1. Don’t think. Creating a story or book has little to do with the intellect or language when we first begin. Our best ideas will emerge as a spark or image. Like dreams, they will make little sense. Followed, they will hold the key to the creative unconscious.

2. Creativity is cyclical. You cannot and will not be creative all the time. What is full must empty and what is empty will fill. Creativity has its own internal rhythms. Learn to listen to yours.

3. Nothing kills creativity faster than criticism. Don’t share your work-in-progress with people who are critical or those whose opinions leave you vulnerable, no matter how much you love them. Good critiquing should leave you inspired, not deflated.

4. Spend time listening to your inner critic. He or she is not comfortable with the risks demanded by a creative endeavor. By becoming aware of the foul jabber of your inner critic, you can see how your own mind puts up roadblocks to your creativity.

5. Being a creator is risky business. Don’t underestimate the tremendous emotional and psychic risks the journey demands. Learn to push ahead even when you are afraid. Learn to love the risk.

6. Don’t be afraid to fail. Every successful creator has failed hundreds of times. Failure is an integral part of creativity. It doesn’t mean you’re wrong or stupid. It only means you’ve uncovered a path or technique that does not work.

7. Don’t be afraid to write garbage. Every successful writer writes mounds of garbage. Give your work time to percolate. Play the What If game. For example, if you’re writing fiction and a characters is sweet and loving and you’re stuck, have the character mean and hateful. In the world of the imagination, anything can happen.

8. Nurture your creativity. It is as fragile as a budding flower. Open to the dance. Listen to music that makes you feel like flying. Go for a walk. Laugh with a friend, child or lover. Creativity is about feeling.

9. Be passionate. Creativity is passionate. Passion is always creative.

10. Learn your craft. And write, write, write! The more you write, the better you will get. Discipline yourself. Successful writers are disciplined writers.

c Emily Hanlon, 1996-2005. The Art of Fiction or How to Fall Down the Rabbit Hole Without Really Trying, Labyrinth Press.

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I recently finished a fairly lengthy contract negotiation with a new client on a batch of articles he wanted me to write for his spanking new web site. The theme of his site is about personal finance and since he is a capable certified public accountant, I knew that at least he had a strong understanding of the field when we began our negotiations. Still, self knowledge can derail any expert’s plans without valuable input from a writing professional. I must state that the original ideas he had for his site changed dramatically once he began to talk with me. How so? I shaped his expectations by including realistic ideas as well probable outcomes. Any seasoned content writer should be able to do this for his clients. Do you?

First Problem: Your client may want you to write 50 articles on a variety of subjects.

Questions to ask include:

Do each of these articles fit into the theme of your site? If not, why are they part of the picture?

How long shall each article generally be? Anything above 500 words will usually mean extensive scrolling for your visitors or a link to a second page to continue. Short, pithy articles succeed the most online. Scholarly reports do not. Know your targeted audience.

My Solution: I trimmed the length of each of his articles down to 350 to 450 words. Any topics not related to personal finance were thrown out.

Second Problem: Your client wants you to source all of your information, that is, include extensive quotes from other sites and periodicals.

My Solution: Again, this is the internet we are writing for, not some literary journal. Articles written will contain only our own words, however if a quote is mentioned credit will be given by way of a link to another web site, otherwise the quote will be left out altogether.

Third Problem: Unrelated photography will be included and “matched” to various articles.

My Solution: Since I am acting primarily as a ghostwriter, whatever other objects are placed on the site doesn’t concern me. Still, since I want to have a long term business relationship with this individual I tactfully mentioned that certain types of pictures would take away from his site, specifically he could be negatively impacted financially by less than studio quality photographs [when in doubt, hit ?em where it counts: his wallet, that is].

There were several other minor issues that needed to be addressed and they were handled with ease. The fact that I was honest with the client gave him an opportunity to see that I was looking beyond the original job and looking out for his best interests. A truly professional writer looks at the big picture and isn’t afraid to speak up when necessary. I helped the client make important changes, won the account, and now I am playing a significant part of this man’s success.

What could be better than all that?

Popularity: 11% [?]