Blog Posts

N is for Napping: #AtoZChallenge Writing Inspiration

4/16/2014

N is for Napping! Naps are a luxury, but can they actually improve creativity? Researchers studied brain activity during power naps, and found that the right (creativity-associated) side of the brain is surprisingly active during these periods. Another study suggests that dreaming can make you more creative.

I might be making excuses for my sleep patterns, but if it worked for Thomas Edison, it can work for me. How about you? Are you pro-nap?

No napping dogs were disturbed during the writing of this blog.

M is for the Mundane: #AtoZChallenge Writing Inspiration

4/15/2014

By Yvonne Ventresca

Characters on the autism spectrum

Before I get to the letter of the day:
Since April is Autism Awareness Month, I was able to contribute a guest post to YA Highway about autistic characters in teen literature. You can access it here: Characters on the Autism Spectrum. Feel free to comment there instead of on today's post if you wish.

M is for the mundane...

Inspiration can often come from the mundane. If you are creatively stuck, do something boring. Take a shower. Drive on an errand. Go for a walk or a run. Taking a break from your writing and doing something mindless can be a huge boost. I can’t explain the science behind it, but almost everyone has had the experience of solving a problem when they were folding the laundry or brushing their teeth. It just happens.

I joked with my critique group that during the writing of Pandemic, I went out for a run and came back with a baby. During my jog, I started to think about my main character, Lil, as I listened to neighborhood noises. As an infant cried from a nearby home, a new character was born, someone who would further complicate Lil's attempts to survive the deadly outbreak.

So step away from the computer and get your everyday chores done. You can cross some items off your to-do list and you might even become creatively inspired.

L is for Lectures: #AtoZChallenge and Writing Inspiration

4/14/2014

By Yvonne Ventresca

So many inspiring lectures are accessible online.

If you have about five minutes:
Joe Sabia: The technology of storytelling (Quick and interesting)

If you have about twenty minutes:
JK Rowling: The fringe benefits of failure (For Harry Potter fans)
OR
Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from (More innovation-related than story-creating, but still interesting. Maybe we should brainstorm our novels together in a coffee shop?)

If you have over an hour and a box of tissues:
Randy Pausch: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams (Wow.)

Are there any inspirational videos you'd like to recommend?

Doesn't this dog (who resembles Luna) almost look like she is watching inspiring lectures? Either that or she is looking at Grumpy Cat.

K is for King: #AtoZChallenge

4/11/2014

By Yvonne Ventresca

Stephen King's On Writing is one of my favorite writing books. It combines memoir with craft advice in a practical, no-nonsense style. From the spike in his bedroom wall for rejection letters when he was fourteen, to his wife taking the Carrie manuscript from his garbage can, King shares his creative struggles. Each time I read this book, I take something new away from it.

Cover from Goodreads

Some favorite quotes:

On what he learned from writing Carrie: ". . . stopping a piece of work just because it's hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea." (Page 69)

About secondary characters: ". . . no one is 'the bad guy' or 'the best friend' or 'the whore with a heart of gold' in real life; in real life we each of us regard ourselves as the main character. . . ." (Page 189)

On his love of books and reading: "If I have to spend time in purgatory before going to one place or the other, I guess I'll be all right as long as there's a lending library. . . ." (page 96)

If you've read On Writing, did you find it helpful? Do you have a favorite Stephen King novel?

J is for Jealousy: #AtoZChallenge

4/11/2014

By Yvonne Ventresca

Jealousy may not feel like a particularly inspiring emotion. But I think it can be used as a source of motivation. If I'm jealous that a friend is an accomplished musician, I might want to stop and ask myself: why do I care? Am I unhappy in my own creative pursuits? Am I practicing my craft in the same way that she did in order to achieve success? What am I lacking and what can I do about it?

Psychology Today published an article about overcoming jealousy. And there's an interesting post about Four Ways to Use Jealousy for Growth and Personal Gain which begins with this quote from Joan Didion:

"To cure jealousy is to see it for what it is, a dissatisfaction with self..."

