Media Inspiration Please

Hey, everyone? How's tricks (or basically, how are things going for you as of this moment)?

Today, I wanted to talk about why I watch what I watch and read what I read. I like to be inspired by things, and I think inspiration can come from anywhere at any time, if you're paying attention and willing to look.

When I watch TV, I like watching things (mostly reality TV) about people doing stuff I can't do, or stuff I want to do in a madly obsessed way, or things I'm remotely interested in.

I love cooking show competitions because in another life, I would be ALL ABOUT having a restaurant (fun fact: I like coming up with restaurant concepts and catch phrases, just cause. AND, I might be doing something with that eventually). Right now, I love

Hell's Kitchen

Master Chef

Top Chef (in all the ways it comes)

The Great Food Truck Race (Cannot explain my <3 for food trucks = EPIC)

I love really any competition that has something to do with being creative (see my <3 for Project Runway and Platinum Hit).

And I even love watching things I would never be caught dead watching on my own, so big thank you's to my dad and fiancé. They make me watch anything and everything on A&E--and I do love me some Storage Wars).

When I read, I want to be inspired by amazing authors who say things in new ways, by plots that I would never think of ever ever, and by books that keep me mesmerized for days. A lot of people I read about on these writer blogs get performance anxiety from reading something amazing. They say a lot of "Wow, I can just give up now because I'm never going to be that awesome."

I think that the exact opposite of what it should do. Amazing people, in any capacity, should inspire you to bring new things to your writing, to write differently than you thought was "acceptable," and to want to be better and the next big awesome thing.

So now, I ask, what inspires you? Photographs, TV shows? Movies? Amazing, amazing books? All of the above? Something not mentioned? Let me know below.

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Daisy" by Brand New off of their album Daisy . 

I cannot explain to you in human words how much I love Brand New. They are practically untouched as my favorite band. If you can't get inspired by their lyrics, check your pulse. (that sounded pushy, but I am way passionate about them. Sigh).

Tempo Tuesday Story and Note to All

I've decided to do another Tempo Tuesday. Because I like them, and it's Tuesday, and I like music. So here we go.

Remember, I got the songs by doing a shuffle, taking the first five songs that I know well from it, writing those down, and coming up with a loose plot from meshing what all of the songs offer.

Here are the songs. "So Cold (Acoustic)" by Breaking Benjamin. I much prefer the acoustic to the regular version. It's feels desolate. Lyrically beautiful. And I love how his voice seems to crack on the words in this version. Sigh.

"Make Me Feel" by Amanda Perez. Talks about how she knows this is love because of how it makes her feel.

"Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band. Fun song. Getting antsy looking at a girl dressed in leather and lace…and wanting to grab her. Still a fun song. Makes me want to do the twist. I only watched a sec of this video, and it's ridiculous. Enjoy.

"Face Down" Red Jump Suit Apparatus. Best band name, right? I just like this song. It's high energy, but it's about domestic abuse (physical).

"Let's Get Married" by Jagged Edge. Self-explanatory. Ironically serves for a happy ending. I swear I feel like my iPod is cheating sometimes.

Let's see what we can do…

James wakes up every day feeling haunted. Every room he enters automatically goes down 15 degrees. He can see his breath when he talks, but only when he's alone. So he knows, after years of dealing with this, that he's never really alone, and whatever is with him is causing the temperature to dip.

One night, James grows frustrated and decides if he's going to be haunted, he should at least make the ghost useful. He asks it to show itself, tell him how it'll all end and to help him get Amanda to be with him.

The ghost shimmers to life, and she's beautiful. Her name is Ellisa, and she talks to him. He's mesmerized, and she tells him she's more than just a ghost. But she can't explain what else she is in his terms. She also agrees to tell him and help him as she can because James is the only one that has made her feel something.

Out of nowhere, Amanda appears, or a sluttier version of her. James is frightened, and the new Amanda really likes him. REALLY likes him and comes on strong. But this Amanda also tells him she can't be with him until he helps her get rid of the man who's been hurting her, her current boyfriend Ken.

James, with the help of his "ghost" Ellisa, figure out a plan to help Amanda with Ken, and it works. Amanda is free from abuse and is free to be with James. They marry, but all James feels is that he wishes he could have been with Ellisa.

