Inspiration

What inspires us as writer? I have a list of songs that always seem to tug at something within - The Long Goodbye, The Highwayman, Puff the Magic Dragon, Raindrops...to name a few, and in addition to music, there are movies (Tangled, While You Were Sleeping, Practical Magic...) and books, too.

But sometimes, it's the Ordinary Everyday that sparks something. The scent of woodstoves on a crisp, cool autumn afternoon. The way the sunlight hits the front of a house, or streams into a room. The sweet scent of spring flowers on a warm May afternoon. The task of making muffins or cookies or brownies with a child. Trimming a Christmas tree. Thanksgiving dinner roasting in the oven. Laughter. A really bad joke that nonetheless makes you laugh like a hyena.

So, here are some thoughts from other writers about inspiration, and writing in general. See what tickles your fancy.

Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don't see any.
Orson Scott Card

When I examine myself and my methods of thought I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing knowledge.
Albert Einstein

Observe, don't imitate.
John M. Ford

Words, as is well known, are the great foes of reality.
Joseph Conrad

Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head and as you get older, you become more skillful casting them.
Gore Vidal

Last but not least...I liked Duncan Hines on FB, and boy, they sure tempt and tease with awesome pix and recipes. So does Betty Crocker. However, this one is from Duncan Hines, and it's for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars. CLICK, but only after you get a drool cloth, because the picture of these treats will make you want to lick your monitor. These are *truly* inspirational. ;)

Beginnings

Beginnings. Starts. Openings. 

Here I am, on my third restart of my current WIP, which is to be a follow up of the manuscript I submitted last November, and am still waiting to hear back about. 

Three.

I rarely rework the opening of a novel so vigorously. I'm rather baffled by it and am busy not enjoying wondering if *this* time I've gotten it right. Beginnings are sooooooooo important. They set up the basic foundation for the rest of the story, introduce the characters, outline the conflict to come, set the tone for the entire work and, most importantly, is what draws the reader in and keeps them reading...or, if you're unlucky, putting the book down. 

Never give the reader a reason to put the book down. If they have to stop reading, then there must be something about the story you're telling to draw them back, entice them to pick the book up again. It sounds so simple, yet it's really not. The story must compel. Excite. Yes, sometimes even titillate. It must pose questions the reader wants to find the answers for - it must entice. 

Compel

Excite 

Titillate

Entice

The beginning is the foundation that sets the groundwork to support the rest of the story. I won't say it's the most important part of the novel, because every part of it is equally important - as writers, we need to give the readers a reason to continue reading and to come back for more of our work. But that first line, leading into the rest of your story? It's gotta grab. 

Here are a few of my favorite opening lines, found at THIS website:

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. - C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)

You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. —Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)

From HERE:

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”  Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier

So, back I go, to work on that opening some more...to get it just right. Sometimes it takes work, sometimes you get a gift and it just happens...but still...It's work. Worthwhile, enjoyable work. Happy writing!

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I Have A Dream

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a Dream...A dream that one day, his four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. 

Would that I'd see his dream come true in my lifetime, but sadly, I'm not sure I will.

I have dreams also, no, not like my husband's dream of last night where he and I got into an argument over a new appliance for the house - a BBQ/fridge affair. I really must watch what he's eating before he goes to bed, because, from his description of it, that was one weeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrddddd dream. Rather, my dreams are on a grander scale, like MLK's (not that I would ever think to compare myself to him, of course)...

I dream about my children being able to take a deep breath of fresh air when they're adults because we've been environmentally responsible.

I dream about my children being able to live in a country where the separation of church and state is respected and practiced; where some zealot's notion of morality isn't enforced upon us all; that there is true tolerance for ALL religions in this country; the color of our skin, our genders, our sexual preferences, our religious practices are all accepted equally and without judgement or persecution or legislated to oblivion; and in a country that is politically and economically stable.

I dream about my children living in a world that is, well, I'll be frank here. I greatly admire Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future - where humans not only have learned to get along well together, but have learned to get along well with off-worlders. So, I dream of my children living in a Star Trek universe. Yes, yes, I do. Therefore, I dream about my children living in a world there is respect for fellow man, regardless of geographical boundaries, nationalities, religions, skin color, or language.

I dream about my children living in a world where they have the opportunities to achieve their own dreams and goals and are able to live their lives as they themselves envision, not as envisioned by others.

I dream about my children living in a world where hope abounds.

I dream about my children living in a world where they can LIVE - freely and securely.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

A riot is the language of the unheard.

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New Year, New Possibilities...

To celebrate the New Year, I posted a new short story called New Beginnings on my website. Here's a teaser, followed by a link to my Free Reads page.

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Krista Loomis took a deep, steadying breath and walked resolutely into the bar. Simply known as The Bar, it was “the” place to be New Year’s Eve. And as her plans had gone awry, leaving her unsettled, upset and more than a wee bit furious, she’d decided that a tremendous amount of liquor and great deal of noise was just what she needed to get her through the raw emotions finding her soon-to-be husband in bed, boinking her former best friend.


Phillip and Alisha deserved one another. 


And Krista deserved several stiff drinks and perhaps some hot, sweaty dancing with a stranger.



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Go HERE to go directly to my Free Reads page to find out how this story ends. While you're there, check out the holiday stories for Thanksgiving and Christmas, because next month, the Thanksgiving story will be removed to make room for February's Valentine's Day free read short story and in March, the Christmas story will be gone, too.

Click HERE to go to the main page of my website to see the new writing quotes. Now...if I could just figure out where I went before to edit that crazy sidebar, I'd be a very happy girl. I'm delighted with the new template I picked while I was updating the Free Reads page - very elegant and quietly romantic, IMO - would love to hear yours about my website's new look.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

May your 2012 be filled with JOY!

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.  

~Benjamin Franklin~

We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.  

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce~

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ONE LAST THING...

My Pikachu, in desperate need of a trip to the Doggie Beauty Salon, co-opting the fleecy blanket I got for Christmas, made by my bestie, Sherry. Chu apparently didn't get the memo that NO DOGS ARE ALLOWED ON THIS BLANKET! LOL.

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Ta-DA!

The manuscript is done, polished and submitted!  Now begins the fun of the wait. I'm oddly calm and relaxed about this. Thinking good, positive thoughts and looking at the few WIPS I've started to decide which one I'm going to focus upon.

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. 
Mark Twain

Why Write?

Image

The story is not in the plot but in the telling. 

Ursula K. LeGuin




We read five words on the first page of a really good novel and we begin to forget that we are reading printed words on a page; we begin to see images.
John Gardner




Stories are living and dynamic. Stories exist to be exchanged. They are the currency of Human Growth.
Jean Houston




I want story, wit, music, wryness, color, and a sense of reality in what I read, and I try to get it in what I write. 
John D. MacDonald




If you wait for inspiration, you're not a writer, but a waiter. 
Anonymous

Writing Prompts...Handy Links

I did some research online and found several sites with writing prompts to collect here.

Charlotte Dillon's Writing Prompts: Loads of writing prompts to choose from. And at the bottom of the page, an invitation to join her writing prompt email group, and a link to do so.

: Creative Writing Prompts from CreativeJuices.com Several prompts, organized into categories. You'll need to wade through the adds, but many of these prompts look interesting enough to make that worth your time.

Write Any Genre: Prompts for romance, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, historical, and fairy tales etc.

Creative Writing Solutions: Story starters, prompts for character development, setting, point of view, and plot development.

It's All About Writing, Nicole Humphrey Cook: Sentences to get you started. The author recommends we keep in mind the who, what, where, and how.

Laura's Writing Prompts

I love coming up with writing prompts. Today, I'm going to give "Who, Where and When" Prompts that you can add the "What, Where, and How" aspects, and tighten up the "Who, Where and When" parts, too. Have fun. Make it as short or as long as you want. The list will go Who; Where; When


A couple >< to divorce; The court house; 30 minutes before their appt. with the judge

High school teacher/Cop; Parking Lot at the football field; Evening time, just before the homecoming game.

Psychic/Psychologist;Career Day Fair; Just after lunch

Veterinarian/Jockey; Horse farm; day before a big race, morning

Professional Party Planner/Profession Party Attendee; Party at a posh hotel; Night, almost midnight.

If you have suggestions for "Who, Where, When" Prompts, add them in the comments.

Happy Writing.

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The greatest rules of dramatic writing are conflict, conflict and conflict. ~James Frey

The story is not in the plot but in the telling. ~Ursula K. LeGuin

If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing. ~Kingsley Amis

In good writing, words become one with things. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Joys of Writing

Writing is like breathing for me: I can't live without breathing, and I can't live without writing.

I love perusing through websites dedicated to quotes about writing. Today I'm looking at THIS ONE, and I thought I'd share the ones that stand out to me.

It is better to write a bad first draft than to write no first draft at all.Will Shetterly

There is no great writing, only great rewriting.
Justice Brandeis

Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination.
Louise Brooks

It is perfectly okay to write garbage – as long as you edit brilliantly. C. J. Cherryh

It's none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.
Ernest Hemingway

As with all other aspects of the narrative art, you will improve with practice, but practice will never make you perfect. Why should it? What fun would that be?Stephen King

By writing much, one learns to write well.
Robert Southey

The only way to learn to write is to write.
Peggy Teeters

It is my contention that a really great novel is made with a knife and not a pen. A novelist must have the intestinal fortitude to cut out even the most brilliant passage so long as it doesn't advance the story.
Frank Yerby