Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Inspire Me to Write

Writers look for inspiration in all aspects of life. They write about their childhoods, their relationships with other people, their secret dreams for how they would like their lives to be, etc. They also get inspired by other writers, particularly the ones whose books are so good that their readers become invested in the characters' lives and are disappointed when there are no more pages left to read. For me, I find inspiration in all of these things. I also get ideas for stories from my work, particularly from my students, my professors, and even the rude customers I encounter in retail, because in my imagination those customers get punished by being thrown out of the store or have to walk around wearing giant sandwich boards that say, "I have no people skills."

I also get ideas from news articles, such as the one about the woman who was Tasered and then arrested by police because she cut in front of a line of waiting cars in the drive-thru at McDonald's and then refused to move. When I read that story, I wanted to clip that news article and show it to every person who tries to cut in front of me in line, so that I could say, "This could happen to you."

I read somewhere that when you're struggling with writer's block, you should take a break from writing and do something different, like take a walk, go out to eat, visit a museum, or watch a play. When I can scrounge up enough money for a ticket, I like to go to plays, because there are tons of theaters in Chicago that feature amazing actors; a lot of these actors make me think, "You should be starring in TV shows, not the spoiled socialites who make me want to swear off television altogether and move to an isolated cabin in the woods where there is no cable."

On the other hand, once I went to a play that got me pretty steamed; a couple of the actors were saying stuff in one of the scenes that totally misinterpreted Catholic beliefs and made all Catholics look bad. I didn't feel inspired; I wanted to walk out of the theater right then and there. I also wanted to walk right up to the actors and scream, "You're WRONG!"

There are other things that don't make me angry but make me want to grab my journal and start writing, so that I can write something that also makes other people feel happy.

One thing I've always loved to do in Chicago is sit by the lake. I like to go out to Grant Park, find a quiet place by the lake, sit out there for hours and just watch the water move and think about everything or nothing at all. It always calms me to do this, especially on days when everything else in the city drives me nuts, like my neighbors who talk on their cell phones late at night. They open their windows and talk really loudly, so that everyone else can hear their conversations.

Since my building is shaped so that my apartment is in close proximity to and faces several other apartments, I am often awoken from sweet dreams where I find out that Willy Wonka has left his Chocolate Factory to me or George Clooney has decided he does want to get married after all, and hey, it's to me! I wake up because of my neighbors' loud, shrill voices that sometimes make me wonder if they are voiceover actors for cartoons. That prompts me to throw open my window and shriek, "Sleep deprivation does NOT make me want to be your friend or even a good neighbor; it makes me want to throw things at you!"

But when I can go sit by the lake, I'm able to escape from all of that, at least for a little while. It gives me a chance to be alone with my thoughts, and it makes me feel good enough that eventually I want to go home and start writing, or take out my journal and start writing then and there. I can only sit by the lake when it's warm, though; in the winter, staring at the lake covered in ice just isn't as inspirational for me. Not to mention the heavy winter coat and thick gloves I wear make it hard to hold a pen.

Here's another example of something that inspires me. It's a clip from the film Sister Act 2 (if you watch closely, you'll see Professor McGonagall and the Ghost Whisperer - oops, I meant Maggie Smith and Jennifer Love Hewitt). I dare you not to smile when you're watching this. Every time I watch it, I can't help admiring the singers for the passion they put into their music, and it makes me remember the passion that I have for my writing. I can only hope that someday my stories will be as good as their songs.



Funny people also make me want to write, people like Conan o'Brien and Tina Fey, but especially writers like Steve Almond and Jen Lancaster. I think that humor is essential to most stories, because it helps those fictional characters walking around as if they have the weight of the world on their shoulders to just lighten up already. As egotistical as it sounds, I can't help thinking how wonderful it would be if something I wrote made one of those funny people laugh. It would definitely be one of the high points of my life. It would rank right up there with my fantasy that eating chocolate and drinking Frappuccinos can actually make you lose weight. (Oh, if only!)

There's a really funny, young vlogger on Youtube who has more than two million subscribers. (Can you imagine if two million people subscribed to your blog?) His Youtube name is "Kevjumba", and he talks about everything in his videos, such as Asian stereotypes, his hilarious father, college, and dating. I like that he's kind of neurotic (always nice to find a kindred neurotic) and that he vlogs about ordinary things in imaginative ways that make them sound interesting and entertaining. And really, isn't that what writers are supposed to do?

Here's one of my favorite videos by Kevjumba:



I've written manuscripts for two chick lit novels so far (though they still definitely need to be revised). Even though I haven't found true love yet, the hope that I will find it someday makes me express that hope through my main characters as they search for the people that they're meant to be with.

