When Inspiration Hits...

It was 1am Friday night.

That's when the story idea hit.

I was dead tired, but I couldn't fall asleep.

That's the way it goes sometimes.

If I finished all the story ideas I've started, I'd have at least thirty novels under my belt. Now, admittedly, many of these stories are not that great, which is why the currently reside in literary limbo. I always think the genesis of the stories is good, either the main character or the theme or the conflict--all have positive and interesting points. Sometimes, I'll get a couple of those points to run together, but something is usually missing. I'll begin writing the story hoping the other elements come to mind and I can keep going.

That's the problem (or, one of them...). Things don't come to mind. I wouldn't call it "writer's block" necessarily. I think of writer's block when you can't write, even though you know the story you want to tell. I may definitely be wrong about this--writer's block may be as unique a situation as there are writers. An author friend of mine doesn't believe in writer's block. He says it's just a matter of a writer stopping to write. Technically, he's right.

I've always found the term "writer's block" to be a convenient excuse.

Last week, I had the opposite problem--I had writer's express lane. I was so tired. Maybe it was because I had been up all day and did things to get ready for a party, for Thanksgiving--I don't know, but whatever it was, the ideas, the plot, the conflicts, the word play, the stories within the story, they all came rushing at me. I tried sleeping, but it didn't come. Eventually, I slipped off to dreamland.

Maybe I was dreaming and just thinking I was awake, because when I woke up Saturday morning, the idea was still there, but the story wasn't as strong as it seemed to be the night before. I didn't let that stop me from beginning it. I'm glad I did because ideas began to come to me as I started the first chapter. Yes, I could do that. Yes, I could make these characters be this way or that way. I even came up with something that didn't come to me the night before. It was a big step and something that needed to be figured out.

I've had ideas come to me before like they did last Friday. Sometimes I remember them--sometimes I don't. Last week was just another example of what happens when inspiration hits.

Inspiration...From Inspiring Places

Las week at this time I was in a city about fifty miles to the south of where I am right now. It's called Provo, Utah. Maybe it's just me, but I don't believe a lot of people are indifferent to the city. It's one of those places you either love, or do not love.

Personally, I think it's a beautiful valley with a shimmering blue lake to the west and incredible mountains to the east (I still like the mountains in Weber County better, but that's just personal preference...). Each day I was at the writing retreat I took a break and went up to a small canyon just east of my friend's house. It's called Rock Canyon.

And it's incredible.

I took my camera and tried to get some good pictures. Of course, it's impossible to capture the true beauty of a place with a camera because being there--living it--is part of what makes the experience so memorable. 

Taking a daily hike also helped my writing. I had sent my main character on a trip through a rocky, barren canyon from Jericho to Jerusalem. I've never been to this area of the world myself, but if you do a google search, as I did, a lot of Rock Canyon looks like the area thousands of miles away. It helped me write the scene. It put me there. And if you've ever tried writing something--creating something, you know how important a spark of inspiration can be.

So, if you've never been up to Rock Canyon directly east of the Provo Temple, here's a couple of pictures. I really didn't go up very far. Next time I need to explore more.

Rush...Timeless, And Simply Amazing!

I met an international best selling author and Rush fan at the Salt Lake Comic Con FanX last month. I knew Kevin J. Anderson was a best selling author. I had no idea what music he liked.

Back in the day I used to listen to a lot of music. In fact, I even attended many, many rock concerts, back when I was younger and when concerns didn't cost a lot of money. I even found some of my concert tickets from some of the Rush concerts I attended 30 plus years ago.

Can you believe it used to only cost $10 or $12.50 to see live acts?

Yes, there was a time when this was true.

During the week I listen to something almost all day long. When I figured out how to download and play podcasts, I went a little crazy. And when I realized how much I could "read" by listening to audiobooks, I went crazy again. Basically for the past few years, I've only listened to audiobooks and podcasts.

But at Comic Con I attended a talk given by Kevin and he talked about how he became a best selling author. He explained how much the band Rush influenced him, so much so, he's now collaborating with Neil Peart on literary projects. 

How cool is that?

Answer--pretty cool!

Because I've got a goal to get a novel written by next September, I decided to put on the Best of Rush and do some writing.

Listening to that music transported me to my childhood when we'd put the albums on my mom's record player and listen to Rush in my mom's front room with my friends, the speakers my dad made blasting the poetry and sheer art that is Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.

Thanks Kevin for the suggestion!

Apparently, 30 years ago from this upcoming Wednesday was a Monday...