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In the nature/nurture debate the 18^th Century Scottish philosopher John Locke stated that humans are totally shaped by their environment. He coined the term, tabula rasa or blank slate.

According to Locke, people are born with nothing written on their brains and as a person develops through life, the mind slowly developments in response to the person's interaction with one's environment. Anyone who has done any writing, whether professionally or recreationally, is well aware of the blank slate phenomenon. It is infamously referred to as, "Writers' Block."

Beginning the writing process can be a daunting task and a blank sheet staring starkly in the face of the writer/author can sometimes pose a threatening aura. What do you do about these moments of "tabula rasa" As educators we teach our students to create a plan and have an overview of the subject about which one is going to write.

As a would-be or accomplished author of eBooks and/or pBooks (traditional print), the tabula rasa mystique can be halted by accomplishing a few short activities or RaW^TM Stems before one actually begins the authoring process.

RaW^TM Stems are an instructional design aimed at helping people record their thoughts. Stems are used throughout the "10 Steps to eBook Authoring." For each of the 10 steps there are several Raw Stems^TM provided to stimulate the thinking process.

The term "Stems" refers to statements requiring a completion of the thought in an open-ended statement. The "R" stands for Reflection where you can relax and play around with ideas. The "a" stands for ‘and' (an original idea) and the "W" stands for Writing which is the recording of your ideas. In some respects it's like brainstorming with yourself. It's also about sharing ideas with others.

Proper reflection requires the correct paradigm. This includes reflection on the past; reflection in the present; and reflection for the future.

After completing a number of RaW^TM Stems, one is now ready to write. Instead of a blank mind, one has sown a number of ideas, seeds of inspiration. These seeds are ready to be nurtured in the authorship of an eBook. With a few seeds nurtured using this process, writing with passion is greatly facilitated.

Here are a few reflective stems for your enjoyment from STEP 1---the IDEA Stage---of the '10 Steps to eBook Authoring':

1. I've always dreamed about writing a pBook/eBook about _____.

2. My experience says an eBook about _____ is needed.

3. If I wrote an eBook about _____, then _____ would be interested in it.

4. In the past I would have liked to have a good resource about _____.

In Next months' article, we will examine Step 1, "You Start With An Idea," of the eBook authoring journey.

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