NaNoWriMo Writing Inspiration

As I’m preparing for National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, I took a look at my favorite writing quotes for inspiration. The month long writing challenge begins on November 1st and run for the course of the month. You can learn more about NaNoWriMo at the link above. Looking at two weeks until Day One, I need inspiration. Well, let me be totally honest here, I need a heck of a lot more than just inspiration but for now, I’ll settle for that. As I looked through my collection of writing quotes, I noticed that Stephen King’s name seemed to pop up quite a bit. Taking it as a sign, I decided to focus on his quotes for this post. Almost all of these are new to me and they definitely give me the boost I need as I proceed with my preparation.

• “We are writers, and we never ask one another where we get our ideas; we know we don’t know.”
• “A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar.”
• “The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better.”
• “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
• “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”
• “It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room. Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around.”
• “Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it, and sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position.”
• “Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.”

I’m bouncing between two possible stories. Being a plotter/pantser mash up NaNo writer, I have found that as time goes by I do best if I have my characters fleshed out, if only in my head, and a vague story with a starting point. A third story has been lurking in the background and it involves characters from a previous NaNo novel. I’m going to need more than quotes to help me make a final decision.

If you are a story writer, what inspires you to write? Do your characters lead the story? Are you more a pantser or a plotter? Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo?

I would love to hear from you!

-Kat

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The Textures of Autumn….

well, Autumn/Halloween decorations, that is. Autumn colors are temporarily delayed due to our wacky weather. Leaves are confused, as are small children who like to wear shorts every day and don’t like their clothing options to vary greatly, as they have had to do to satisfy our up and down weather.

While I had hoped to have some cool textures of outside Autumn wonders, I have to settle for my indoor decorations this week!

My small scarecrow friend has many textures to share from his hat and clothes to straw hands and feet and the leaves.

This guy has been one of my staple fall decorations for years. He is a nice combination of textures with his straw hat/hair and the stitching on his face, as well as the fabric of his neckerchief. 

This scarecrow is the new kid in town and while he waits to be incorporated into some crafty decoration, he’s here to share as many textures as he can!

Finally, my spooky skull is my nod to Halloween. His lovely appearance not only looks cool, it’s pretty neat to touch, too! 

Thanks for stopping in this week’s Sunday Stills- Texture!

-Kat

I am not a chatty ball of energy

There are so many things you can do to waste time when you have so many other much more important things waiting to be done. Like take a goofy quiz. And that’s exactly what I decided to do this morning.

I took the Zimbio quiz- Which TV mom are you?  As is usually the case with these quizzes, I was wishing for the option to write in my own answer. It goes without saying that I wasn’t expecting a perfect match.

And my TV mom alter ego is-

Image Credit-Zimbio

Soooo, although I love Lorelai Gilmore of Gilmore Girls fame, I don’t see myself as being much like her. I would love to have her quick wit and fit body. And owning an inn sounds like fun. Stars Hollow is my dream home town. How could it not be?? What other town has its very own troubadour? Also, Lorelai seems much more confident and fearless than I am!

While Rory is a dream child, I would definitely keep my own. They are as quick with the quips as Rory, which they inherited from their father. And although they are not Ivy League scholars, they are successful and awesome people in their own right! Yes, they are very dear to me so I would want to keep them!

Curious what my results would be elsewhere, I searched for other quizzes about TV moms. My answers varied from Marge Simpson (The Simpsons) to Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights).

Marge Simpson- Endowed with the patience of a saint, you know for a fact that that pious dimwit Flanders has nothing on you! Now, things might not always go your way, but you’re the voice of reason in chaos and your disapproving groan has no doubt saved lives! Brainfall

Tami Taylor- You’re not only the most rational head in your family, but you’re one for the community as well. You’re deep commitment to your family outshines everything you do, which is why you believe in putting up a united front with your partner when it comes to handling your children. You believe that raising children is a partnership — a push-pull where both partners have their chance to shine. In the wise words of Tami Taylor, “You’re gonna win or you’re gonna lose. Either way the sun’s still gonna come up tomorrow morning.” Popsugar

