A Treatise Dipped in Dark Chocolate

{via}

"I went into her closet. I pushed past the coats to open the safe. I moved the gun out of the way. I took a chocolate bar: Balanchine Special Dark. I put the gun back. I closed the safe."

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

What if we lived in a world where chocolate is contraband. A world that meant we all had to skulk around in hidden corners and alleyways, quietly tearing a corner wrapper of our Choxie Special Dark? What if the police could spot you on the street, and arrest you at the mere inkling, or smell of cacao on your breath? How about extra special speakeasy's planned surreptitiously in dark bars down historic side streets that once gleamed with freedom. (I would actually love that). What if the news consisted of crazed humans, eyes bloodshot for Herseys, M & Ms, dark chocolate covered Espresso beans, and glances that seem to giveaway that they know when the next chocolaty infraction will occur. How about cocoa sold by the bottle, manufactured in bathtubs hidden in secret dens somewhere, beneath cold solid buildings that we pass everyday. If you couldn't go to the store and pick up your favorite chocolate bar because the law deemed it illegal to produce, purchase, or gift, what would you do?

I write this entirely made up scenario, courtesy of being enamored by All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin, to propose a great 'what if' to the things that we take for granted. The simple things. The things we never expect to have to choose, give up, or watch in horror as they are stripped away from us. That last is an exaggeration, given the improbable scenario above, but my desire is to merely encourage you to enjoy the simple things in life. Be grateful for them, long for them, take part in them proudly, whatever they may be to you. Sure, the possibility of such an event occurring seems slim, but you never know what could happen in a blink. Celebrate everything. Love and embrace the magic of every moment. Take the time to really taste, listen, feel, touch every significant thing God brings into your life. And by all means, get out there and buy some chocolate!

This is my treatise to Dark Chocolate.

This is my treatise to summer and to YOLO (because I've only recently found out what it means.)

These are the words of a nut with a crazy imagination, enamored with others who have crazed imaginations.

Happy Summer.  

Inspira-Pad: Several Reasons I Love My iPad

Around a month ago, I can home to the very AWESOME SURPRISE of an iPad from my parents, and I haven't been able to separate from it since. I'll admit that I wondered how it would surpass the love I already had for my Mac, but when I started to explore everything I could do with it, I was pretty much SOLD. Here are my highlights:

Nylon for iPad

Nylon was one of the first iPad apps I downloaded, wondering what it would be like to read my favorite magazine electronically. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Not only do you view Nylon in pristine HD clarity, the iPad mag is filled with awesome goodies that enhance the print version. Scattered throughout are behind the scenes videos from featured photoshoots and interviews, tap through features that go right to the websites of the brands you love,and links to preview featured music straight away.

YouVersion Bible

YouVersion is one of the best Bible applications on the net, what with loads of translations to choose from, note taking, and connections to various studies, you'll always be refreshed in God on the go!

Flipboard

I cannot say enough about this amazing social networking application. Not only does it link up your various networking accounts, it organizes them into a stunning magazine-like interface, highlighting important posts across the board. There's no better way to keep up with all of my blogging/tweeting/tumbling faves!

Barnes & Noble Nook/ Amazon Kindle/ Apple iBooks

Can I tell you how awesome it is to finally have every single e-novel you own, no matter the carrier, in one place? Finally, I'm free to to purchase from any bookseller! But one thing that makes reading novels on the iPad extra special, are the additions that publishers include with iPad versions. Two awesome examples are Penguin's On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and the newly released Young Adult novel Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral ($6.99). The iPad edition of On the Road ($16.99) not only gives you the brilliant novel, but unseen peeks into Jack Kerouac's life, old photographs, sound bites of his own recordings, and interactive maps that trace his journey within the novel. With the novel Chopsticks, you get to experience a completely different interpretive expression of what a novel is. Told in stunning photographs, old news paper clippings, and music clips, this haunting love story allows you to interact with the story. You can sort though photographs, watch instant message conversations as if you are privvy to their private moments, and more. (I'll have a more in depth review of Chopsticks on Novel Days very soon). Though it doesnt replace print, it definitely compliments it.

