Inspiration comes in all forms. It can be from a beautifully moving song, a movie, or a wonderful piece of art. Many things are inspiration for us writers. Some say a pay check or even fame is enough inspiration. That is true on some level. For us writers to receive a pay check and fame someone has to like our writing enough to feel inclined to PAY US, which of course means that someone appreciates our skill and VALIDATES us as a writer. All that we are striving for is to know that someone sees how hard we have worked and it has moved them in some way. This is also true for many occupations, but writers and artists are known to CRAVE that validation to outrageous points.
In order for us to make the work that someone will "Ooh", and "Awe" over we are in constant need for inspiration, some type of muse. For me life and nature provide that. I adore nature scenes where the calm is almost touchable, but then I also love the photos that dare-devil photographers take in the middle of a hurricane of palm trees bent backwards with their leaves being blown harshly by 100 mph winds and rain drops pelting the scene and the camera with a force that makes the skin sting and the water to bounce like hail off of the ground. It's a moment forever frozen in time. That is what moves me to want to try to capture the beauty and fierceness of the moment with words.
My main thing is to keep motivated. I try to see beauty everyday, and it up to me to try to describe it. If you are having a hard time narrating a scene go for a walk and look around. People find their muse in the most unexpected places. Mine is not a constant. It's not like I have a single person or item that makes me want to write. I write because what I experience in my life is overwhelming and needs to be detailed. I want to preserve the memory onto paper so that future generations can read about my life and know that we made it through some tough times, but it was only a select few bad moments that were surrounded by love and laughter.
Writing is complex. That's what people who do not write will never understand. It's not just having the dedication or the commitment to write, but being able to OPEN yourself up to different experiences and being able compose a symphony based on those feelings. I strive to write down my experiences for the day every single day and what my emotions were and how I reacted to these experiences. Then I can go back if I am stuck in a scene. I'll remember, "Oh, yeah. I went through that!" and I can read how I felt when that happened. Inspiration is great but it alone cannot get a writer through the day sometimes we need a little help.
I am offering you my readers a little help today. This week in Tennessee is rainy, wet and a bit on the chilly side. Usually this time of year we have nearly 90 degree (Fahrenheit) days, and this week we have yet to peak above 65 degrees. Yep, it's a spooky week. Fog covers the landscape, creeks are overflowing, the ground is saturated with rain and mud puddles are everywhere. It's a beautiful week. To show you how beautiful this week has been I have spent my morning driving around the area where I live to take photos. All of these were taken by me in my car. I didn't get out a single time, but I did make some U Turns and stopped quite a bit. It was fun. I recommend you try it.
Happy Friday! (to enlarge any of the photos simply click on them)
I'm thinking about starting a blog. Do you have any tips for me.
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