Creative Writing Wizard

Do you have an idea for a story, but something is stopping you from writing it? Somewhere inside, you feel a spark of creativity, but you have yet to apply it.

I’ve been there, quite recently actually, and I wanted to take a few minutes to share how my short story that is getting published later this year, almost didn’t exist, and share with you what I learned along the way to help you in your writing journey.

1. A Growing Spark
2. The Spark Faded
3. Rekindled
4. From a Spark to a Flame
5. What I learned
6. Where to Start
7. Shout-Out
8. Indie Book Releases – July

Listen to this post read by me here:

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A Growing Spark

While I’ve been working on my High Fantasy novel, I’ve had a few story ideas come to me. I’ve learned that, in order to make progress on my novel, I need to write these ideas down quickly in short notes before I forget it. But beyond those brief notes, I don’t think any more on the idea, and return to my main writing focus. Once I finish my main writing work and it’s off to beta readers or editors, this is when I turn to my idea list and see what stories I can work on in the meantime.

In this case however, after I wrote the initial idea down after I had an emotion-led inspiration, the story persisted in my mind. It was almost annoyingly so. Part of me didn’t think I could, or should, as the subject matter was a lot more intense that what I normally write. But still, days after the initial idea was jotted down and I turned back to my novel, I could feel the story nudging me in back of my mind.

The Spark Faded

I continued to push down this spark, saying ‘I need to focus on my novel’ or making up some other excuse. Eventually the spark faded and I got caught up in other work.

Another nudge happened when my son had a nightmare and I went to his room to comfort him. As I held him and soothed him back to sleep, the moment connected with this story idea, and so I added to the rough notes.

The spark began to grow again. And it was in this moment that I realized that it wasn’t a story I necessarily wanted to write, but something I needed to write.

Rekindled

So I took out my notes and tried to get back into the head space for this specific idea, but it was a challenge. The emotions that I felt when I first wrote the idea were faded and it felt forced, but I didn’t give up. I continued to review my rough notes, and over the course of a few days I was able to get back into the vibe of the story.

It was around this time I heard that StoryForge was launching their first Anthology and they were closing submissions in a little over a weeks time. With the spark of this idea rekindled and the specific date of submission closing as motivating me, I pushed on.

I channeled the emotional inspiration for the story with some epic music (see Doom 2016 Soundtrack, track 2), and blasted through the first draft. I didn’t think about after, I didn’t think about any other writing, I just focused on the ‘now’.

From a Spark to a Flame

With the help of a few very cool people who made themselves available to be my beta readers with only a few days notice and only a few days time to review it to get back to me (haha, thanks Saffron of Indiosyncrasy, Sean, and Dad), I powered through the edits and polished it off to submit one day before the submission closed. Phew!

After a few weeks, I heard the news from StoryForge… I got accepted! My story, “Shadows of the Mountain” will be publishing (targeting later this year)!

What I learned

I thought it’d be helpful to share this with my fellow writers because this story almost didn’t happen. A mix of being too rigid in my creativity, and a dose of impostor syndrome, came close to putting out a spark.

While I do believe there are times to focus on one writing goal to make sure you finish projects, there is something to be said about following a spark of creativity in the moment and seeing where it takes you.

Maybe you haven’t started writing, or you’ve put it down for a while, for one reason or another. If you’re looking for a nudge to write your story, this is it.

You can write your story.

Pick up that pen, or keyboard, and let the words flow out of you. Messy and exciting and full of your human creativity. You never know where your words will take you, but only if set the spark free and let it become a flame.

Where to Start

If you don’t know where to start, I’m collaborating with a few other fellow writers to host a writing contest! It’s a safe way to practice your craft, and give you a starting place to explore your creativity.

Read up on info and prizes for the contest here: StarPath Creatives Writing Contest (Update: now closed for 2025 submissions! Sign up for the newsletter to hear updates of future events and opportunities)

And if you want to learn from what I’ve found helpful to help make your writing journey a little easier, or just someone to encourage you along the way,

Subscribe to follow along, as you walk out your writing journey.

Most importantly,

Keep writing, and stay creative.

Shout-Out

I also want to thank StoryForge for picking up my story to be published! If you haven’t heard about them, StoryForge is a platform that’s “dedicated to writers and readers who have felt like they aren’t being seen or heard by the big players in the space.”

Here’s a link to join if you want to practice your craft and get feedback from others. I’m not sponsored and I don’t get anything from people joining, but I thought it’d be helpful to highlight one of the good platforms out there to my fellow aspiring authors.

https://storyforge.com/anthology?Glen

(use referral code GLENW for a little bonus)

Indie Book Releases – July

Looking for inspiration from other authors who have come before or looking for fresh reads? Check out these amazing Indie Books!