I don't think you can really be a writer unless you are also an avid people watcher. I really like to sit with a coffee and watch the people around me. I don't write stories for them, I just observe and come to my own conclusions about who they are, what they think and feel. Do they seem tired, grumpy, cheery, clever, amused, interesting, rushed or laid back? Are they well dressed or a bit too casual? Does that hair style really suit them? You can go on forever.

What things do you see that cause you to decide who someone is, on one sighting alone? I think the way they dress, their body language and how their face, are big first impression tip offs. Next time you are people watching consider the first three things you notice about people. Do you notice different things than I do?

Do you write that way? When you describe a character do you write about them as if they were someone you just saw at the mall, in the parking lot at work or wherever you happen to be writing them. Do you give details about their appearance, body language and facial expressions?

Have you ever written about a stranger you watched somewhere? Try it. Give yourself a challenge and write in a different venue than your usual. If you write fiction try poetry, if you write non-fiction try fiction and so on. Go nuts and write a greeting card just for them!

Most of all, keep watching those passers by, you never know when they will become inspiration.

Writing Exercise: Write yourself a letter to be opened one year from now. What goals do you have now? What do you hope to accomplish in the coming year? How are you feeling about yourself as a writer? Tell your future self something you want to remember a year from now.

Hear that strange woman screaming? It's me. Don't be alarmed, I'm just kicking myself. Don't write when you're tired and if you do always, always, always keep your writing in a location where it can not be lost due to your own stupidity!!!!

I was writing the next Home and Garden newsletter. It was finished, polished and I was very pleased with it! Then, I thought I would add a link to the newly revamped Thrifty Crafter newsletter. So, to get the right URL I went to a new window (I thought) and cut and pasted the URL. However, when I looked down into my bar I noticed I still had just one window opened to BackWash. Quickly, in dread, I backed up to my window for the newsletter, freshly written. It was gone. Completely gone. Unavoidably lost. No trace that it ever existed.

What a melonhead! At least I know what I was writing about. But, I just don't think I can write it again now. I'm too sad. A thing of beauty has tragically come to a sudden end.

Drama queen, eh?

I've never liked being a salesperson, yet as a writer we are in fact, salespeople. You can't get around it. We sell ourselves as credible sources for information. But, we also sell our ideas and our writing itself. If you've ever thought "Why should anyone read my stuff?" You can understand the relationship between sales and writing (even before publishing comes into it). We want readers to buy into our writing, to be believe what we write, take it seriously. So, we have to sell it.

The following comes from: How Stuff Works - http://money.howstuffworks.com/sales-technique1.htm

"The foundations of most modern sales techniques lie in five stages of action. These began in the 1950's and include:

Attention: You have to get the attention of your prospect through some advertising or prospecting method.

Interest: Build their interest by using an emotional appeal such as how good they will look to their boss when they make this deal that will save the company thousands of dollars!

Desire: Build their desire for your product by showing them its features and letting them sample or test-drive it.

Conviction: Increase their desire for your product by statistically proving the worth of your product. Compare it to its competitors. Use testimonials from happy customers.

Action: Encourage the prospect to act. This is your closing. Ask for the order. If they object, address their objections. There are then many variations of closing techniques that can help get the business. "

It's not too hard to see how that applies to our writing. Think of copywriting, fiction writing or even writing an instruction manual. The first thing you need to do is pull them in, catch their attention. You do this by surprising them, perking their curiousity, giving them what they want or showing them you have what they need. Whichever works for the writing you are doing. In website reviews a catchy headline is everything. If it's a book you need a great opening line. Magazine articles use headlines and highlighted phrases in the article.

Interest, desire and conviction sort of roll into one theme, keeping your readers reading. How do you pull them through your writing? Some may only read the catchy beginning and then skim to the end for the conclusion. Keeping their interest through the middle is the real trick. This is where your writing style comes in. Don't let them stop reading, keep providing content they need, want and must have. Keep the writing lively rather than droning on.

Then, as with any good sales pitch, you want them to take action. If you are writing fiction you want them to leave the world you created feeling they have left something of themselves behind when they read that last word. If you are writing copy for sales you want them to understand how important the product is. If you are explaining how something works you want them to feel confident enough to proceed and use the product. Even if your only purpose is simple entertainment, you want them to buy that from you. In order for it to be bought, you have to sell it.

"When I'm stuck, I imagine my best friend in a tough situation. 'You've got to help me,' my friend (character) says. 'I can't get out of this without you.' 'Sorry, I'm just not in the mood,' is not an option. 'I'd rather scrub the kitchen floor,' is not an option. I have to help my friend. I probe, ask questions. How did you get where you are? Where would you like to be? What tools do you have to help you?" - Camille Minichino

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." - Stephen King

"Technique alone is never enough. You have to have passion. Technique alone is just an embroidered pot holder." - Raymond Chandler

You've got the greatest idea! It's sure to be a billion dollar blockbuster, rivaling Stephen King and that other writer whose name you can't quite remember though it's on the tip of your tongue.

But, is your idea a good one, really? Some of our ideas seem really super charged at the time, when we have that first burst of passion as the idea evolves. But, not every idea is going to be publishable and practical.

Here are guidelines from Cheryl Sloan Wray and her book 'Writing for Magazines'. (Paraphrased by me).

1. Are you really passionate/ interested enough to spend the necessary time developing, researching and writing this idea?

2. Can you narrow the focus? Some ideas need to be broken into smaller chunks to suit the market/ publisher you are aiming for.

3. If your idea is already narrow, or would appeal to a small, exclusive percentage of the reading public, can you bulk it up? Can you add more points, bring in another slant or find more sources?

4. Can you market this idea to several publications? You want to have a selection of publishers to choose from so you aren't twiddling your thumbs if the first of them aren't keen on it.

5. Imagine yourself as the reader of the publications you have chosen. Are you sure their readers will be interested in your idea? If not find other publications to appeal to, or slant your idea in a different, more appealing direction.

6. Describe your idea in 15 words or less. Then, in another 15 words, tell why readers will be interested in your idea/ topic.

7. Will this idea be expensive to research or take up a lot of time to develop? Is it going to cost you more than it will bring in for you? You can't forget your bottom line after all.

The last point is the best I think. How many of you keep track of your expenses? Do you know if you actually clear more than you spent on each article/ manuscript? Don't skip your time either. Time is money and that includes you!

Hope this helps bring you some clarity, focus and profit from your greatest ideas. Keep them churning!

"Any man who will look into his heart and honestly write what he sees there will find plenty of readers." Edgar W. House.

"Why do writers write? Because it isn't there." Thomas Berger.