Where do you get inspiration? September 16 2014

As a greeting card writer, it’s the writing ideas question I get asked the most. Even more than “Can I have your autograph?” which I’ve heard approximately zero times. (Any day now!)

Years ago, when I got hired to write funny cards, it was a question that perplexed me too. Where was I going to get all my ideas? I had no actual plan. I was screwed.

So I did what I thought every professional humor writer surely must do: I kept a small notebook with me at all times to keep track of anything and everything that might be funny. Driving, cooking dinner, walking my dog—everywhere I went I’d rack my brain, scrawling things like “fortune cookie but it’s pudding” or “confused owl that says ‘huh’ instead of ‘who.’” Desperately I tallied, creating what I thought to be a ready-made list of ideas for the next time I sat down at my desk.

Turns out, not only did it not work—those things never made sense later—it was exhausting. I was tired of writing all the time. I wanted to be a regular old errand runner and TV watcher and food microwaver. So I gave up on the list and decided just to let a whole lot of real life into my head and trust my subconscious to turn it into something good later.

I’ve learned a lot in the years since I’ve gone off-notebook. Mostly, that in order to be creative, you have to be…really not creative. (See? I even took a break right there.)

Where do I get all my ideas? Just a brain filled with a bunch of stuff and a little wisdom. Kinda like some sort of—GASP.

Fortune pudding.

I’m telling you. There’s something there.

Where do you get your creative ideas?  

Welcome to Custom Card Designs! September 16 2014

Welcome to my new card store!

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris orci odio, finibus eget justo eget, tempor vehicula nulla. Donec congue rhoncus aliquam. Aenean fringilla finibus iaculis. Mauris dapibus, arcu non fringilla consectetur, ipsum neque facilisis massa, vitae vulputate velit mauris sit amet ipsum. Nullam id nulla in purus aliquet rutrum. Nunc id sapien ut enim dictum vulputate. Vivamus et ex quis nisi facilisis sagittis a sed ligula. Duis ac leo mauris. Sed pretium dui et ipsum consequat, et porttitor libero imperdiet. Maecenas eu leo at augue fringilla pellentesque.