Ask the Author: Jess Mahler
Answered Questions (2)
Jess Mahler
I used to get most of my inspiration from dreams. Every once in a while I get these really vivid dreams where I'm a different person, in a completely different world. If I write them down before I wake up, I usually have some good story material.
I learned to get inspiration-on-demand after a year of writing with the Virtual Writer's group. The group would get a word as a starting point, and we'd each have fifteen minutes to write whatever we could. I found that by starting with an idea (the word of the day, an image, a type of kink, a type of creature, whatever), and just meditating on the idea for a bit, I'd end up with a story concept. Usually these are only good for short stories, or flash fiction, but sometimes I get ideas with concepts with enough depths for longer work.
I learned to get inspiration-on-demand after a year of writing with the Virtual Writer's group. The group would get a word as a starting point, and we'd each have fifteen minutes to write whatever we could. I found that by starting with an idea (the word of the day, an image, a type of kink, a type of creature, whatever), and just meditating on the idea for a bit, I'd end up with a story concept. Usually these are only good for short stories, or flash fiction, but sometimes I get ideas with concepts with enough depths for longer work.
Jess Mahler
Overthinking and anxiety are my two biggest causes of writer's block. I deal with both of them the same way: put on one of my writing playlists (https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...). Listening to the music usually keeps my subconscious distracted so I can let the story flow without internal interruptions.
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