story ideas – Confabulator Cafe

Dreams: The Free-loading Bitches Who Won’t Help Me Write

Larry Jenkins - June 3, 2013

For whatever reason, my dreams refuse to be helpful. I know there are some authors who claim they get brilliant ideas from dreams. I don’t necessarily hate those people, but I haven’t met them in person either, so I’m not prepared to say we’d be friends. I’ve also read at least one article that recommended […]

It’s Easier to Dream

Ashley M. Hill - April 12, 2013

So, one morning I turned on PBS for the child, sat on the couch, and fell asleep. I’d love to give you a time of year or a month or anything, but this is happens so often that I could probably start every day of my life with the same line. When I startle awake, […]

Leather-Bound Beauties (I’m Talking About Journals, You Pervs)

Larry Jenkins - April 8, 2013

I recently watched a video of Stephen King talking to a group of university students. It was a question and answer type of thing, and at one point, the subject of keeping a notebook of ideas came up. If I’m remembering this correctly (and in the spirit of full disclosure, it’s completely possible I’m not), […]

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Sara Lundberg - October 30, 2012

National Novel Writing Month is my favorite time of the year. I see it as a month long holiday designed specifically for writers. A whole 30 days where we can justify putting our writing before pretty much anything else in our lives. A time when new friendships are formed, new worlds are created, and writers […]

The Creativity Well

Kevin Wohler - September 20, 2012

This has been a good year for writing. Thanks, in part, to the Cafe, I’ve written — and completed — more short stories this year than the past five years combined. And one of my new stories has been accepted for an upcoming anthology. Yet, even with all this writing, I still have more stories […]