Daily Inspiration

Prompt: Expired chocolate milk.

Suggested Listening: New York - Frank Sinatra

Quote: "The autosave feature is invaluable." - Yours Truly



No inspirational nugget of wisdom today. Go hang out with your friends and loved ones.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: French fries with peppermint and hot sauce.

Suggested Listening: Santa Fe - Rent

Quote: "I'm self-employed. I'm creating. I'm in love. I'm happy." Quoted from Dar: A Super Girly Top-Secret Comic Diary


I'm going to start off this post by saying I'm blogging from my Caves to Cathedrals art history course, and that while I really should be paying attention, I've got liberty to ignore what she says now in favor of replaying it on my tape recorder later. So there.

Next, I'm going to say that I've got a big ol' fat crush on Erika, who is the creator of DAR: A Super Girly Top-Secret Comic Diary, which I've been quoting from lately. Her webcomic diary is, in essence, the most perfect way to describe the life of somebody dedicated to their craft. The link above takes you to the final page of her webcomic, and I highly recommend that you all read the rest of it, because her artwork is fantastic, and her messages are even better.

The reason I'm putting so much emphasis on this today is because if you want to be a serious, dedicated writer, you need to put almost everything that you are into your words. Sometimes, you need to work in a place you dislike or outright hate in order to make enough money to keep writing your epic saga. Sometimes, you're fortunate enough to find a niche job where you can balance your writing and your work without stressing yourself out. In both cases, you still need to be dedicated to your work - option B just makes it easier to dedicate yourself.

That being said, never let your writing get in the way of your day job unless you know your writing will bring in at least as much, if not more, revenue than said day job. You've still got to put food on the table, pay bills, and, y'know, do that thing people do from time to time. What was it again? Oh yeah, have a life. Just don't forget your passion by the wayside as you move onwards and upwards.

Peace.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: A cold, rainy day, and a warm, loving hug.

Suggested Listening: The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack - Various Artists

Quote: "I am my own toaster." - From DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary



No daily nugget of inspiration today. I'm dedicated to getting Fable 3 completed before NaNoWriMo starts up November 1st.

Blog posts will probably not go up at midnight like I usually try to do. I thank all of you for reading and being present while I do this, and I hope you'll be patient as I geek out over my favorite game.

Peace.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: "I'm saying I was shit-stupid as a kid!"

Suggested Listening: The Sherlock Holmes Soundtrack - Various Artists

Quote: "What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness." - Leo Tolstoy



Rain is an infinitely powerful thing. It gives life to the earth and helps to wash away the dirt and grit of the world. Today, write a scene with the rain. Or if it actually is raining outside, go for a walk without an umbrella. You see things in the rain that you don't see in the sunlight or the darkness. The inspirational values are infinite.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: Wither and Grow

Suggested Listening: White Houses - Amanda Stott

Quote: "Before God we are equally wise, and equally foolish." - Albert Einstein



I'm sorry this post is so late in the day, but I was spending the day with somebody whom I care about more than anything in the world.

Everything is chance. Meeting new friends, making new relationships, everything is chance. Every day is a different roll of the dice that gives and takes opportunities and offers us the ability to decide our fates for ourselves.

Risks and rewards are a part of our lives, and they should be a part of your characters' lives as well.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: "Cough cough die."

Suggested Listening: One Week - Barenaked Ladies

Quote: Your fortune cookie says: An angry man opens his mouth and shuts up his eyes.



Two graveyard pictures in a row! I must like you people or something.

Anyways. Graveyards are some of the most interesting places in the world. The old ones have nifty sayings, the coolest tombstones, and probably the most interesting people you would ever want to meet . . . if they were, y'know, still alive. Take some time and visit a graveyard near you. Why?

Have a conversation with a dead person.

It sounds creepy and weird, but I promise you, it is worth the awkward factor. Death does not judge the living. Talk about your day, your hopes, your fears, your dreams, the characters you hate, the people you can't stand, everything that you can't say out loud to anybody else. When it's all over, once you've finished spilling out everything, you'll feel refreshed and new.

I visit my local cemetary whenever I need to talk without being judged, and it helps me figure things out. When I'm having trouble with my plots or my personal life, I talk to my Nanny Mahoney - she's as an amazing a woman in death as she was in life and I am grateful to have known her and to know her now.

Try it. You just might figure a few things out too.

Peace.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: "You delving into my sticky messes does not sound cool."

