Thoughtful Thursday! How I write

Yesterday took me by surprise. I had a crazy idea of making a story out of life hacks and somehow it worked! I forgot how much fun writing is. I mean, not just writing that story but my blog in general. I now look forward to writing. Who knew?

Now that I've been writing again, I've noticed a theme. Not about what I'm writing but how I write. Ideally, I would like my story to be outlined where I clearly see what's before me like a newly paved road with fresh paint and brightly lit signs. It could not be more opposite of that. 

When I'm trying to think of what to write, images slowly emerge from the dark shadows of my mind. I don't see them clearly but a few details stand out to me. And what I see, I then write. If the images don't come to me, then I have to go into the shadows and yank them out myself, hoping whatever I pull out will be good. This is not a metaphor. I'm describing real events that happen in my mind. I told you I'm odd.

Writing Prompt Wednesday! Life hacks gone wrong

So I was browsing Imgur like I always do and I came across yet another life hack dump. You know what life hacks are. They are little tips for solving inconveniences in an odd matter. Everyone reads them but never actually do any of them. Well, I've tried a few, but they never work as well as they promise. Let's just say never do the one where they say to put strawberries in the oven. They don't taste like candy. They taste like you put strawberries in the oven and left them in there too long. Gross.

Tweet Tuesday! Continuing the same story

Last Tuesday, I wrote the following:

Tears were streaming down my face. "It's too late, " I realized. The crowds cheered as the army stomped into the city as if in a parade. "Our country ends not in cries of sadness but those of joy."

_____________________________________________


Who is he? I studied him as he stood facing the window. He appeared as a shadow in the midst of the blood red sunset looming outside.

Some say a mad man. Others say a hero.
Which is the truth? 

He turned, noticed me staring, and smiled.

“Ready?”

I nodded and took his arm.

________________________________________________

These tweets are a part of the same story. I had an idea to tell a story a little bit of a time like pieces of a puzzle. Except this puzzle is all jumbled up and there is no picture on the box. We'll see how it goes.

Meme Monday! Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly

Disclaimer: I know a screenshot of text is technically not a meme because there's no picture. But the definition of a meme is broadening. In this case, if I found it on Imgur, then it is a meme. Case closed.

I don't know why I get trapped in the "It has to be perfect" mindset when I write. When I draw or paint, I know I make mistakes. Sometimes, it doesn't turn out the way I want and I don't even know how to make it better. And I'm okay with that. I understand I can't be the best all the time.

But with writing, I feel like if I'm not writing a novel and I don't have everything outlined and plotted out, then I might as well not write. Ever since I was little, I wanted to write a book. I loved reading as a kid. And I always dreamed of writing a book that someone else could get lost in and be inspired by.

I have never written a novel. 

I have tried so many times. But my writing falls flat and the plot just falls apart and my characters grow stale. I guess I hope that if I have the perfect idea or the perfect plot or the perfect ending or the perfect ....

But I don't. So, then I just stop writing. How's that better? It's not. But I feel defeated.

So maybe I don't have to write the perfect novel. And maybe that's okay. Maybe I'll try to just do something poorly. A little bit of writing each weekday on my blog is better than nothing. And maybe that's true because this is the most writing I have done for a long time.

Photo Friday! From a different perspective

I have been thinking about perceptions. How we perceive the world shapes our reality. It influences our choices and our actions.

Take this photograph for instance. I took an ordinary object and changed the perspective. By looking at it in a different way, I made what was an ordinary water bottle into a beautiful, abstract artwork. 

This gave me another unexpected writing prompt:

Write about the same person using different perspectives. In someone's eyes, this person is a hero. To another, this same person is a villain. Both perspectives have to be equally valid.

Thoughtful Thursday! Meta post

Before I sit down with my cup of coffee, I only have coffee beans. There's a procedure of grinding and brewing them before the coffee even makes it into my mug. 

It's the same for a book. Before it can be a book, it starts with letters. Then there is a process of combining letters into words and words into sentences.

But as any coffee addict knows, there is more to a good cup of coffee than just ground up beans that water passes through. There's a technique, an art to it. A book is more than the words on the pages. 

This blog is to review and analyze what makes a book good and what can make it better. I want to drink in the books, sip by sip, and take the grounds of inspiration to brew my own words.


Yep, that's my writing. From my old blog that consisted of exactly one post. I did start writing another post, but I never published it. This also doesn't count another blog that I started but I never actually wrote anything on it. It died before it even got to live.


So, what's the point of all this?


Well, here I am again, trying to write another blog. And this blog is even weirder because I don't even have a specific purpose for it, hence the "odd" part. It's just odds and ends and beginnings of stories, ideas, and thoughts. Who am I writing for? I don't know. What am I writing for? I don't know. 


I just have such a strong feeling to write. It's in my very being. And I have no idea what to write. This has been me for the past decade. I feel like I have been cursed in a very subtle way.


But the urge to write never goes away. Every time I go to write, the idea I had just flickers and fizzles out before it even gets going. And then I'm left with nothing, like the worst writer's block in the world. Every writing article is just like, "But just keep writing!" And I'm like, "I can't write if I have no thoughts, no ideas. Then it's just dead letters on a page."


