Sorry

No blog post again yesterday.

I'm fighting headaches daily again, and the weather changing is trying to make me sick, and my sleep schedule is all weird again.

And I have no ideas for a blog post right now. I'll probably slip back how often I post... Monday, Wednesday, Friday maybe.

Again, I'm sorry.

So, here for Halloween

It's a kitty. Forgive me?

Inspiration

Ah, Inspiration. Sometimes called the Muse.

Inspiration is where we authors get our ideas from. It's a weekly e-zine that's sent straight to our inboxes and it contains all the idea's we will ever need.

Seriously, though.

Inspiration is Over-rated

If we sat and waited for inspiration to strike us, very few people would ever write a word. 

Yes, sometimes we have sudden bursts of genius, but that doesn't happen enough to rely on it for everyday writing.

So we can't just sit around and wait for inspiration or our muse or the cosmos to hit us over the head with a great story. So, if you can't get on the Inspiration's e-mail list, you have to chase it down and beat it with a stick. How do you do this?

Observe

Watch the world around you. There are billions of people out there doing any number of things, and they are endless fodder for your novels. 

Watch the news. Watch the weather. Eavesdrop on stranger's conversations. Go people-watching at the nearest mall or walmart. 

Ask Questions

Don't just observe. Ask questions. Why did that woman do what she did? What would be the outcome? How could it possibly get worse? Question everything. Ask why? How? Who will it effect? Ask the obvious. Ask difficult questions. The answers may surprise you.

Keep a Journal

Or a notebook. Or anything. Just write down the observations you think are interesting. Write down the questions/answers that you think are good. Write them all down. Cut out clips from newspapers you think are interesting. Press leaves, color, scribble, draw, free write. This is the bucket for catching ideas. Keep it with you wherever you go. 

Well, that's what I have. 

Happy writing. (Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I slept late.)

I have dreams like you, no really.

"Just much less, touchy-feely".

Yeah, I just watched Tangled again. But this is perfect for today's blog post.

Dreams are SO important! You have no idea.

My NaNoWriMo novel this year, Tainted, came from a dream. Really. The dream was a girl (me?) watching the guy she claims as a brother, get burned to death. She (me) is a werewolf. She's so angry, she's beginning to shift. Her human friend tells her she has to run. To get away. That he's not her brother. She (I) took off running. That's when I woke up. That dream was nearly two months ago. It stuck with me. It inspired this novel.

And today, when I got in my six hours of sleep, I remember waking up once from a dream. It had to do with my plot. It was a really good plot idea. I thought "I'll write it down when I wake up for real." Guess what happened? I forgot.

Keep A Journal

Dream journal. I don't have one. I will from now on. This is not the first time I've had a dream where I go "That's a GREAT idea!" go back to sleep, and then forget. Seriously, keep a notebook and pen/pencil by your bed. 

When you wake up, even if you don't recall your dreams, try writing something. Anything. The mind is, for me, much more malleable early in the morning. If you're the opposite and are better at night, do it just before bed. But keep a journal. I have a notebook I carry with me everywhere. I have many ideas crammed in there. And bits of beginnings or middles. I have a list of random sayings from my Junior Year History teacher. He was funny. I have a list of possible chapter titles. 

Some of my ideas are very simple. One simply has a title (Point Taken) and three questions (Martial Arts? Pressure Points? Serial Murderer?) . Another is a title (Nexus) and one question (All magicians in the world connected?) Really, that one's just a magic system. 

Some of these ideas came to me at work. That's why I carry my bag with me everywhere. I also have a pocket sized notebook that I carry in my back pocket at work now, and a pen, obviously. 

I think that's all I have for today. 

Do you keep a journal of any kind?

Sleep is Good

Like, really good.

I work nights, and can't sleep during the day, so if I don't go to bed when I'm exhausted I will be physically incapable of sleeping until the next night.

Now, I know as a writer, especially if you are a WriMo'er sleep is one thing we sacrifice to get our writing done.

I know that.

I've done it.

But please, make some time to sleep. A whole sleep cycle is an hour and a half. Or, sleep in 45 minute increments. Or look up online how long you should sleep.

Because I'm smart and slept the night before I had to work, I could't sleep at all the day before, so when  I finally got home from work, I had been up for over twenty-four hours. I know some people can go 36, or even 48 with no sleep. I am not one of them. Caffeine stops working for me at the twenty-four mark.

Still Not Convinced?

I know the feeling. 

Depending on who you talk to, lack of sleep could be good for creativity. Some people say opposite. But you know what? Sleep deprivation is not good. For anyone. Today was probably the first time I've gotten a full eight-hours in a week. You know how much creative writing I got done during that week? No work on Mortality. Just some character development for Tainted, and most of that was thanks to the NaNoWriMo forums. 

Now imagine if you did that during NaNoWriMo next month. No creative output for a week? Maybe that's been my problem. 

I have never completed a WriMo with 50,000 words. I rarely sleep a full eight hours. Especially now that I work nights. 

So the way I see it, get as much sleep as you need. You'll be more creative. 

Food For Though

What's your view on sleep and creativity?