My thirty-first birthday is coming up in a couple months (AAAAHHHH!!! I'm getting OLDER and I can't make it stop!), and I'm still single. It's not like I haven't tried. I went to a speed-dating party, joined a group for people my age at my church, and signed up for four online dating memberships (not all at the same time, though). Sometimes it's hard to keep hoping, because I've started to wonder if there really is someone out there for me. There are times I think that maybe I'm just not meant to be with anyone for the rest of my life, because how do we really know that there's one soul mate for each person? Maybe some people are meant to be alone because they're meant to do other things with their lives.

On the other hand, I'm able to pour all of my doubt, frustrations, and hope into my stories, and I can use  weird online dating profiles that I've seen as writing prompts, such as the one that said, "If you can't get along with my cats, then it's never going to work between us." As several of you have suggested, I can also write about some of the bad dates I've been on, such as the one where the guy obviously couldn't wait to get out of there, to the point that he made up a lame excuse about ending the date early and practically sprinted away from me less than an hour after we met up for the date. It made me wonder if I was just bad at choosing dates or if there was something about me that made most guys (except for the creepy, unattractive ones) run in the opposite direction.

But chick lit novels wouldn't be much fun to read if the main characters didn't have any hope at all that they'll find the right person. So as cheesy as it sounds, sometimes I like to watch this clip from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (and can I just say that Paolo Montalban makes an excellent Prince?) and remind myself that all is not lost just yet, and that maybe there really is a great guy out there for me.




What about you? What are things that inspire you to write?

15 comments:

  1. Hahah this is a monster post!! I love sister act 2 as well. I think Boyfriend inspires me to write, which is totally corny I know, but he definitely inspired the blog.

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    1. Hi Gia,
      I think it would have been cool to be in a choir or a glee club like those kids in Sister Act 2 were when I was in high school, especially if I'd had a teacher like Whoopi Goldberg. I don't think it's corny that your boyfriend inspires you to write; I think it's nice.

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  2. We sound very alike in the things that inspire us! I don't have a lake where I live, but the ocean is very close to my house, so that always works for me!

    And that Sister Act clip ALWAYS inspires me too!

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    1. Hi Kyra,
      You're lucky that you live near the ocean; I wish I did. I don't like to swim but I like wading in the water and looking for shells (gosh, does that make sound like a little kid?).

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    2. Lol, no I still enjoy that too! :D

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  3. The Daily Mail! They always have the most unbelievable things in there. It's pure crazy.

    I love to sit by the water, too.

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    1. Hi Talli,
      I haven't read the Daily Mail but I'll take your word for it. Or maybe I'll look up some of their articles online, hmmm...
      I'm not sure why sitting by the water can be so peaceful, but it is. I guess it's because it's the one place in the city where it's quiet. Or at least it's quiet most of the time, except when the tourists are around.

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  4. I think you're wise to keep hope that you'll find your "Prince Charming" someday. ; ) I feel the same way about love and relationships, which is why I enjoy writing romance. The back and forth between man and woman is irreplaceable in books and in life.
    Couples who have been married a long time inspire me, and so do people who have been hurt in love but still put their heart on their sleeves.

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    1. Hi Emily,
      I always find books to be more interesting if there's a love story, even if it's not the central issue in the plot. I like writing romance too, because there's so many different ways that people respond to it.

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  5. I love to go for walks around DC when I need to feel inspired. However, I do harbor a fairly irrational fear of lakes, something about not being able to see below the surface makes me freak out. Perhaps its my overactive imagination, or watching to much aqua man when I was a child.

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    1. Hi Sara,
      I can kind of relate to your fear of not being able to see below the surface of the lakes. It's one of the reasons that I've never gone swimming in the lake, because I'm not sure what exactly is in the water. I've seen other people swim in it, but I'd rather just sit by the lake instead.

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  6. I can't believe another year has almost gone by. I remember your poignant birthday posts last year. Was it that long ago? Yikes!

    "...because in my imagination those customers get punished by being thrown out of the store or have to walk around wearing giant sandwich boards that say, "I have no people skills."

    Why is it the more rage you feel, the more you make me laugh?

    Looks like you have ample inspiration amidst and besides your frustrations.

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    1. Hi Theresa,
      I try to depict the stuff that makes me mad in a humorous way, so that way I'll feel a little bit better about them. And it's nice to make other people laugh. :)
      It is hard to believe it's been almost one year. I feel like I'm getting older and I'm still not ready for it just yet.

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  7. Hi!

    I just found your blog via Lauren's and am very much looking forward to reading more. I'm a writer, too (working on my fourth women's fiction MS right now) and always find inspiration in the outdoors - the ocean, blossoming trees, puffy purple clouds in a pink sunset sky, things like that. Above all, though, I think my inspiration comes from people - not only those I know, but the characters who want their stories told! :)

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    1. Hi workoftheheart09,
      Welcome to my blog! Good for you for working on your fourth manuscript, especially since a lot of people struggle with finishing one. I think the outdoors can be very inspirational; that's why I like sitting by the lake so much. I wish I could go outside more often, but it's so cold here that everyone stays bundled up most of the time and is always in a hurry to get inside.

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