So, why do I want to write? Especially since I don't know why? 


Hey, if you know the answer, please let me know. Throw me a lifesaver because I feel like I'm drowning.

Writing Prompt Wednesday! The jaded healer

Because my Meme Monday turned into an unexpected writing prompt, I decided to try it out for myself.

The writing prompt is the following:

Write a story about being a healer, where your job is to keep everyone alive. Maybe the story arc is that you start off being the hopeful, anxious healer who wants to heal everyone, but over time, you become cynical and refuse to heal idiots.

________________________________________________

Breathing in deeply, I thought about tranquil waters and colorful sunsets. I closed my eyes to see ocean waves and warm sandy beaches. I heard the breeze rustling through the palm trees.

"ROAR!"
Whack!
"Help me!"

Trying to ignore all of that, I breathed in deeply again. 

"Hey, you going to help or what?!"

Thinking of more peaceful places, I tried to calm my inner rage.

"ROAAAR!"
"Hey, healer, are you going to do your job?!"

My tranquil waters boiled and steamed to the surface as my anger got the better of me.

My eyes flew open. "You are all idiots!" I foamed. "I refuse to heal any of you! I told you to not fight this demon; he is too strong!" 

"And you, Rogue!" I pointed at him. "You are deliberately standing in the fire!"

He looked over at me. His bewilderment shone on his face as brightly as the flames that danced all around him.

"So? It's your job to heal me," the rogue said casually as the fire engulfed him more. "You might want to hurry up on that by the way."

My hands flew out towards him in a twisting, choking motion.

Then, a little flash of green light appeared on the rogue's body. Instantly, I looked down at my unintended protégé. 

"You healed him," I said matter-of-factly. "Against my wishes."

Her little face scrunched up in worried. "I don't want him to die."

I sighed, defeated. Raising my arms, I flicked my wrists toward my group, filling them with bright light that healed their wounds.

Tweet Tuesday!

Here's my first story in a tweet:

Tears were streaming down my face. "It's too late, " I realized. The crowds cheered as the army stomped into the city as if in a parade. "Our country ends not in cries of sadness but those of joy."

Okay, it's not a whole story. But it is a part of a story that has been bouncing around in my head. This is actually the end of the story. Writing the conclusion first is a writer's trick to get your thoughts into words.

Meme Monday - All about healers!

Because I've played healers in World of Warcraft (WoW), this always makes me chuckle. When I first started healing dungeons, I was so nervous and afraid I would let everyone down. But after years of playing, I have zero sympathy for DPS who stand in the fire or the tank that runs ahead of everyone and pulls the whole dungeon. 

I haven't played WoW in awhile, but I always enjoyed playing my undead discipline priest. So, this gave me an idea for an odd inspiration:

Write a story about being a healer, where your job is to keep everyone alive. Maybe the story arc is that you start off being the hopeful, anxious healer who wants to heal everyone, but over time, you become cynical and refuse to heal idiots.

Or, maybe whenever you healed, you stole life from yourself? You heal people, but at what cost? The more you heal people, the closer to death that you become. You have to  choose carefully who you heal, if at all.

Okay, last idea. What about a story about necromancers, but they are misunderstood. They really are just late healers.

Posting Schedule

I'm thinking about structuring my odd inspirations. 

Mainly because as soon as you can write whenever, whatever you want, then your mind is one big blank space and the blog just sits there gathering dust. The blogs that I use to read had a purpose. They were only about one subject matter. Well, I'm all over the place. I can't commit like that. Besides anything can be an #oddinspiration. 

Soo...


I'm going to try to structure my odd inspirations by days:

• Meme Mondays - you gotta start the week off right - with memes! Can be funny, inspiring, or personal.
• Tweet Tuesdays - I want to do the Twitter challenge of writing a story or poem that fits into the 140 character limit.
• Writing Prompt Wednesdays - Either I find a writing prompt, or I make up my own. Then, I write as much as I can about it. Could be a few sentences, could be a few pages.
• Thoughtful Thursdays - I focus on something that I've been thinking about. It can be any subject matter. 
• Photo Fridays - I take a break from writing and take a picture! It can be art that I made or an artsy photo that I take.

I always adore alliteration. In case you haven't noticed. 

I didn't include Saturdays and Sundays because I highly doubt that I would be able to post regularly on the weekends (like right now is an anomaly). 

Creativity takes courage - Henri Matisse

Everyone thinks that creativity is just something that you have. Like you just own it. Like you just walk around with it like a dog on a leash. And can just command it at will.

But it isn't. Creativity is finding the deepest, darkest part of you, grabbing it with your bare hands, and yanking it out kicking and screaming into the light. It hisses and bites you, but you have to take it, scrub it off, and make it presentable to the outside world. 

You have to take risks. Quiet the critical voice inside you, dig deep within yourself, and have courage to bring it out into the open where others will see it. Creativity makes you vulnerable. Because it is a part of yourself. You need to have courage.

This is my odd inspiration. Also, I like beating metaphors to death.

This is me finding my creativity. True story.