration, I thought they all improved the work. (Sometimes my ideas are crazy and I need to let them go, but not so this time, which was a happy surprise.)

Now, if I can just finish writing this novel without adding more details!

Has that ever happened to you? You start with a plan, but then part way through, new ideas take over and the work takes off? I’d love to hear about it.

And now, this week’s writing links:

Posts by me, about my work, or at sites I contribute to:

Me

Story Empire

Posts by others in the industry:

And when you’re done with these links, don’t forget to check out the sidebar, where you’ll find more links to some of my favorite sites.

Have a great week! Arrivederci!

46 thoughts on “Author Inspiration and This Week’s Writing Links”

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      2. At the risk of blatant self-promotion, might I suggest visiting storyempire.com in addition to checking out these links? I’m one of six authors who post there and we cover the full range of writing/editing/publishing topics. And we’re a friendly bunch. 🙂

        And good luck with your project!

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  2. My latest WP has warped into areas never expected. New plot threads sprouted all over the place. That’s both exhilarating and frightening, as I struggle to make everything fit together, I think it is the bane of writers.We love when it happens, but at the same time we have to scramble to adjust to the changes. It’s. love-hate relationship. As creative types, we need to realize we will never be able to herd story ideas into a neat pen, LOL. Happy writing, Staci!

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  3. Love this quote! And yes, those ideas start multiplying faster than you realize. At least a loose outline keeps some of them in the pasture (there are always the ones that insist on jumping the fence. So glad your boss lets you work how you work best rather than follow the company standard. Much better for you to do your job. So many ideas, so little time… 😀

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  4. Absolutely! With each new book I hit a place where the words just flow. Before that, even with an outline, it’s a grueling process, the mind too busy thinking of other directions the story might go. I just passed that point, too, in my WIP. Yay! Write on!

    Thank you for the shout-out and the blog roll. You’re so sweet. ❤

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  5. Staci, I like your way of writing and how you continue to embrace all your new ideas and see where they take you. Of course, they can hamper the completion of the novel, but letting them have a free reign can often lead to surprises! Happy weeeknd and writing. Many thanks for sharing all the excellent links and huge congratulations to Mae!

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    1. Thanks, Annika. I do try to keep an open mind, but I also know what works for me (a basic outline). The company I work for uses beats, which to my way of thinking is a more elaborate outline, and honestly, I found it a bit restrictive. Then my boss told me I didn’t have to stick to the beats and could go off in different directions, provided I got back to the main thread (which is exactly how I write for myself), and then I was off to the races. I doubt I’ll ever follow an outline exactly, but I do need that roadmap. How sad would it be to miss those happy surprises if we followed our plan rigidly?

      Happy weekend!

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  7. Oh yeah my outline changes and forks! I think it’s a consequence of having an overactive imagination 😁
    But, one good thing about that, is you get a chance to try something new and different you hadn’t long considered and pondered from all angles. For me, it AWLWAYS happens in the shower. I’m standing there, doing the business, them wham! Detour. Suddenly my MC is dying at the end, or they’re all time travelling to the roaring forties (examples are examples only. Repeat; I am not writing a book about time travel). Sign of a gifted writer I say 🤗

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    1. Ideas in the shower are the worst. I’m always afraid I’ll forget them, and I’m not about to scrawl on my shower door in soap.

      I often get the idea to kill everyone, too. In fact, the last outline I submitted at work was initially rejected because I even killed my main character. I had to dial back on the carnage. lol

      I agree… it’s the sign of a gifted writer. 😉

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    1. I always have a great time with my daughter. I wish she didn’t go to school so far away. Glad you’re liking the pics. I should start posting recipes.

      As for your plotlines, I wouldn’t worry about it. Your work is tight with your own method. I say stick with what works.

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  10. That’s a great quote and crazy when it happens! Yes, stories always take on a life of their own surprising me and my outline. Yet I always start off with that outline. Have a great weekend Staci.

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  11. You know all about my storyboard methods. It includes the key points, but I can flow between the markers. All of my stories have the kind of deviations you mentioned, as long as I work back to my next index card it seems to work. As an example: My pirates needed to get cannon to outfit their ship. Didn’t matter where. This led them to Serang’s country, and a neat exploration of that culture.

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  12. Happens to me all the time. I always start with a basic outline, but then new details that add to character depth, plot, etc. always turn up. Usually they enhance the story. Just had an idea last night, and I’ll be incorporating it into the backstory later today.

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  13. That’s why I shy away from too much outlining, lol! Love this week’s quote, Staci. And thanks for the links. I love it when my muse/characters take over the ball game 🙂

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    1. I can’t write without an outline. I’d just keep adding and adding and adding. But that’s one of the things I love about the writing community… everyone has different methods and voices and ideas and yet we all manage to get to the same place in the end—a finished story.

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