Inspirations - Open Book Discussions

Ever since I've started to try and rededicate myself to writing and creating, one of the major problems that I run into is having something to write ABOUT.

At a glance, it's very daunting to think "I'm going to try and produce SOMETHING everyday". You wonder if you will have the ability. If you're going to produce anything worthwhile. You stress whether or not you can even keep yourself going to do it more than a few weeks. 

I can say that one benefit I've given myself to ease my concerns is giving myself a day off on Friday so that I might have a bit more of a set schedule with a day I can rely on. Aside from that, providing myself the "Open Book Discussions" as well as the "Don't Break the Chain" posts gives me a way to break up my thinking so that I'm not dead set on HAVING to produce a constant flow of narrative every day.

Of course, the ironic part is that the more I fall into the habit, the less daunting it seems. In fact, I'm starting to experience something I haven't for a long time. Inspiration. Not twinges of desire to create, but a real, solid hunger to write based on something I see or hear.

Kaleo - Way Down We Go

Here's a great example:

Way Down We Go was a song I heard on the radio that got my blood flowing. The song is amorphous enough that I don't doubt many people might here different things, but the feel for it for me was "Bogs". Maybe it's because of growing up in the Southern United States, but the song makes me think of twisting, overgrown water ways and dark, moonlit swamps with hoodoo witches in the mist. It makes me think of longing and loss and night and monsters hidden in the deep places of the waters and woods.

To that point, it's got me currently beating around SOMETHING inspired by it. Not sure if it's a short story or a flash fiction or what, but you should see something come of it soon.

That brings us nicely to the whole point of the Open Book Discussion:

What are some things that really inspire or have inspired you to create?

It really could be anything. Maybe it's a song (as seen above), or a movie, a book, something someone said, something you saw...really anything! What out there has or does set your soul aflame and make you want to create something new? I'd absolutely love to know!

Writing - Don't Break the Chain post

    "I can't write." Jeremiah said as he banged his head against his closed laptop.
    With a look of disgust, Kenroy stood up from his own computer and walked across the room to his disheartened brother. Grabbing him, by the scruff of the shirt, he got unpleasantly close to Jerry's face.
    "Do you know how to read?"
    "What?" Jerry responded in confusion.
    "I said, 'Do you know how to read?'"
    "Of course I do."
    "So you're literate, then?"
    Jerry pushed back against his brother. Ken released him without complaint but continued to stare dead into his brother's eyes.
    "Are you literate?"
    "Of course I am!" Jerry snapped, his voice raising angrily. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
    "If you literate, than by definition you know how to read and write. If you know how to write, than clearly that's not the actual problem." Ken's face smeared back into a condescending smirk. "Writing anything worth reading is. Now hop to it, nancy boy."
    Jerry swung for a smack across his brother's ear, but his older brother was too fast. With a snide chuckled, Ken was already making his way back from to his own computer where his video games were writing.
    With a sigh, his attention turned to his closed laptop.
    "I hate it when he's right." he mumbled as he slid the top back open.

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(Hey all. So, per my previous post, I'm gonna try something. If I really don't have anything too worthwhile like an open book discussion, a short story, poem, or another chapter, than I will suffix it as a 'Don't Break the Chain post'. These will serve as identifiers that the post in question is literally ANYTHING and I'm using it to make sure I write that day and not let myself get lazy.

They might be good. They might be bad. They might be nothing at all. It's writing practice at the end of the day. I hope you enjoy!)