Have you ever found jealousy or envy to be motivational?

For Gin Blossom fans, a great article about the band and this song.

I is for Inspiration Sandwich: #AtoZChallenge

4/10/2014

by Yvonne Ventresca

Since my A to Z theme is creative inspiration, the letter "I" just had to be for Inspiration Sandwich by SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy). This is a whimsical book filled with colorful doodles and hand-written pages meant to inspire.

Cover from Goodreads

Excerpt from the official description: a "collection of 43 ways to awaken your creative self, including 'invite someone dangerous to tea,' 'take lots of naps,' and 'make friends with freedom and uncertainty.'"

Have you read any of SARK's books, or other books that are visually inspiring?

H is for Heartbreaker: #AtoZChallenge

4/9/2014

By Yvonne Ventresca

It was summer and my then-boyfriend and I were visiting his friend, Bob, and Bob's girlfriend at a rustic cabin on a lake. We took two canoes, one for each couple, and paddled across the water. The sun was warm on my shoulders and it was one of those picture-perfect days. Then, from some distance away, the other girl's singing broke the silence. She had a lonely, mournful voice that travelled across the water.

"Your love is like a tidal wave, spinning over my head.
Drowning me in your promises, better left unsaid."

Nothing had seemed amiss in their relationship the night before. But when she sang Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker," I knew their relationship was doomed. The grief in her voice was deep and inconsolable.

Months passed. They broke up, as expected, and my own relationship showed signs of being doomed as well. One night before we called it quits, Bob called. He was at the hospital with his ex-girlfriend, who had tried to take her own life.

Decades have passed, and I don't know how her story ultimately ended. But sometimes when I hear "Heartbreaker," sadness comes over me. I remember the girl, her broken heart, that forgotten summer. Music can hold emotion that way, emotion we can use in our writing.

Do certain songs hold poignant memories for you? Do you use music as inspiration in your writing?

Summer 1990

G is for Goldberg: #AtoZChallenge

4/8/2014

by Yvonne Ventresca

G is for Goldberg (Natalie). She's written two books to provide writing inspiration, Wild Mind and Writing Down the Bones. Each chapter is brief, a few pages at most. You can read a quick chapter, get inspired, and still have time to write. I've mentioned writing books on my blog before (5 Writing Books to Get You Unstuck, for example) but I'm always looking for new ones. What authors inspire you?

F is for F Scott Fitzgerald: #AtoZChallenge

4/7/2014

By Yvonne Ventresca

F is for F. Scott Fitzgerald and this inspirational quote:

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat."

You can find more quotes from F. Scott Fitzgerald at BrainyQuote. Do you have a favorite inspiring quote? Please share in the comments. (Hint: visit my blog on April 19th for Q...)

F. Scott Fitzgerald -- Photo in public domain

E is for Emotion: #AtoZChallenge

4/5/2014

By Yvonne Ventresca

For today's inpiration, pick an emotion (dread, curiosity, relief, etc.) and think about how two different characters in your work-in-progress would show that feeling. How do their actions vary? What makes them unique? For more information, here's an article from Angela Ackerman: Writing Emotion: Does Your Hero Shrug, Smile & Frown Too Much? (Do you struggle with this, too?)

For your emotion-themed listening pleasure:

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Forward>>

N is for Napping: #AtoZChallenge Writing Inspiration

M is for the Mundane: #AtoZChallenge Writing Inspiration

Characters on the autism spectrum

M is for the mundane...

L is for Lectures: #AtoZChallenge and Writing Inspiration

K is for King: #AtoZChallenge

J is for Jealousy: #AtoZChallenge

I is for Inspiration Sandwich: #AtoZChallenge

H is for Heartbreaker: #AtoZChallenge

G is for Goldberg: #AtoZChallenge

F is for F Scott Fitzgerald: #AtoZChallenge

E is for Emotion: #AtoZChallenge

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