Yeaaah. What'd you all think? I think eh, but it's okay I suppose. I'd love to see someone else do this challenge some Tuesday. Let me know if you up for it. (and let me read it because I would like that lol).

Has anyone ever used something like this to move their plot along? Or to make a plot in the first place? I'd be interested to know below.

And I have also given you several songs to write by :)

OH, and look out for a "My book is now available" announcement very soon. SO EXCITED!!! (yay)

Dream Harvesting: A How To

I've talked a lot on here about how I take a lot of my book ideas straight from dreamland. The dreams I have are vivid, and they always leave a lingering impression on me, even if I can't remember any of the specifics.

I'm sure some of you out there have been like me and have had a wonderful dream only to have it leave your mind by the time you try to write it down. Well, I wanted to use today's blog post to talk about some tips on how to get your dreams to paper so that you can use all that great material in your own writing.

1. If you want to make your dreams echo something you're currently working on--or, better yet, if you have a vague idea about what you want to write about but you know you need to explore it more, try concentrated thinking before you fall asleep. For the last 20 minutes or so before you officially conk out, try to solely think about the element you want to include in your book or your current WIP. This will make your dreams more likely to be in some way or another focused on what you'd like.

2. When you first wake up, use the tried and true method of having paper and a pen IMMEDIATELY available to you by your bedside. This is extremely important because dreams are fleeting, and your brain, from the moment you wake up, is practically re-writing what you remember of the dream you just had. That's not too horrible, but regardless of how much you self-edit your dream subconsciously, the most important part is to write EVERYTHING down that you can remember. Get these things down (listed in order of importance):

            a. Actions: Who did what and why

            b. Setting: this will probably be the most original part of your dream, and can be extremely helpful to you in your writing process.

            c. Feelings/vibe: make yourself describe the mood of your dream. This may help jar your memories of a and b.

3. Process your notes. What you've just written down may seem like gibberish when you read it over. In this step, fill in the gaps you've just made, elaborate on what you remember, and embellish what you've already written. That's the fun of the dream harvest process. The dream is the starting point. Keep your dream notes in tact and write off of them in this step, brainstorming real story lines from the little bits and pieces you've remembered. Where can you take these actions, settings, and vibes with a narrative? What cool ideas would this spark?

This is pretty much exactly my process when I conduct my own dream harvest. Do you do something similar/completely different? Let me know what works for you in the comments, and if you haven't tried it, I am the first to say that I think that you should!

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Save You" by Kelly Clarkson. So pretty. It's dark and slow, and one of my favorites by her. 

Tempo Tuesday Story Time

Today I’ve decided to completely give myself over to the muse that is music and do a Tempo Tuesday song list for us all to write by (I’m doing 5 songs, because…as I’ve said in the past, odd numbers make everything better for me.)

1. “Through Glass” by Stone Sour. I was OBSESSED with this song when it came out. I think I know it forwards and backwards and any in any other applicable angle. Mood: Quietly controlled confusion; asylum music

2. “I’m Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” by Black Kids. Mood: Upbeat Upset

3. Paramore’s Cover of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” Mood: searching, wanting to be wanted

4. “Killing Me Softly” by The Fugees. I love literally any rendition of this song. Literally. Mood: Quiet Upset, desperation, love fear

5. “Dancing With Tears in My Eyes” by Kesha. Mood: Angst, self-blame

Now to turn these into a short storyline, in the order in which I’ve listed them. (Note: I came up with the song list before I thought about making it into a narrative. It wouldn’t have been fun if the songs were picked/orchestrated to be a story, don’t you agree?)

Girl A in an asylum, unsure of why she’s there, falls in love with a Girl B. But Girl B loves Boy who befriends Girl A. Boy needs Girl A’s help to woo Girl B. Girl A refuses, but after a time, she just wants to be needed by anyone so she agrees to help Boy, if only to see Girl B happy. It’s killing her inside to see it or even hear about it, but she knows it’s her own fault for helping, so she’ll teach Boy how to get Girl B, even if she can’t see through the tears in her eyes to do it.

