Sandy Vaile and her book Inheriting Fear.

New release by Crimson Romance
So pleased to have Sandy on my blog today. She likes to ride motorbikes like me so that makes her cool in my book.

 Innovation

Sandy Vaile is a motorbike-riding tattoo-wielding daredevil, but her alter ego is a little more sedate. In her spare time she’s a middle-aged mother who spends time thinking up ways to be awful to her characters… and that’s where innovation comes into the mix.

Innovation is the key to a writer’s success. After all, it’s said that there is no new story. They’ve all been told before, so it’s only the author’s unique way of looking at the subject matter that makes it fresh.

So, what is innovation? I see it as looking at a situation and seeing a more efficient way of performing the task, or looking at a problem and seeing a new way to solve it.

Sounds reasonable, but how can we affect innovation in our stories?

Everyone is capable of innovative thinking, because the way one person solves a problem will be different to another person’s approach. We each apply our unique life experiences and skills to the situation.

Stretching our minds on a regular basis promotes our ability to think in new ways. For writers this might mean coming up with three new story ideas each week. Of course you’re not going to write them all, but it will keep the creative juices flowing and mind searching.

Innovators engage both sides of the brain to extract new ideas, usually employing these five basic aspects (which we all possess).

1.      Seeing connections/associations where there doesn’t appear to be any at first glance.

2.      Being inquisitive, seeking information and challenging the status quo.

3.      Being alert and watching how things work, to understand processes and prompt ideas for improving them.

4.      Not being afraid to try new things, so you are constantly gaining knowledge and life experience.

5.      Keeping abreast of news and advances in your field; one of the best ways to do this is to interact with like-minded individuals.

You might like to check out this interesting article: The Innovator’s DNA, by Jeffrey H Dyer, Hal B Gregersen and Clayton M Christensen. http://hbr.org/2009/12/the-innovators-dna/ar/1

We often get so bogged down in the way things have always been done, that it can be difficult to strip the problem to its basic form and free our minds enough to see new possibilities.

When I have a story idea, I brainstorm a list of what might occur. That’s usually predictable, so I push on and keep listing, even downright crazy ideas. There is sure to be a gem in there somewhere!

The hero in my latest romantic suspense, ‘Inheriting Fear’, has to think outside the square to figure out who is targeting the heroine, and how she’s involved in his investigation into counterfeit jewellery.

I’d love to hear about your latest and greatest ideas, or the schemes you’ve come up with in the past.

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