Monday Morning Editor’s Picks: Story Inspiration

Every writer needs inspiration. I'm known for getting mine as a voyeur at my Panera office. However it is you get inspired, there are tools that can help you organize your ideas and keep them at your fingertips for easy reference.

1. Inspiration Software: Inspiration makes it easy to create webs, idea maps, mind maps, concept maps, graphic organizers, process flows, and other diagrams for thinking, organizing and writing. Use these proven visual thinking and learning techniques to brainstorm ideas, explore and explain relationships, and integrate new knowledge with what you already know.

2. WinJournal and MacJournal: I'm a big believer in journaling. Maybe it's because of all my years of therapy. If you keep a personal journal, you can access those thoughts at any time for character study or story ideas.

WinJournal and MacJournal are a journaling, blogging, and podcasting software for Windows and Mac. Use it to effortlessly organize and record your thoughts and daily events and, if you’re the extroverted type, you can easily publish entries to your favorite blog site or podcast with this all-in-one program. With two-level security (password protection and encryption), WinJournal keeps your data safe and sound. Add photos, links, audio, graphics, or just words. WinJournal’s and MacJournal's journal software will archive your entries, keeping them safe and secure on your hard drive.

3. Writer's Mind: This is an audio CD that claims to help you increase creativity, find the motivation to finish your latest writing project, and get rid of writer's block once and for all. I was a bit skeptical, but Mario, one of our Story Specialists, swears he writes better while listening to it. I ordered it today for myself to try it out. I'll keep you posted.

How it works: There are several different brainwave states, and your brain consistently cycles through each of these states many times throughout the day and night. By manipulating these states with sonic frequencies, you can tap into your most creative state and stay there. All you’ll hear is the sound of gently falling rain, but your mind will be kicked into creative overdrive!

Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is the Editor and Online Community Manager of Script Magazine and a webinar instructor for The Writers Store. She is Co-Founder and moderator of the weekly Twitter screenwriters’ chat, #Scriptchat, and wrote the narrative adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name, with its author, Douglas A. Blackmon, former senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal. Jeanne also is President of Implicit Productions and consults with writerson how to build and strengthen their online and offline networks as well as face their fears in order to succeed in writing and in personal peace - a screenwriter's therapist. More information can be found on her blog, ramblings of a recovered insecureaholic. Follow@jeannevb on Twitter.