The Ten Second Commute

 The Ten Second Commute.

Jennifer Anne Gregory

As a freelance writer it’s a given I work from home, or, if I hitch a plane to England, my mother’s. Mostly my day goes a bit like this and I hope my publisher has suddenly lost the ability to read.

Plan to write.

Get dragged down the road by the Mastiff and Anatolian (dogs).

Respond to e-mails.

Plan to write.

Get dragged again.

Do laundry ‘coz being at home I see it pile up.

Eat lunch.

Plan some writing time.

Text, skype or call my mother to apologize for not texting, skyping or calling since the last time a full moon fell on the third Wednesday of the month.

Plan dinner.

Plan to write the next day.

Plan to convince those nearest and dearest that I do, in fact, have a job.

At some point a friend informs me via e-mail that I have it easy. Being a writer I must have lots of time on my hands.  She wishes she could just take ‘time off.’ Really?

Make that both of us.

My Plethora of Ideas

Carin Casey

Readers have asked me where I get the ideas for my stories. Most story lines initially come from personal memories about people, places and/or events that I've either experienced myself or knew about during my lifetime.

For example, If I would think about the first time a friend disappointed me, I'd have to go back to grade school.

Where Do Ideas Come From?

Cynthia Ann Baldini

Readers ask me, “Where do you get your ideas?”

Everyone has probably heard the saying, “write what you know.” If you’re an expert in a particular field you can probably attract others who want to develop that skill, but hat sounds like advice for non-fiction writers. What if you write fiction, and you aren’t an expert in any field?

You can focus on what you know even when you write fiction. In Immortal Venus my protagonist has many of my own characteristics: we both hail from Richmond, Virginia, both got our degrees in art from VCU, and both traveled to Italy. I use my familiarity with the locations and with art to give a foundation of realism to what becomes an adventure into my imagination.