as much as I love when other writers put great clues in their stories, I hate thinking of them for mine.

That seems really hard. I have no idea how you even go about that! But, yes, love it when I read it.

So far I'm finding it challenging. Maybe I need to sit with it and just, like, watch Andy Griffith or something until some other part of my brain kicks in.

That sounds pretty sensible, actually.

Well, not that I am successful, but I have found that I often don't get a good idea while actively on the hunt for it.

What's working for me right now is being at work, weirdly. In a lot of ways it's like being in the shower, or driving, which are other places I can let my mind go because I'm physically focused on one thing and can't be distracted by someone walking in or remembering I need to put the wash in the dryer, etc.

When I'm taking calls, I'm butt in chair, no chance to walk away till my break, and I don't have any other distractions -- no cell phones allowed, no internet, no reading, etc. So if the phone's not ringing, I can jot notes, and I outlined four chapters of a children's book that way. I just sort of set my background brain on "project" and let stuff float in and out and it's been working really well.

That's great, Amy!

Though not the "no cell phones, no internet, no reading" thing. *shudder* I'm glad it's working for you, though!

They staff pretty tightly -- they have software that anticipates call volume, etc. So most of the time, when you're answering calls, you're busy enough not to have more than a minute or two of down time. Otherwise it could be pretty unbearable. :-)

Was just rereading the old threads and got very nostalgic for all the conversation that used to take place in here, and the drabbling.

I would love to start that up again, if people are interested. Tep, sj, erika, anyone?