How do you get back into your muse when life throws one situation after another at you? Like pesky little gnats one interuption after another. Emotions tested, anger, grief, happiness, joy, frustration. What's a writer to do?
I have found life is just that, a continuous string of events. Some good, some bad. It's what we do with them that makes the difference. Every experience we go through is fabulous fodder for writing.
For example:
The article I put up yesterday. Curious information, but WOW! what an idea for a story. I'd never heard of the theory that vampires came into exhistence by chewing on the shrouds of the diseased dead. As well, I'd never heard the thought that by putting a small brick in the mouth of a suspected vampire's mouth it would stop the entity from biting! What a perfect new twist to a story.
With all the interesting things going on in my life the last few months its been very hard to sit down and explore story ideas but now that things have calmed down a bit and emotions are getting on a more even plane, I think there are some ideas I'd like to explore. One is the above mentioned.
Another thing I plan to do to get my imagination running again is check out as many paranormal documentaries as I can. Watching movies, checking out the latest releases-books and movies is always good for descriptions and imagery as well. Mind you, you never want to copy someone else's imagery description--THAT WOULD BE PLAGERISM!--you just want to see how another author handles a scene or action.
I like to watch movies and TV shows and then try to describe, in writing, what is going in a scene such as the shift from human to beast or even a backdrop like a moonlit dense forest scene. I experiment with words and senses to get the feeling of being dropped right into a particular scene.
I love when I read a book and its like I stepped into another world. You know, when you put the book down you need to take a moment to readjust to the 'real' world again. It's that feeling when you wake from a surreal dream and it takes a bit to lose the effects of the dream. A talented author can do the same by using the right words and description. That is my main goal in writing.
But, I digress from my point yet again. Getting back to my muse is all in how I process the experiences of life. How I process and capture the emotions of situations I've gone through and then take all that to create my characters' emotional curves, characterizations and situations tossed upon their shoulders.
Writing is observing what goes on around you and capturing it in the use of the utmost perfect wording to transmit those emotions, images and experiences to grab the reader through page-turning prose.
This is where journaling or dictating comes in. I often will jot down a scene, description, an action I observe or some event that happens for later retrieval. I have recently begun to carry a dictaphone with me. You never know when an idea might stike or you are in a situation where you just can't whip out a pen, paper, or laptop, *grin*
So yes, I've finally gotten past a lot of obstacles that life has tossed my way and hopefully, will get moving on several projects that lay waiting for me to complete. And some great ideas for new project ventures.
I'm off to get ready for work. I hope these thoughts are helpful and inspire you as that really is my goal:)
Talk soon,
D~