Diaries/ Organizers

I feel, for the first time, that I have a shot at being an efficient blogger. I don't know what it is about these little devices, but they make you want to be more organized. Reminders and Calendar are pretty awesome organizers. I've since begun to plan posts for my various blogs well ahead of time, and it feels so good!

For my lovely Fashion Bloggers out there, you'll love Christian Dior's, Dior Addict Diary. It's such a beautiful planenr, with a new gorgeous photograph accompanying each day. (Con: There are some glitches, which include deleting past entries at times. I just record my plans in both Calendar, and Dior).

NoteShelf

As you all may know, I'm crazy for journals! I love personalizing them, pasting in photographs, getting out my glittery pens and going to town! NoteShelf ($5.99) allows me to do just that on the iPad. Of course, it does not  take the place of print journaling, but every year, I try and find a different way to journal...this allows me to explore a new form! NoteShelf allows you to create loads of journals, choose different kinds of pages, from simple lined/plain, to notation or even sports centric interfaces. The shot above is a picture of what I'm calling my LookBook: all of my style inspirations/loves in one place.  Another awesome app is Bamboo Paper! Perfect for all of you artists out there! Bamboo has even created a Stylus especially for this application.

iAWriter

For all my writers out there who tire of bringing their laptops with them everywhere, you will love iAWriter ($8.99). It offers a clean, writing space, for undisturbed writing! I love it. Makes it easy to flesh out your characters, or that new string of dialogue, or even record fresh ideas into an application that doesn't seem un-user friendly.

I've named my iPad, Celia, a.k.a the Inspira-Pad, because I literally carry all of my inspirations with me. Within seconds, I can jot an idea down, view beautiful photography, listen to my favorite music, or watch wonderful films. It has most of the tools needed to get to work, and bring out the productivity in you (the networking problem will never be eliminated ;-)).

Take on the Monolith: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.

A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled. 

As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.

A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s—1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

-Amazon

I cannot tell you how excited I am for the release of Haruki Murakami's latest masterpiece, 1Q84 on October 25th!  There was a kind of mysterious allure around this novel that first intrigued me enough to learn more about it. There were so many awesome reviews about it from those who got the chance to read this in Japan, that expectancy soon grew here in America. Really, I wanted to read a novel that would pose a challenge to finish by the end of the year. I'm sure that 1Q84 cannot be the challenge that War and Peace would pose, but it's up there with a whopping 944 pages of pure Murakami lyricism. It's one of those novels that the bibliophile in me, can't wait to hold, and stare at the cover for a while before I read. Hardcovers will do that to a person!

Haruki Murakami is known for mythologizing his native Japan, creating worlds where hidden beautiful magic can rise from the cracks at anytime, blending realities, and opening characters up to dual realms. He's one of my writing inspirations because the music of his words cannot be denied. His writing is simplistic and yet sensational, which suits his extraordinary themes that are often tinged with bleak hopefulness. I have an appreciation for Japanese writers, because from my observations, they have a penchant for turning the ordinary world into something extraordinary with beauty and color. I desire to imbue my own writing with this wonderful talent. After reading Sputnik, Sweetheart, I vowed to read all of his work, and so I jumped at the chance to be a part of the release of 1Q84. 

It's interesting that he uses George Orwell's 1984 as inspiration. I'm a HUGE fan of dystopian literature. However, knowing Murakami, he promises to make this an unpredictable ride that makes you think, that frightens you a little bit, and that makes you want to forge through with Tengo and Aomame. (Of course, I'm always the softy for a romance!). I'm looking forward to reading late into the night with an incredulous expression on my face, shaking my head.

Are any of you looking forward to 1Q84? What are your favorite Murakami works?

Late Nights in The Arena!!!

Hello Darlings!

A few posts ago, I mentioned a website that I was in the process of launching to get my writing out into the world. Last Saturday, I launched Late Nights in the Arena on tumblr, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Although, I've never been published, upon seeing my work posted I reacted with that kind of excitement. It's crazy what happens when you see your work in 'serious' looking text somewhere. Very addictive! I'd like to give a personal shooting star to my editor Tessa (wink, wink), for all of the patience she has in weeding out my repetitive words, and comma faux-pas's. God knew I was going to be a writer, so He's placed an awesome 'grammatical blood hound' in my life. 

