How can inspiration last forever?

Well I'm not sure if that is possible, but certainly for a lifetime a person may feel inspired.
We get inspired by different things. It helps to be excited, but we can't always be excited - that would be exhausting.
I find that reading out loud helps me think and also makes me excited about my work. I may try and post a video soon or a recording of me speaking a passage aloud. Something fun and different for these posts for sure.

I have not had much to do the past few days. School has not given me too much although I am excited for it. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am taking my first creative writing class: fiction writing. We have done an alphabet list and a small prompt so far.
The prompt was a picture and we were supposed to explain it with a story that had a beginning and end in a page. Very short, very difficult on the fly, but a good challenge for a writer.
The alphabet list is a way to generate ideas. We write a noun for each letter and these must be words that have importance to us. They must have some story behind them in some way.

I'll give you a sample:

A for "Astrology"
B for "Button"
C for "Cliff"

and so on until you get down to Z.
Then when you're low on inspiration you pull out your list and think well I wrote "button" for B, let me write a story about a button or something button-inspired.

"Henry was always losing his buttons. On his coat, on his jeans, on his shirts. There were frayed bits of thread where the buttons should have been, they just weren't. It had gotten so bad that he took care to buy things that were buttonless, but it was difficult to do and terribly impractical. He didn't like going underdressed to his business office. The others would stare if he showed up in a t-shirt and drawstring pants. This thought paralyzed Henry so much that he worked from home as often as he could which was why he was at home when the strange visitor knocked on his door."

............and that is how a story can manifest. Try it on your own and see what you can come up with

The More You Learn, The More You Know

So I'm super excited to tell you that I am taking my first writing class ever!
I've never taken a writing class before, although I tried to in high school, but they put me in sociology instead. Then the school took away the class. It was disappointing, but my senior year, my english teacher let us write creatively at the very end of the year. That was exciting, so multiply that by a hundred and now I'm jumping for joy.

There is so much I don't know about the craft. You can learn a lot about yourself and your writing, but a teacher is a guide that can make quick and drastic improvements. Of course everyone learns in different ways and it isn't necessary to take a class to write, but there is a lot to say about feedback. An outside eye can do wonders.

So twice a week I get to be in a class with other writers for "Fiction Writing" and I can't help the grin that stretches across my face. I feel giddy that I can take a class about writing!

Assignments are submitting writing prompts and then we have two short stories to turn in over the course of the semester. Their only supposed to be about ten pages which is really short, but it will be a good way for me to be concise and work on technique.

Have you ever taken a writing class and was it helpful for you?

Internet digging and Idea scraps

One of the things that I love to do is some easy research. Research that is fun and enlightening. There are many ways to conduct research on the internet - the easiest is to use google and type in a search word. Then you just scroll through results, clicking on sites that have your key word or sound interesting.

A recent thing that I searched for were ancient weapons because I have a story about demon children. I wanted there to be weapons from other ages and different places because it would add depth to the story. These demon children aren't just American and they have been around for a long time. Plus my knowledge is limited on weapons so I can do more in-depth research later on appearances of these weapons. Some of my favorites so far are: falchion, flamberge, claymore, pitchfork, rapier, and crossbow. I can take these and make them more magical by either making them cursed or forged with certain properties.

Another fun thing to do is search for character names. I usually use a baby name generator because if you want to symbolically use a name or are looking for an unfamiliar name then there are plenty online.

Sometimes I am struck by a small idea, but I don't know how to use it. So I keep a small journal that is easy to carry around and jot down these random thoughts. Then if I find a place where it is useful or needed I have the initial details that I thought of.

A Week By Any Other Name...

Busy as a bee.
So, there are two questions that I get asked a lot.

Where do you get your ideas?
and
How did you become a writer?

Ideas are everywhere. It's not some poetic or metaphorical truth, that's just how it is. There are so many things that you can learn from everyday experiences. Often I start a story by just thinking about how fun it would be if something happened and then I go from there. I start with one small idea and it can grow.
One of the things that I love to do is listen and watch everything that is going on around me. It is important to pay attention to what you see like a bird fanning its wings or the expression on someone's face.
I also draw from my own experiences. I have this document of experiences: fever, sadness, food poisoning, desire to name a few. When something happens to me (if I am being present in the moment), I try to pay attention to how I feel. What are the physical sensations (touch, taste)? What am I thinking? What do I hear? What do I see (or not see, as the case may be)?
I try to capture that experience in words so that if I ever want to use that experience in a story I have notes to refer back to. "So this is what a fever felt like, this is how I want my character to express it."

Second question - I became a writer because I love to write. It's a little simple to say that, but for the most part it is the truth. Writing comes easily and even when I'm frustrated I can find some enjoyment. Reading what I write is also enjoyable, especially saying the words out loud and hearing the flow as they leave my lips.
I've always been a writer since I could write. I wrote in elementary school. There were small journals that I would record fanciful tales that lasted only a few pages. These were my first attempts. If I look back at what I have done and compare it to where I am then I can see the improvement - I can see the transition from meager stories to detailed novels.

Week 9

Wow and I almost forgot to post this. I guess things are busy for me. Although it is the end of the summer, there is so much moving with literal boxes and people. It's all a whirlwind, but that's life. So I hope that everyone is well and enjoying the start of August.

The angels can bond with a partner while they are young.
Angels may choose a partner from four lovely options: gryphons, unicorns, pegasi, and dragons.

There is a reason that these are the four creatures that will bond with angels since there are several other magical creatures on this island. A sphinx will not bond with an angel partially because a sphinx can't fly, but also because they're very independent and wouldn't answer to anyone.

Here are some drawings I have of gryphons and unicorns: