The Scintilla Method
A four-step plan to build a thriving creative life
Build Your Habitat
Create a habitat for your goals within your physical space and your weekly routine. Given them the food, water, and shelter they need to thrive.
NaNoWriMo: The Value of Writing Buddies
Writing can be a lonely pursuit. A lot of people envision someone sitting in front of a computer or scribbling on a notepad, all alone. For many writers, this couldn't be further from the truth! A lot of successful writers collaborate or have writing buddies who...
What to Read: Austin Kleon, “Show Your Work!”
Creativity isn't just about the finished product. There's a terrible, tyrannical idea that in order to be a creative person you have to be a mad genius slaving away in a dark room until you emerge, paint-stained and masterpiece in hand. That idea has a lot of creative...
Flash Fiction with Friends: Ted from Accounting
It's another Flash Fiction with Friends, and we need your help to decide the winner! It's an epic confrontation among writers, a test of skill, fortitude, and shamelessness such as can only happen among good friends and complete goofballs. Who won? You decide! Edit:...
Keep out poachers
Some things have a right to your time, space, and attention. Other things are trespassing, and they will hunt your creativity to extinction if you let them. Know the difference and enforce it.
10 Subreddits that Boost Creativity (Without Wasting Your Time)
Reddit, like Tahiti, is a magical place. For those of you not part of the cult of the narwhal, Reddit.com, "the front page of the Internet," collects the web's most popular articles and images to a single page using a sophisticated algorithm based the votes of its...
Push the snowball
Live and work within your habitat by setting incremental goals and building on your successes.
NaNoWriMo: Show, Don’t Tell
“Show, don’t tell” are possibly the most troublesome three words writers have to deal with. And yet, if done well, those three words will make our NaNoWriMo stories resonate with our readers like nothing else can. We’re halfway through NaNoWriMo with Seth and...
NaNoWriMo: Write What You Know
We writers are often told to “write what we know,” which usually means that we should write based on personal experiences. But how does that work when you’re writing a medieval fantasy story? Or a historical fiction piece set in 1885? Welcome to Week Two of National...
NaNoWriMo: Introducing Seth
My name is Seth, and I’ve been trying to write the same novel for five years. This month, I’m going to finish it. Welcome to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) at Scintilla Studio! My name is Seth, guest writer for Scintilla and your guide throughout the month...
Recycle
Grow your future projects in the rich loam of your past failures and successes. Be intentional about the entire life cycle of a project, from idea to closure.
How to Make a Printable Christmas Card from Scratch
How to Make a Printable Christmas Card from Scratch Hand-made Christmas cards are one of the best ways to show you care for those on your Christmas mailing list. But getting enough unique cards for everyone on that list can be difficult. Replicating a design...
Life After NaNoWriMo: A Means to an End
You've just finished the colossal task of writing a novel in a month! Congratulations! After devoting so much of your time, energy, and determination to this adventure, you have a right to feel euphoric. And maybe a little let down that it's all over. The word...