 My first short is called 'I Just Want to Walk with You.' Each short will be inspired by a song, so this one's inspired by 'Before We Know'-All Young Girls Are Machine Guns, a ukulele band based out of Omaha. (There's a post about her coming up soon!)

If you would like to see my writing set in chimera, feel free to visit my latest project and let me know what you think! I'm already at work on the next short. You know something's supposed to happen when you're in the shower, you start hearing the narrative flowing in your mind, and you've got to jump out of the shower to find a pen or hope Text Edit opens before you forget!

I hope you guys are having a great weekend so far!

Keep dreaming and Trust the Lord Jesus, for He loves and cares for you!

Uke|Affairs Cover: I Hate Seagulls by Kate Nash and Updates

Hello Dearies!

I would like to thank you all so much for keeping up with me even though I tend to disappear from time to time. Thus is the life of a postgraduate. During Easter break, I was a bit frantic with research, Wuthering Heights, and my own writing. SEVENTEEN THOUSAND WORDS worth of writing, Ladies and Gentlemen. But, I'm so glad that's over with!

I thought I'd pop in with a ukulele video today. It's a cover of Kate Nash's 'I Hate Seagulls.' It's also my first time fingerpicking on the ukulele. Oh my gosh, that is a bit like patting your head, and rubbing your stomach, and in the video you can tell I'm concentrating on that. Not happy about that, but I'm progressing, and I couldn't be more chuffed. I hope you guys enjoy it... even though, I messed up. 

(also, much love to Megan of Charade Style, for commenting on my previous ukulele video post! She is one of my blogging inspirations and I'm not even sure how she knows about Forelsket, never the less, check out  her blog. It's amazing!)

I've been working a great deal on my writing as of late. I have huge plans to hone in my grammar skills, and really crank out that crazy|beautiful prose that I see myself producing in the future. With this in mind, I've decided to stop hiding, finally, and create a blog dedicated to my writings. Feel free to check out Late Nights in the Arena, my new writing tumblr, which will hopefully be the title of a collection of shorts I'm writing. This group of shorts will each be inspired by one song. Feel free to message me with constructive criticism and love, if you love it!

Now that I have a bit more free time, I'll definitely be updating more often: book reviews, dreamscapes, and overall chimera back in effect!

You all have a fabulous weekend!

"Crystalize Your Conscience"

Sea Blue
Sam Bradley




(feel free to substitute 'writing' with your gifting)

Sometimes my mind races so quickly regarding this that it's no wonder I've rendered myself unable to write creatively. Writing seems an epic feat, that only few are chosen to operate in. We have turned the mere concept of an art form into something as tenebrous as a conversation with an extra-terrestrial. 'It's simply too special for me...What would I come up with that's of any worth?' We've all probably overrun our minds with these kinds of questions as we wait for the mythical muse to show up, possessing our fingers, and causing words to appear like magic.

Well, sometimes the muse shows up, and other times, it seems, we must drive it out! Little inklings begin to seep out of our imaginations as we give up the reasons why we can't speak in our own voices, sit down and write. It might be gibberish at first, but you'll see. It'll become something really beautiful, and truthfully the gibberish itself is the beauty. It means at the risk of writing nonsense, you travailed through it anyway.

(Sea Blue is quite a beautiful acoustic song to listen to. Write something chimerical to it)

Sources: We Heart It | Advice to Writers

Nano Gift No. 7: 10 Golden Rules of Lomography

I love Lomography! Lomo's are those photographers you see carrying vibrantly colored toy camera's, hoping to take the one shot that paints a world through their own eyes. I even bought my own Diana + Dreamer, which takes dreamy little chimeric photographs that are perfect for storytelling. Lomo camera's photograph the world in the way that a novel captures galaxies. So here's a nonconventional Nano Gift. Lomography lists their 10 Golden Rules, and if you replace the word 'camera' or 'Lomography' they can be used for writing. And really other aspects of life.

Take your camera everywhere you go

Use it any time – day and night

Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it

Try the shot from the hip

Approach the objects of your Lomographic desire as close as possible

Don't think (William Firebrace)

Be fast

You don't have to know beforehand what you captured on film

Afterwards either

Don't worry about any rules

Source: Lomography | Photo

Nano Gift No. 6: Willow by Julia Hoban

Read: Willow by Julia Hoban!

