The art of inspiration.

I think it's really, really important to write what you know. Okay maybe not ONLY what you know, but I think that should always be, kind of, where you start. Like, I find my pieces on the world of retail to be really, really good and really, really funny. That's because I know retail. I've been swimming my way through a sea of clothing and customers for the last three years. I dream in retail, and I think it retail. I even sing along with those annoying retail songs. And, I always speak up and tell people the brand of clothing someone is wearing and if I sell it. No joke. It gets kind of old, I'm sure. Anyway, I also write about boyfriends that are so distant it's like they're on another continent solely because of video games. I can make the reader feel as isolated as an island during a category four hurricane. I can do this because I know the feeling.

It's hard to get inspired. I'm starting to feel that way now. I'm taking two workshops right now, and I find myself struggling for inspiration. I think tomorrow or Wednesday, I'm going to go somewhere and just sit and people watch. I'm going to hunt for inspiration. I know that everyone has baggage. Everyone is doing they're best to keep secrets. Everyone is pretending to be normal, when inside, they're raging. It's interesting to wonder what's going on in someone's head. I'm looking forward to doing some "research". After all, people watching is definitely research for any writer.

The art of a name.

There are a few things I put a lot, a lot, a lot, of effort into when I'm writing. It's probably all for nothing, but I just can't help myself. I take a lot of care and a lot of time when deciding my character's names. I know that many people may not see the sense in this, but I find it to be incredibly important. I've said this many times, and I'll say it again. I am pretty sure that I think of my characters in a semi abnormal way. Scratch that, I think of all characters in an abnormal way. For instance, I view my characters as my children, my babies. I take extreme caution when deciding on their names. I would never name my fictional babies something I wouldn't name my future real life babies. Names are important, sometimes they are our first impressions of a person.

When it comes to reading, I feel like I develop relationships with characters. For instance, I was so delusional about "Twilight" that I believed I was exactly like Bella, and I only deserved someone exactly like Edward. I mean talk about crazy. And in the Sookie Stackhouse series, I feel like Sookie is my friend. Honestly, if she were real, I have no doubts that we would be BFFs. I would knock some sense in her. I would let her know that she should love Eric, that she is destined for Eric. But I guess that's besides my point. Or maybe it's exactly my point.

Sarah Dessen is probably my favorite Young Adult author. If I could write a story half as moving as she can, I will be beyond happy. I have read every single book she has ever published. If I ever got the amazing opportunity to be near her, I would die on the spot because my heart would not be able to handle all of the admiration. I would die from starstruck-ness. I feel like I develop these friendships with these characters. In "Just Listen", I believed Annabel to be my dear friend. I thought Owen was the complete mix of perfection. In "The Truth About Forever", Wes made me weep. I was jealous of Macy. And in my absolute favorite, "Someone Like You", I had so much sympathy for Halley. Sarah Dessen is a true blue artist, and I love every word she puts to paper.

Now that I got my obsession out of the way...Gosh. Anyway, I feel like names of characters can make or break your character. I don't know about you, but there's only so many Samantha's, Ashley's, and Jennifer's I can read about. And Sarah Dessen is a master at finding real strong names for her characters (God, I'm pathetic). My most favorite name for a future character is Harper. Gosh I love that name. It's so strong and independent.

I also think that titles can be extremely important. A lot of the times, a title can make or break your story. I mean, if you give something a completely uninteresting name, how can you expect anyone to be intrigued enough to pick it up? I think titles are absolutely the thing I struggle with the most. I mean how can you take a whole story and capture it's amazing-ness in just a few words. One of my favorite titles ever is, "Where do you go when your skin cannot contain you?" I have to read that short story this semester, and gosh, talk about a strong and intriguing title.

I'm excited to say, though, that I have completed the rough draft to a short fictional story I've been working on. I'm really, really excited about it. I think it's a really strong story. I came up with the title just last night, and I'm really proud of what I came up with. Now, if I could get it published, wouldn't that be something?

The art of secrecy.

So, if you've never read my other blog, you may not know a single thing about me. And if that's the case, isn't mystery fun? Enjoy it while it lasts because I'm about to fill you in.

I am currently a senior in college. My major is Creative Writing. I aspire to be a writer. I want to write anything and everything I possibly can. Words can never express how much I love writing. The passion I have for storytelling is kind of mind blowing. The connection I have with characters is borderline abnormal. I just love everything there is to love about writing. I love creating these alternate realities and worlds. I love making this place that I can escape to (and hopefully a few others can escape to too). I love having another place to call home. I love killing off people I hate in real life. I love making things happen in my fictional worlds that I could never make happen in my real life world. Maybe I have a God Complex, or maybe I was made for this. I think it's the latter, at least I hope to Hell it's the latter because no one likes a person with a complex.

So anyways, I think there's a lot of things people don't know about college students and up and coming writers, and I do believe I am an up and coming writer. I have never had a whole lot of confidence in myself, and I have never really been extremely awesome at anything in particular. Except for writing. I have found my calling. Anyway, I feel like this is an outlet to express the frustrations that come with writing. Maybe I'll share pieces here. Maybe I'll introduce you to my characters. I'm not sure what my intentions are for this blog, but I'm pretty sure I just want to share these experiences with anyone I can. So, here goes my journey...