Scribbles and SparkBooks

For those of you who are anxiously awaiting Forever England, I promise I’m still hard at work! I have, however, taken a little time to reflect on my own writing process, identify areas where I can streamline my own routine, and hopefully–provide a resource for the broader writing community. The result of this introspection? Something that I’m calling the SparkBook.

So…What’s a SparkBook?

I thought you’d never ask! Think of a SparkBook as a trail guide that keeps you moving (generally) in the right direction, but doesn’t require that you stick to the road most traveled. A trail guide that points out where the path could be, should you choose to take it, but doesn’t judge when you veer off to explore.

Still confused? It’s a workbook for people who write by the seat of their pants. Its purpose? To help more writers finish more projects.

If you’ve been following along on the Scribble & Spark journey, you probably know that I’m not a planner. I’m not overly organized, I don’t have a solid plan for my writing, but I have a lot of ideas (sparks) and thoroughly enjoy the creative journey. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I cringe at the thought of having to spend time outlining. Why? Because my sparks always come while I am writing. They come when I’m putting pen to paper. The path of my project is not obvious until I’m to my neck in plot, in characters, in the actual process of writing. But, sometimes I still need a bit of a compass–a light structure to remind me of where I thought the journey might take me. A place to capture the awesome ideas that come while I am furiously typing. A method to lessen the editing burden when my plot line takes unexpected twists, which are awesome and fun, but which also can require massive rewrites.

Enter the SparkBook. It’s designed to be a dynamic outlining tool that can be picked up at any stage of the writing process. It’s designed to help fiction writers spend more time moving forward and less time moving sideways. And I designed it to not feel cumbersome or to stunt creativity, or to ruin the writing journey for those who love it and need it. I also designed it so you can tailor how you use it to your own writing style.

It’s simple, it’s easy to use, it’s versatile, and best of all, it’s free. I’m actually using it right now to keep me on track and to help loosely guide my current WIP, and I’d love to see if it can help you keep your creative journey moving forward.

One of the things I’ve learned on this Indie journey is that the writing community is a powerful resource. We all have experience to offer and share. Until this point, I’ve been more of a consumer of Indie advice than a contributor. In this way, the SparkBook is one tool I can offer to the community that might help another writer finish their WIP or at least find more enjoyment in their creative process.

So, I promise I am still hard at work on my current WIP (and I love that so many are so eagerly awaiting it!), but I did want to take a little bit of time to give back a little to the community that has given me so much.

If you are interested in downloading the SparkBook, you can either sign up for the Scribble & Spark email list below, or simply email me at katie@scribbleandspark.com for your free copy.

And until next time, as always, keep scribbling!