A lovely story of a teenager who's lost her parents, and deals with her grief by cutting. It's also about the young man who helps her!

Source: Barnes & Noble

Nano Gift Petit No. 3- English Satire in a Bottle

Hmm...Would I? Absolutely! I consider myself a very 'literarious' shopper. I love finding interesting ways to include writing into my lifestyle. For those of you who love the fragrance of old libraries, and browning pages, its quite possible this might be the scent for you! I've never smelled it, but I would gladly purchase this perfume just to see if it lives up to its charm. Paperback retails for $20 (1 oz.- please refer to their website for other sizes and prices! It's created by a company called Demeter Fragrance. Feel free to search through their library of fragrances; there are so many unconventional perfumes that I might not be able to resist for much longer!

Nano Gift No. 5 + Petit No.2: Extraordinary Characters

"My Love"
Sia

Characters are the movement of the novel. They are, for the most part, what keeps your audience tied to your words until the very end. Edward and Bella are on my top ten list of characters who have taken a hold of an audience, and left them breathless in wait for the next installment! I read this novel when I kind of stopped believing that characters could affect readers in such a way; it's changed how I look at character development...FOREVER!!!! Yes, I studied how Stephenie Meyer fleshed out her characters, and I learned that you have to treat them like a person you're meeting for the first time!

Here's my own list of character development do's/questions to ask yourself about them:

1. Do they feel real to me?
2. What kind of person are they? Do they love opaque nights, or are they most alive when the sun rises? What do they eat? What kind of person would they love? (feel free to add on to this list as you 'interview' your characters).
3. Are they round, and if I desire them to be fuller, what obstacles do they need to encounter?
4. What's special about them?
5. Why should their story be told?
6. What is their backstory? (even if this never gets exposed in the novel)
7. What are your inspirations for them?
8. What do they sound like?

While your thinking about how to further develop your characters, check out this post on characters by acclaimed YA author Lisa Schroeder.

{Dedicated to all of the Twilight fans out their who've experienced this epic day of Breaking Dawn filming in Rio!}


Source: We Heart It

Nano Gift No. 4: Twenty Five Mantras For Every Writer to Remember

Kathryn of Real Words, has penned a list of Twenty Five Mantras for Every Writer to Remember! After reading them, I definitely recommend a copy of this is placed in your notebook, on your desk, or on the bulletin board nearest where you write! It's very important to view everything you do with positivity!

My favorites:

1. I can write

19. Creativity is a worthy use of my time.

22. Putting my writing out into the world may affect others in ways I’ll never know.

For the rest, please visit Real Words!

Source: We Heart It

Nano Gift No. 3: Jack Kerouac's Belief and Techniques for Modern Prose

Scribbled secret notebooks, and wild typewritten pages, for yr own joy 

Submissive to everything, open, listening 

Try never get drunk outside yr own house 

Be in love with yr life 

Something that you feel will find its own form 

Be crazy dumbsaint of the mind 

Blow as deep as you want to blow 

Write what you want bottomless from bottom of mind 

The unspeakable visions of the individual 

No time for poetry but exactly what is 

Visionary tics shivering in the chest 

In tranced fixation dreaming upon object before you 

Remove literary, grammatical and syntactical inhibition 

Like Proust be an old teahead of time 

Telling the true story of the world in interior monolog 

The jewel center of interest is the eye within the eye 

Write in recollection and amazement for yourself 

Work from pithy middle eye out, swimming in language sea 

Accept loss forever 

Believe in the holy contour of life 

Struggle to sketch the flow that already exists intact in mind 

Don't think of words when you stop but to see picture better 

Keep track of every day the date emblazoned in yr morning 

No fear or shame in the dignity of yr experience, language & knowledge 

Write for the world to read and see yr exact pictures of it 

Bookmovie is the movie in words, the visual American form 

In Praise of Character in the Bleak inhuman Loneliness 

Composing wild, undisciplined, pure, coming in from under, crazier the better 

You're a Genius all the time 

Writer-Director of Earthly movies Sponsored & Angeled in Heaven

As ever,
Jack

Source: Language is a Virus | We Heart It

Nano Gift No. 2: Neil Gaiman- 10 Good Writing Practices

1. Write.

2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.

3. Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do finish it. 

4. Put it aside. Read it pretending you've never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that it is.

5. Remember: When people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they thing is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

6. Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

7. Laugh at your own jokes.

8. The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it's definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

Happy Writing!

Source: We Heart It | Gotham Writers Workshop

NaNoWriMo...three days in

It's that time again! NaNoWriMo! For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it's a world wide 'competition of sorts' where everyone puts pen to the grind to write their novels in a months time. I have been positively infatuated with this month since I was 18 years old! There's something electric about having such a stringent deadline to write this epic piece of genius! I'm sure there are many a pages burned, ink stained fingers, eraser dust littered desks, and clenched idea saturated foreheads. Isn't it lovely! 

This month, I'm considering being an unofficial NaNoWriMo participate where I actually test myself to get the novel written (or rather, the bones of it). I've been 'writing' my novel for almost 4 years, and I'm beginning to realize it's me holding my own self back, so why not just get it all out! There comes a time where a piece is left so long to analyze, it becomes almost a stumbling block, DONT LET IT GET THERE! WRITE!

That brings me to NaNoWriMo gifts. I've decided to try to post little writing tidbits every day of this month: Book recommendations/excerpts that have helped me, quotes, and websites I adore! 

Happy Writing!

Source: Will Write for Chocolate

Mourning Glories

Your voice rang to the tune of church bells

that night. Its timbre exhausted, your eyes

deep glasses of cognac as you chanted your spells.

The words steeped in glorious lies

that lit into me, cigarette butts branding my chest. 

I could feel it coming. I longed for it. Your story

so unlike my own. Tar stained and tragic, transgressed

by all. I smiled when you handed me violet morning glories

as if that would shroud your little amusement, in love.

The rouge on my lips, slathered on my cheeks

Are you not seduced? Hours consisted of 

Aching Whispers in darkness for two weeks.

Thirteen Days, sputniks hovering in glittering sky

But the Fourteenth day, your note read goodbye.

This weekend I slaved away, hoping to channel Shakespeare and Browning as I penned a sonnet. It's very hilarious to me that my supervisor would assign this to all of the Creative Writers. I'd been dreading this assignment since I thought it could happen, but no worries. I got one down. Not sure if its the work of epic genius, but I'm proud of it all the same. Hope you all like it. Leave me little notes! 


Source: We Heart It

Remember Me Run-Through (Everything I loved about it!)

No Copyright Infringement Intended. Script Excerpts Source: Memoirs (Early Draft of Remember Me) by Will Fetters 

There are so many parts of this script that I would have loved to photoshop into this post, however, these bits stuck out to me the most. This blog has been a great homage to this beautiful work of art, because it has influenced me so much, in both how I live my life, as well as how I should pursue writing. 

I'm not the best when it comes to writing the voices of my characters. Normally the voices of one or two characters will be so clear that they seem to actually be in the room, living out the scene right in front of me. Other characters, namely male's, seem to take a bit longer to flesh out, and fine tune. This screenplay introduced me to an authentic male voice. A voice that was not so preoccupied with being masculine, that he became a caricature. Tyler seemed to me a guy I could have roamed the the streets of lower Manhattan, while discussing the laments of course work over park bench coffee, and whom I would've certainly visited at the Strand, from opening to close. Will Fetters, in a way, taught me how I should approach creating characters who are normal, who are human, and who are fleshed out. Each character had their own story, although Tyler and Ally's stories were dominant. 

I photoshopped excerpts of the script because I feel that not enough credit is given to the writers of these beautiful stories that grace the screen. We point out gorgeous cinematography, acting ability, costume; But one of my favorite aspects of watching the Academy Awards is listening as the nominees are drawn for best Screenplay. I love how the scripts are shown, and read. For a bibliophile, there is an inherent beauty in the words as they grace the page. That's why I showcased excerpts, instead of mainly scenes from the movie!

I'm discovering that there is a great deal that a prose writer can learn from a screenwriter: pacing, the art of creating a scene, voice authenticity, setting. 

There's another Remember Me post coming...

My Dearest Fanny...

