Where to Find Creativity

First, I want to ask you, where do you find creativity?

Is creativity within you, around you, or some other source?

For writers, it is all about you in forms that most people don’t recognize. Creativity is in nature, in places writers visit, the people they encounter, and much more.

Creativity, find it in reading a book. Writers should be reading everyday as well as writing something every day.

What should writers be reading?

Writers should be reading the classics, if writers choose to write in a specific genre, they should be reading books in that genre. You are probably asking; why should I read books.

The simple answer is to see how others do it. This is especially true for new writers. By reading what you want to write, you can learn a good deal from distinguished authors of the genre you want to write.

It is not about writing like them, but to see how they use words, construct sentences, create tension, and handle point-of-view. These are the things writers need to handle correctly so they don’t bore the reader.

Why not read an authors that sells books and see how they write, then emulate they way they handle a story.

This is where creativity lies, within the pages of books, and in life.
As writers, you should be keeping your eyes and ears open to everything around you, and write down observations in a notebook, for future reference in a story. What a way to create your next character, a composite of people, places, and settings you’ve seen and written down in your notebook.

Try it and see if something comes from it. You never know where your next creative idea will come from.

Robert Medak
Freelance writer/Editor/Reviewer

What not to market

If you choose to self publish your book, before you send it out, proof the book as a reader reads your book.

As a professional book reviewer, I hate seeing books that have formatting errors, typos, the wrong word choice, and more.

If the only reason you are publishing is to see your name on a book and stroke your ego, than forget about errors and look like an amateur, that’s up to you. If you take writing and your book seriously, than you need to make sure that what you make available for readers is as error fee as possible.

How to make you best book the best book possible:

• Have an error free manuscript
• Before you print the book en masse, get a copy to proof
• Have a second person read the book
• If you notice any errors, have the printer fix them
• If the book is reprinted, check it again for any errors
• Repeat steps to ensure that you book is as error free as possible

If you follow these steps, your readers will enjoy your book more than if you don’t. Most authors want to have readers for subsequent books; you won’t if you turn them off by errors and wrong word choice.

Mark Twain said about articles, which is also true for book authors, "The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say." Just substitute book for article.

The idea of a story is for the reading pleasure of the person who spends money on your book.