As luck would have it, I discovered a post from Problogger in my RSS feed that confirmed what I had been thinking–the site’s focus wasn’t narrow enough.

So rather than cast a wide net and write about anything having to do with being creative, the site will now focus on creativity and inspiration for writers. It was a difficult decision to make, but in the end the site will be more useful and robust.

In the next few days, I’ll be doing some maintenance on the site to reflect these changes. More to come soon!

Photo by: the trial

Thanks to everyone who’s come by to check the site out. Please consider telling your friends to stop by as well! Thanks also to those who left comments and expressed interest in contributing. Keep it coming!

I’m so excited about the number if people who have already joined our Flickr group and contributed to the weekly theme. Every time I explore Flickr I am blown away by the talent I see. That’s why I wanted to feature Flickr user photos prominently on the site, including one in each post I write.

This is only the beginning. I have a lot planned for the site and have already found improvements that need to be made. But I wanted to show my appreciation for those who shared in this first step. Thanks!

• Guest Contributors – I love content. Lots of it. All kinds. If you can write it, I want it on Spark Lab. Guest contributors can write posts featuring profiles of creative folks, book reviews, unique solutions to common problems, cool ideas, thought starters and pretty much anything else having to do with creativity.
• Tips and Links – Send in a link, idea or tip you think the Spark Lab community will enjoy.
• Questions – If you’ve got questions, send those in too and I’ll do my best to get them answered.

If you’re interested in any of the above or have some ideas for ways you can contribute, email me via the contact form or leave a comment on this post. This is new for me too, so please feel free to ask any questions or share any thoughts or suggestions about the site.

Photo by Alia Qunhua

But as the saying goes, you have to hit bottom before you can change.

That’s when I decided to create this site. I had so much passion for the project, that my ideas poured out faster than I could collect them. The excerpt below is the first thing I wrote. It was the first time in a while that I’d been able write freely without pausing my thoughts to edit. It was such a profound barrier to overcome, that I’m sharing it here just as I typed it. No edits.

Writers should be like a waterfall, constantly flowing forth wit and inspiration. Able to type stream of consciousness thoughts on the page and then go back to make them into formal thoughts. Unfortunately, I’ve always thought of myself more like a dam that’s sprung a leak. A 4-foot thick concrete fortress holding back the big, creative thoughts, but all that gets through is a weak stream of bland, everyday phrases. Do other writers feel differently? Or are they crippled by the same self-editing that I’ve suffered with through the years? Is there a pill or 12-step program I can take to become the witty writer that’s pounding at my chest to get out?

I don’t write because it comes easily to me. When I tell people writing is actually a painful, tortuous process for me, they think I’m either fishing for validation or trying to over-complicate something that most people think is easy. The truth is, I don’t know why I write. The process isn’t fun. Most of the time I’m not satisfied with what I’ve created. In fact, there have only been a scant few times that I’ve actually been proud of a finished product or thought it fulfilled my expectations of myself.

So since there aren’t any writer therapy programs I can commit myself to, I guess I’ll have to create my own. So here it is.