Apathy: Part 1

Inspiration and Motivation

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." -Jack London

What inspires you, motivates you to write?
I've been having trouble finding motivation to write. I have my story all plotted out and I know where it's supposed to go--that of course can change along the way, that's the fun of creating. I find I just can't get off the couch and away from the books I am reading long enough to write.
Winter is upon me...
This time of year always creeps up on me and takes so much out of me.
Thankfully, I am headed to a camp this weekend. I find I write better when I am near a body of water. I know it will be chilly, but let the juices flow!

What do you do to get your motivation up and running?

A Day with my Character

Yesterday, I spent the whole day with my character. We got up and exercised at 6AM, had coffee, went grocery shopping, had breakfast, talked books, went to the library, talked family, likes, dislikes, fears...
Yes, I actually did, really, spend time with a living breathing character from my new series.

It's hard to make all your characters sound different, especially when you are writing from first person POV.
I write YA, so I made up a list of character questions (likes, dislikes, favorites, what you you do situations...) and sent them to a handful of teenagers to fill out. They did. What a wealth of characters I now have in my arsenal!

So...for the series I'm working on now, I picked one of the girls that had filled out a survey. With her permission of course, I am using her as the model for my character--looks and all the answers from the survey.

It's been so much fun because I can call her up and go out with her, take notes, and actually get inside the head of my character. Of course my character on the page and my model are not exactly alike, but it is fun to listen to her talk and get ideas of what my character would say in that situation. It also comes in handy when I hit a wall. I call her and ask, "hey what would you do or say if..." I love the answers!


WWW: What is your main characters favorite food? Dessert? (Go ask her/him! :) )

Goals and Dreams

What is the difference between a goal and a dream? I admit I had to ask dictionary.com because to me they are one and the same...

Goal
1. The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

Dream

1. An aspiration; goal; aim. A trip to Europe is his dream.

2. A wild or vain fancy.

Someone once said that if you achieve your dreams, then you aimed too low. Well, my dreams are pretty out there (some of them I hope I achieve but then that might make them a goal…)

1. To make the New York Times Bestseller list
2. To play Elizabeth Bennett on stage (perhaps Chris Pine as Darcy… J
3. To go to Greece and Ireland (stay for a month...)
4. To become a Ninja
5. To sing with The Band Perry or Dierks Bentley
6. Be the a singer in a band
7. To be a pro volleyball player

What are some dreams you have? Don't be afraid to dream BIG! :)

What are some goals you have?

What are your writing goals for today?

What are your writing goals for the week?

What are your writing goals for the month?

What are your writing goals for the year?

Give some serious thought to these and then get writing!

WWW:  a quote for today--and my goal for the day: "Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down." --John Steinbeck