Creativity is time consuming, there’s no two ways about it. Writing is, I would say, one of the more labor intensive arts because painting a picture with words is not easy. Painting a picture, backdrop, action , characterization and plot with words is complicated, even.

So, as a writer, you spend months and sometimes years, breathing life into words and sentences that create a brand new world that is unique. You populate it with characters, you set up the political structure and the rules of play and allow your story to come to life.

You research, you ponder, you work it, but mostly you live and breathe your story, always there, always with it running through your mind as you follow the intricate threads and details or follow the potential of side plots.

It’s a concentrated effort. Sometimes you stumble, sometimes you hit dead ends or brick walls, or fall into the worst trap of all and impossible to get out of – the oubliettes. Sometimes your creative juices just dry up and it becomes hard work merely to sit at your desk.

The shortcut?

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