I guess it could have been worse, right? And giving it more thought, I concluded that Lorelai was a loving mom who would do anything for her child and that’s definitely not a bad thing. Besides, while in the middle of my Gilmore Girls binge watching, she has delivered some memorable quotes-

• “We’re almost there & nowhere near it. All that matters is that we’re going!” (Lorelai)
• “I need caffeine. Whatever form you’ve got. I haven’t had any all day. I’ll drink it, shoot it, eat it, snort it, whatever form it’s in. Gimme.” (Lorelai)
• “My life stinks. Hey, let’s look into each other’s eyes and say, ‘I wish I were you’ at the exactly same time…..maybe we’ll pull a ‘Freaky Friday’ ” (Lorelai)
• “As long as everything is exactly the way I want it, I’m totally flexible.” (Lorelai)
• “I’m not broke. Maybe just a little chipped.” (Lorelai)

While it’s been nice dreaming about drinking coffee and dashing off witty one-liners, it’s time for me to get back to those pesky little things that are still waiting to be done around the house.

Have you ever gotten a wacky result or one so eerily accurate it gives you chills when taking those silly quizzes? Come on- you must taken at least one quiz! Everyone does, right?

Take care!

-Kat

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Things People Play With

This week’s topic for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is Things People Play With. 

 

Happy Wednesday!

-Kat

Tickled Pink

This is my first time taking part in the Sunday Stills Photo Challenge. This week’s prompt is Pink!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

-Kat

So Much to Chew

“When we adopt a dog or any pet, we know it is going to end with us having to say goodbye, but we still do it. And we do it for a very good reason: They bring so much joy and optimism and happiness. They attack every moment of every day with that attitude.”

– Bruce Cameron (author of A Dog’s Purpose)

Happy Sunday!

-Kat

Photo a Day Challenge- Dog

This Little Chair of Mine

My rocking chair

When I was only a year old, my parents gave me this rocking chair for Christmas. They had saved up enough S&H Green Stamps to order it from the Ideabook, aka the S&H catalog. If you aren’t familiar with the idea, here is how it worked. A person received green stamps when they checked out at the grocery store. They would then save these stamps in a stamp book and when they filled the book, they could redeem them for merchandise ordered through the Ideabook.

This rocking chair quickly became the chair of choice when we were growing up. It’s not really suited for anyone over 50 pounds but that didn’t matter to us. If one of us walked into the living room and all the seats were taken, or we were only stopping in for a short time, we took to sitting in my little chair. Suffice it to say, our bottoms quickly became too big to squeeze into it so we made do and perched on top. I’m not sure which one of us, me or my siblings, came upon the idea to turn the chair around and straddle it, resting on the arms, but whoever did it first was a genius…. at least in our eyes. That position extended the chair’s use long beyond its time and as young adults we continued to use it as a sitting place until my niece came along and used it correctly.

For some unknown reason, my rocking chair never made it to my possession when I had my children. My niece, nephews and children enjoyed it over at Grandma’s house. And this little chair just kept chugging along. To the best of my knowledge it never required repairs or strengthening, which is nothing short of a miracle considering the workout received from two generations of children/young adults.

And then without any fanfare, one day my parents brought my chair to my house for my grandchildren to enjoy. My dad had spruced it up with a fresh coat of paint. For whatever reason, little Beej was not amused by this chair in the least. We all sat watching  his reaction with anticipation. I know it was an emotional moment for my parents- to see my grandson sitting in the rocking chair they had gotten for their first born child all those years ago. I imagine at that time they didn’t even consider that the chair would still be standing strong or that they would live to see their great-grandchild rocking in it.

But Beej had other thoughts on the matter. He stood three feet away from the offensive chair, and believe me- there was no doubt that this chair offended him greatly! He glared at it and pointed, making it clear that the chair must leave. I’m sure it wasn’t the response my parents had expected and they left trying to mask their disappointment. As is Beej’s nature, he does things in his own time and within a few weeks he was settling in his new chair, dragging it all over the house and rocking every place he could find. A year later it is his go to chair and we find it pulled up to his desk, his toy kitchen and the ottoman he likes to use a table.

It fills my heart with the warm fuzzies when I think of my little chair being part of my grandchildren’s lives and who knows? Maybe even my great grandchildren!

Happy Saturday!

-Kat