Ask yourself my love whether you are not very cruel to have so entrammelled me, so destroyed my freedom. Will you confess this in the Letter you must write immediately and do all you can to console me in it--make it rich as a draught of poppies to intoxicate me--write the softest words and kiss them that I may at least touch my lips where yours have been. For myself I know not how to express my devotion to so fair a form: I want a brighter word than bright, a fairer word than fair. I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days--three such days with you I could fill with much more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.  

I've been waiting to see the movie, Bright Star, for ages. I actually was never a big fan of Keats, until I purchased the book of letters he wrote to his love, Fanny. His words debunk the whole notion that guys have no affinity to express their love to women through words. As I read, I wished I had a pen to underline every precious gem of vulnerability that I could soak out of it. What I love most about the love expressed in the past, is it seems to have taken more work, more time, more effort, and therefore the love seemed more idyllic. I know its possible to achieve now, its just figuring out whether we will leave behind our fast paces to actually know someone.

Jane Campion, director of Bright Star, put together this wonderful production scrapbook of the movie. Beautiful photographs, letters, sketches, and lovely little bits and bobbins to pilfer through. It's too lovely to miss.

 

The Meadow by Alexandre Desplat

{you can listen to this at my music

parser on the menu bar labelled

'Cacophony'}

.06

Bits and bobbins inspiring me now:

My Tumblr

Before I started using Tumblr, I just found it to be another superfluous blogging platform. 

Some of my good friends, Gabbie and Jen in particular, encouraged me to get on, and so I did.

Now, I just can't seem to ween myself away from it. Its like the moleskine of blogging platforms. I love that it separates everything into quotes, videos, text, audio, photographs. That seems to make each post significant. I also love that I don't feel the need to speak in paragraphs over there: just short and poetically.

with the lovely tumblr comes

Tumblr Audio Parser

This widget compiles all of your musical posts into this

kaleidoscopic symphony of a page. 

To hear my music picks, click on "Cacophony" in the menu bar!

I was privileged to have read a draft of the script and it affected me in such a personal way.

You all know I adore Rob, but Rob aside, this story is beautiful, 

its characters flawed and lovely. 

It's one of those stories that reminds me why I write.

{Another Remember Me related post coming in the near future.}

(picture photoshopped by me, wink wink!)

By Guy De Maupassant

It's absolutely one of those scandalous novels,

and yes, it has the obvious Rob affiliation.

But, it's surprisingly refreshing for classic literature. 

This translation is gorgeous. 

Some books, you read.

Others you read, and inhale, and speak aloud

and teach yourself how to write with it.

Thirty days and nights of literary abandon...well, maybe a bit longer

{picture from weheartit.com}

It's that time again! Nanowrimo makes November extra special. It's the only month dedicated to throwing yourself into your novel, with its crazy plot-lines, unicorns, talking saltshakers, really whatever your imagination can dream up! I've never participated, but I love listening to the podcasts, hearing how everyone's going with their novels, how they're up until questionable hours of the night...or morning really cranking it out.

This month I thought maybe I should participate. I've been writing my novel for like three years now. I am so tired of putting it off, and getting lost in my ideas, and reading other novels to get inspiration. So even though I wouldn't actually be participating in NANOWRIMO, I figured that looking at that tag in the sidebar would get my juices flowing too! Also, observing one of my good writing buddies totally dedicate himself to his script is really moving. I think watching anyone go hard for something they really love is moving. The basis of my novel is about dreams coming true anyway, so I figure through this, my own will come true. It's a deliverance of sorts for myself.

The only novel I'll probably read is, The Bad Mothers' Handbook by Kate Long. I need to brush up on my British accents because most of my characters are Brits. I love it!

I've been so caught up in writing my statement that my novel time has been seriously lacking.

I am ready to put my writers cap back on, and get back to work!

cheers

"Please don't go. We'll eat you up. We love you so."

"and [he] sailed back over a year

and in and out of weeks

and through a day

and into the night of his very own room

where he found his supper waiting for him

and it was still hot"

Oh the glory of creativity and imagination. These are the stories that keep pen to paper, or paint to canvas, or film reels rolling with ecstatic speed. We should approach art with childlike imagination, and abandon. That's when we come close to creating something that will live on. I've chanced upon this new inspiration. I can't wait for the movie, because it seems the most beautiful thing. A piece of art in action.