What do you all think? I’d love to see other people have a list and make a narrative out of it. I think I’ll keep Tempo Tuesday in mind to be a regular on this blog.  So here are the (self-explanatory) rules if you want to carry on Tempo Tuesday:

1. Shuffle around on your music player and come up with a list of five songs
2. List a mood or marker for each song just in case the reader hasn’t heard it before or doesn’t have time to listen to the video
3. Make up a story line using your songs as plot point inspiration.

Link to your own Tempo Tuesday in the comments. I’d love to read them!

P.S. I <3ed the comments left on yesterday's post. Everyone left really great tips on how to pace yourself when trying to reach writing goals. Very helpful stuff. Thanks y'all!

Most Wanted Book Plots: I'd like lots of these, please.

Reader Request Sheet:

Today, I’m writing a list of books I want to see/read. It’s a wish list of sorts, and while I may be considering writing some of them in the future to satisfy my wordy desires, I would LOVE for you to fill them in with some books already in existence, thereby forever earning my eternal gratitude and thanks.

1. I want a 20 something paranormal romance. Yes, they are out there, but I want a “New Adult” one where I can say OMG and WOWZA and that could be me because so and so just graduated college and is awkward and is scared of being a real adult still…plus magic! Sounds amazing to me. (And here’s a post on “New Adult” that I found interesting by Kat Zhang at The Katacomb)

2. I want a “New Adult” straight up romance that isn’t overdone, has a MC that isn’t annoying and has a MMC (main male character) that doesn’t make me hate him with a fiery passion. I want a MMC that I’d actually want the MC to get with, and if he’s hard to get, all the better.

3. I want a really, really (REALLY) good contemporary YA series. Longstanding, preferably. Sure, every paranormal YA book is the beginning of a series (and mine is no different…ahem…), but I want to see one with real people/teens doing real life things, while also keeping my interest. Tall order?

4. I want a really good YA horror. I mean I want it to scare my boots off but have teenage protagonists. I want to be disturbed by it. Please. I love horror, but I haven’t seen it much in YA…that is, not counting the “Oh, the male love interest is a ghost and is wicked hot” storyline.

5. I want a magical realism YA where the MFC (main female character) is crazy awesome, bad-A, no apologies hardcore and DOESN’T want to be with anybody romantically…BUT, she gets tempted a lot. I love a good “I shouldn’t have him” internal struggle.

As you can see, I am a romance junkie. Romance makes the book go round for me, and those books practically turn the pages for themselves when I’m reading them (if they manage to hook me).

So this is my own little public service announcement: If you’ve read anything like any of the things I’ve asked for, please (pretty, pretty) let me know. And if you’re writing one of these now, also let me know, and I will be a complete cheerleader for you. For reals. On this blog, for a long time.

Now to leave with you a song to write by, “Last Christmas” by Roses Are Red, because I only crave Christmas songs when it’s awkward for everyone involved. (And Christmas songs in winter are so last year. --->and so is that phrasing, I’m sure. )

Muse Call

I was asked by a wonderful blogger/Twitter personality Violeta Nedkova to write a small entry on her blog about who my muse is, what he/she is called, and my relationship to my muse. She's compiled entries from all kinds of bloggers on her site, and I really encourage you to check it out! Here's a link to part one of her compilation, and here's part two (where I am). (And follow her on Twitter, because she's the bee's knees at keeping on top of the writing world on there).

This is my entry (in poetry form, but it's in prose on Violeta's site):

Ode to a Nameless Muse

By K.D.

When I try to write, he sleeps,

tranquil as my mind frets

over the how-to’s, the kisses, the angst,

the constant struggle to get my characters from here to there.

When I try to sleep, he calls me,

always collect,

angry,

filled with passion;

begging me to pay attention to him as my dreams call me.

He is a tangle;

I am a pawn.

But our music that is manuscript

is beautiful

when we work

together.

We fight.

His time is his; my time is his.

When I want to write, he can’t fathom it.

But he wins

because he’s smarter,

more talented,

and more driven than me,

especially at four in the morning. 

Let me know what you think, and (again) be sure to check out all the other entries!

Now, to leave you with a song to write by, "How To Write a Love Song" by Axis of Awesome. HIGHLARIOUS and could quite possibly teach you how not to write a romance as well as a love song (or how to do such if you want it to be generic). Enjoy!

