Abundantly Juicy Creativity

               

My inspiration comes from just about everywhere:

A line of dialogue:

 "There's a lotta things about me you don't know anything about, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand."
- PEE-WEE HERMAN (Paul Reubens) in Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

A word:

A magazine ad:

A photo:

A face:

At the rate my ideas flow, I should have twenty published novels, three short story anthologies, a book of poems, and a daily blogpost. 

Unfortunately, all those ideas are just written on scraps of paper, inside, pocket journals, on pages ripped from magazines, and kind of look like this:

All in a pile, waiting for the time when I can expand on the idea, flesh out the plot, fill in the blanks, put a name to those faces, and ask them, "Why?"

Yes, my ideas are boundless. I have enough to write for six lifetimes. 

Every so often, one of those faces climbs to the top of the pile, yells out their name and demands to be heard. (Usually when I'm just falling off to sleep.)

What gets your creative juices flowing?

"The Glimmer Train Guide to Writing Fiction"--Book Thoughts

"Inspiration and Discipline-Volume 2"

I'm not very talkative (until you get to know me, then I'll talk your ear off) and I rarely comment on blogs. I just sort of lurk around and take it all in.

I'm not very lucky either. Once in a while I'll win $5.00 on a lottery scratch-off.

One day, not too long ago, while catching up on my blogs, I commented on a post at Donna McDine's Write What Inspires You blog. The stars must have been perfectly aligned because not only was I talkative that day, I was also lucky! That's right, I was the 'one lucky commenter' who won this book.

Now, I'll be honest, I've got about 20-25 reference books about writing on my shelf that I still haven't opened yet. Hmm. Maybe that's why I can't get many things published. **Note to self: Start reading those books.** Anyway, I put this book on the 'To be read' pile in my living room and kind of forgot about it. Last week, I was dusting and accidentally knocked the pile onto the floor. When I picked up this book, I flipped it open to a random page and was immediately hooked. Since I have a touch of ADD, which becomes more apparent every day, I stopped dusting, sat down, and opened to page one. Needless to say, my dusting never got done that day, but I had made it a quarter of the way through the book.

I am familiar with Glimmer Train. I've submitted to them a few times when I was just starting out and decided to wait awhile to submit again. Yeah, I was very brave about submitting. **Shakes head and hopes Glimmer Train forgets about the horrible stuff I sent them.**

This little green book is full of interview excerpts. Interviews by more than one hundred authors who talk about their writing lives, family support (and even the lack of), personal approaches, and even writer's block. In the process of reading this book, I've jotted down a number of authors whose works I need to read, I've learned a few different views about writing, but most of all, I've gotten inspiration.

This book is too good to put on the shelf. So, I'd like one of you to read it also. Yup, I'm passing this book on to one lucky commenter. Let's do this all scientific-like--I'm thinking of a number from 1-20. Guess the number, and I'll send it to your front door.  Ready? Go...

Do you have a book suggestion or your own published book you'd like me to read? Drop me an e-mail at deestan62@gmail.com.

Inspiration

(I took this picture on my way to work one morning.)

I've never suffered from writer's block. I have a box full of story ideas, character profiles, scenes, and picture prompts. Not to mention the ideas still rattling around in my head.

My problem is--after a long day of work, I come home to dirty laundry, dust, a full litterbox, and a stack of mail. Besides all that, three of my favorite TV shows, House, Survivor,and Fringe, are recorded and beckon me to watch them. Thank God, Hell's Kitchen ended last month!

Carving out some writing time is a daily struggle. I wake up with the best intentions and plan my evening to allow for two hours of writing, but things come up, or a household task proves to be more involved, taking up more time than the hour I've alotted for it.

I find that unless I write every day, whether it's a blog post, a poem, a chapter in my WIP, or even a story idea, I lose my momentum. One night or one morning without writing can send me into a tailspin of inactivity. One day turns into two days, and so on. Although story ideas continue to pop into my head, I've gone weeks without writing anything down on paper. I cringe when I think of all the ideas I've forgotten because I was too busy to write them down.

So, how do I get back on track? What do I do to drag myself away from the Facebook ticker and the Twitter timeline?

I read writer's blogs. Not the, "How-to" type of blogs where there is heaps of info about how to make your characters stand out or how to fine-tune your plot. Those sites come in handy when I need help with my projects, but when I'm not working on anything, it all sounds like, 'blah, blah, blah.'

I'm talking about the writer's blogs with posts about their own struggles to fit writing time into their schedules along with hobbies, day jobs, families, illnesses, and other crises. Reading blogs such as:

Sarah's Blog

Pam's Blog

Lynne's Blog

and

Courtney's Blog  (Just to name a few...)

usually does wonders to push me out of that "writing funk" I so easily slip into. These are real people with real lives and struggles and still they manage to find time to write and (the ultimate writer's goal) get published. Reading about their accomplishments through all the hardships of daily life is like a swift kick in the butt, for me. A shot of motivation to get to work on my own dreams and goals.

With all the talk about blog fatigue and how bloggers and readers are losing interest, I can only hope that my favorite bloggers continue to post about their lives and their accomplishments. Not only do I find their posts interesting, I also find them inspiring.

What inspires you?

"On Writing" by Stephen King--A Memoir of the Craft (Book Thoughts)

Stephen King began writing about his craft and his life in 1999.  On Writing gives us a view of Stephen's childhood and glimpses of the inspiration for situations that provoked best sellers such as Carrie, Misery, and The Stand.

He wrote his short book about writing and figured "the shorter the book, the less the bullshit."  Mr. King's book is filled with anything but bullshit.  Although I have been a fan of his work since high school, I haven't read any of his recent work.  I don't know if my heart can take it anymore, lol!

His worries about sounding like "a literary gasbag or a transcendental asshole" are totally unfounded.  Reading On Writing almost felt as if Mr. King is one of my good friends who had come over for dinner and a chat. 

His straightforwardness not only made me stop and think about so many things in my writing laugh but better yet, the book made me laugh out loud.  (I love when a book makes me laugh out loud!)  He even inspired me to put my desk in the corner and get to work, leaving a few great quotes rattling around in my brain.

"Life isn't a support system for art.  It's the other way around."

"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."

I have tons of reading hours under my belt and continue to read one or two books at a time so I think I'm heading in the right direction.

If you are a fan of Stephen King's work, you may be surprised about where the ideas for some of his best work comes.  If you are a writer, you need to read this book for inspiration.  And if you are a little of both, you will definitely enjoy this gem.  I highly recommend it.