Suggested Listening: The Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Soundtrack - Various Artists

Quote: Alcohol gives you infinite patience for stupidity. - Sammy Davis Jr.



I am very drunk at the moment, so no wisdom for you tonight.

Peace.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: "You're crazy. Get the hell outta here."

Suggested Listening: Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles

Quote: "Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." - Hellen Keller



Playing with punctuation can turn a dark, deadly situation into a cute, funny situation. Today, take a scene from a project you've already finished and try changing up the periods and exclamation marks. It's good for a few chuckles and might give you some ideas to help you through the scene you're currently working on!

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: Empty plates covered in crumbs.

Suggested Listening: The Assumption Song - Arrogant Worms

Quote: "Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before." - Mae West


Today, add some laughter. While not everything should be sunshine and roses in your story, there should still be some elements of happiness. The trick is to find a happy medium. Not too dark and depressing (unless that's what your plotline is based on) and not too bubbly-sunshine-happy-fun-times to keep things balanced.

Everything's about balance.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: "They cannonized a hampster?"

Suggested Listening: Play With Fire - Hillary Duff

Quote: "You've lost your . . . muchness."
- The Mad Hatter, Alice In Wonderland, 2010

Today, add some colour to whatever you're doing.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: Work is cancelled for the day.

Suggested Listening: Bitch - Alannis Morissette

Quote: Fuck them all and let chlamydia sort them out. - Speedy from the webcomic A Girl and Her Fed




Muffins. No brilliant nugget of wisdom today, just . . . muffins.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: Your character is speaking to a gorgeous stranger, but can't understand a word they're saying.

Suggested Listening: Jesus Take the Wheel - Carrie Underwood

Quote: “Oh, I love hugging. I wish I was an octopus, so I could hug 10 people at a time!” -Drew Barrymore


Having trouble? Find somebody or something you love and give 'em a hug.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: Good company, bad atmosphere.

Suggested Listening: Paint the Sky With Stars - Enya

Quote: To poke a wood fire is more solid enjoyment than almost anything else in the world. ~Charles Dudley Warner



Everybody has reasons for doing what they do, including your characters. What makes them do the things they do? Why does your protagonist smoke? Why can't your antagonist use a public restroom? Their motives are as important to the story as they are.

Daily Inspiration (Warning: Graphic Image)

Prompt: "Here he is . . . poor kid."

Suggested Listening: If I Die Young - Band Perry

Quote: There are things in life that we just can't control. The world isn't a happy place and most of the time, we aren't happy in it. We need to take the good and the bad from everything, decide which we're going to keep close to our hearts, and keep our faces turned skywards. - Yours Truly.



Not everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows in your life. The same should be said about your story. If nothing goes wrong and everybody is happy through the whole story, go back to your planning stages and take a good hard look at what you've got. If you can't bear to put your characters through even a minor hardship, maybe you need to think about giving writing a little bit of a break for awhile.

It isn't wrong to love your characters, and it isn't wrong to want the best for them - these feelings should never interfere with your desire to tell a good story. Don't get so attached to your characters that you sob and cringe at the thought of letting anything, however small, bad happen to them. As much as they exist in your imagination, they aren't real people who will hate you if you write in a breakup or write in the death of a loved one.

Learning to treat my characters as characters was a hard lesson I had to learn a long time ago, and needed to remind myself of tonight.

I apologize if the picture stunned/shocked you.


Peace.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: A coffee shop at midnight.

Suggested Listening: So Small - Carrie Underwood

Quote: The Master said: "Artful speech and ingratiating demeanour rarely accompany virtue. The Analects Of Confucius, Book One: Concerning Fundamental Principles.



I'll be posting this one again before November and the National Novel Writing Month challenge starts, because this is possibly the best way I can think of to emphasize how important it is to give your writing the same amount of time, effort and care that you give to everything else in your life.

Try thinking of your writing area as a train station, and your physical body as the train. Now make yourself a schedule to stop at your writing area every day, at the same time every day, for the same amount of time every day. Once you have this pattern of arriving, writing and departing, you'll find it easier to get yourself into the mindset of writing every day during that time.

Miss a day? Arrive early or late? Don't worry about it. The trains don't always run on time either, but they always get there eventually.

Daily Inspiration

Prompt: A rare old book covered in fresh blood.

Suggested Listening: Remember - Josh Groban

Quote: I then realized my appearance was a bit odd. My right leg was no longer with me. It had caught somewhere in the top of the cockpit as I tried to leave my Spitfire. - Douglas Bader



Guess what everybody? I'm back!