3 Writing Quotes/ 3 Writing Prompts

Today, I decided to leave you with some #sixwords entries. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the hash-tag "#sixwords" is how people on Twitter share with other people their stories and ideas that can be conveyed in exactly six words. It's been kind of an obsession of my lately (as I have already written 7 writing prompts using the six word technique in a previous post). So today, I'm giving you all 3 #sixwords on writing (about it and the process) and 3 #sixwords that can be used as writing prompts to help generate your own stories.

On Writing:
    
     Writing can't be stopped, nor finished.
    
     Writing longhand pulls words from fingertips.

     Ideas burn brain cells; writing replenishes.

Writing Prompts:

     Your eyes show me what's broken.

     Turning the key, I entered Hell.

     Only dreams can bring us closer.

Hope you enjoyed them! Now, I leave you with another song to write by, "Girl Anachronism" by The Dresden Dolls. I know this song forwards, backwards, and sideways, and when I'm writing crazy chaos, this is where I go.

Idea Generator Worksheet

Lately I’ve really interested in idea generating. I know how I come up with ideas (dreams, TV splicing, ideas just running wild, “what I would do if…”s), but I wanted a more formulaic way to go about generating ideas.

I, for one, think everything becomes more interesting when you give yourself parameters. I heard somewhere that people are hindered by too much writing freedom (which sounds scary), but basically what it boiled down to is that when you have too many options you might feel burdened by that freedom and thereby be unable to perform whatever writing task. Do I agree with this? No, not completely, but it makes for interesting thinking.

What could you write if you were giving unreasonable parameters to write it in? Could you combine a sci-fi/ western sounding romance set in the future that’s oddly like the past (hey, I kind of like that…lol)? Would it suck? These are the questions, people.

Here’s what I’m thinking for idea generation, and I hope you do it without reading it all first so your subconscious doesn’t sabotage you.

List 4 fiction genres: (1^st ones that come to mind) [*Scroll to the bottom for genre list, if needed*]

1.

2.

3.

4.

List 2 phobias/fears:

1.

2.

List 2 objects: (you don’t have to make them related, but you can)

1.

2.

Now, take genres #1 and #4 and combine them on a brainstorming sheet with phobia/fear #2 and object #1. How can all of these things interact and become a cohesive story? Think of it as a puzzle that only you can solve (*cue superhero music*).

Now take genres #2 and #3 and write them down on a sheet with phobia #1 and object #2. Brainstorm ideas for this set. How can they be pushed together to make a story worth reading?

What format of writing you chose to do is up to you. You could stretch it out novel length (Good luck! J ) or make a short story or poem with your ingredient list.

Here are some questions to think about:

1. Is the object the cause of the phobia/fear?
2. How many main characters are affected by the phobia/fear? Is it specific to the MC (main character) or is the phobia/fear an epidemic?
3. Can the object save the MCs from the phobia/fear?
4. If one of the genres is romance, does the MC need help by the love interest to overcome his or her phobia/fear? If one of the genres is horror, did the object cause the phobia/fear or does the MC(s) cling to the object to protect them from the phobia/fear?
5. What sets off this story? Is the phobia/fear or object the catalyst for how the story begins?

Do you have to do the exercise? Absolutely not, but I thought it sounded like a fun way to come about getting ideas. Let me know if it works out for you or how you tweaked it to make it applicable to your writing style. 

*Here’s if you need help with a fiction genre list (and without a doubt, I’m forgetting a lot): (P.S. I didn’t include sub-genres, because you’ll be combining two of these genres anyways)

Romance

Sci-fi

Horror

Thriller

Suspense

Contemporary

Diary-like faux memoir/Confessional

Action

Historical

Fairy Tale

Religious

Medicine

YA

Supernatural/Ghost (that’s not necessarily sci-fi or horror)

Now, I'll leave you with a video to write by, "Dead Skin" by Crossfade <3

7 Writing Prompts (in 6 words each)

I've been obsessed with the #sixwords hash-tag lately (check out #sixwords here). Snippet stories are really inspiring to me so I decided to write several today and offer them up as writing prompts. Feel free to use them as jump-offs to stories or how ever you feel they would work for you. If you do use them, please leave a comment with a link to what you wrote. I'd love to see it! Have a great Tuesday, everybody!

Here's some inspiration through song "I'm Walking This Road Because You Stole My Car (Don't Go)" by Fascinoma: