Today marks 4 years that Hubby and I nixed that “living in sin” thing. We had the world’s shortest wedding ceremony and for one day understood how celebrities feel with the paparazzi. We also had cake.
So with all of this in mind, I’m blogging ahead of time for once. By the time you read this, we will be stuffed with waffles and watching penguins swim as our anniversary date.
Onto business.
There’s been a lot of talk about inspiration on The Pie as of late*. I’ve covered images and WIPs, people who’ve inspired me, and pictures that have inspired my writing as a whole. Now we add a fourth.
First, some background: this week I decided to scrap my original NaNo plan because I was too trapped in my head. This meant coming up with a new story. No pressure, right? No. None at all. Thank goodness there are some techniques for getting inspiration when you most need it.
- Snuggle with the cat. The White One’s pliancy makes it too easy to curl up with him and think. A lot of times this results in sporadic napping.
- Have conversations. One of my conversations this week included Marcel Marceau**. This gave me another ridiculous scene that would work with my new NaNo project.
- Read. A lot of times if I’m stuck, I’ll go read. For some reason, nonfiction jangles free the block and ideas pour out of brain. This is the main reason why I installed Evernote on my phone.
- Free writing. The ratio of intelligent thought to the word cheese*** is 1:400, but when it works, it really works.
- Pull it from the ether. A lot of my ideas (not the current SNI) just show up. The assassin project? Just showed up. Phoenix Rising? Showed up. That random story about the squirrel photographer? Sort of showed up. (You all know about my squirrel problem.)
How do you get inspiration when you need it?
* When you’re a chronic pessimist, 3 posts in 5 months seems like a lot.
** Ha, you thought I’d help you on this one. Look him up.
*** Truth: Every free writing session I’ve done starts out with the word “cheese” written at least 5 times.
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Last.fm hit of the day: Something to Believe In by Poison
Awww happy anniversary! That sounds like an awesome date.
You've almost talked me around to the idea of free writing with all this speak of cheese. I love cheese. Mmm. Mostly I go for walks when I'm feeling like I lack inspiration. I think I'm a romantic at heart because I love just watching the clouds pass.
Happy Anniversary. Hope you enjoy your day.
Great tips for inspiration.
cheese. Ah, so inspiring. Love these, and they totally made me LOL.
And HELLO- it's about time you showed us some wedding pics. Look at that dress! GORGEOUS!! And that you can do that in it makes it even cooler. :0)
Great post. Love to freewrite too – best poems I write come from the ability to let myself go, not think and listen to the rhythm.
Happy anniversary! Squirrel photographer, this intrigues me!
First off, Happy Anniversary! Secondly, I googled Marcel Marceau and will probably have nightmares now (Ugh…clowns). The cheese thing made me laugh 🙂
I have to say, my actual story ideas come out of nowhere too. I mean, sometimes they're inspired by mythology, but they usually come to me when I'm driving down the road or about to fall asleep or cleaning the kitchen. Inspiration for the little things in the story–the stuff that fleshes it out–come from all around.
Happy Anniversary!
I wish free writing worked for me…it always sounds like such a fun idea, until I try it and my mind goes blank.
Ooo your dress was so pretty!
Snuggling with pets is a magical cure for all ailments (except runny noses, they can't really fix that). But what is the squirrel photographer?
Happy Anniversary! I LOVE that picture of you two dancing… so much joy!
Great inspiration list. I find that reading other books (or sometimes my own WIP) helps me too.
Congratulations! I don't know if I've ever tried free-writing before. I'm not comfortable writing without at least a basic plot (I have a terrible sense of direction and need to know where I'm going before I set off), so I'm not sure how well it would work for me. Maybe I'll try it some time.
Happy Anniversary! Sounds like you have a great day planned! I hope you enjoy it. This is a great list. I can't believe I forgot about free writing! That also inspires me. 🙂
I'm with you on the squirrels and cheese. Although I try not to combine the two in real life. Squirrels down here are BIG and can carry their weight in stolen foodstuffs.
Happy Anniversary!!!
And love your list…#5 is so me. I don't know where half my ideas come from.