Haunted-Mind

Inspiration can come from anywhere. This past year I started a blog of lessons leared from daily life, mostly from my job. Inspired by a friend's Christmas gift, I learned to knit "in the round" and have made two pairs of fingerless gloves. I've written short stories based on dreams and my favourite movies.

And I've worked on a not so short story whose inspiration came a couple years ago. One Halloween, I was sitting and watching tv, flipping through channels filled with spooky and creepy. Knowing I wasn't good at writing either of those things, I decided to practice. I started a stream of consciousness thing with a character waking up in a bad situation. This man had no name, no physical description - nothing beyond a horror at where he found himself. Today, that man is Graynan Marshal: a brother, an uncle, a police officer, a hero, and  -in that weird imaginary way - a friend. 

So here's to inspiration - what it brought in 2014 and what it promises in 2015.

I've been working on a Sci-fi story off and on for a few years now. It is funny to think that it all started as a silly "stream of consciousness" type thing I wrote on Halloween when I felt like writing something slightly creepy. As with most times I've tried to write something short, my mind quickly started filling in back-story and rounding out the character. Within a couple of days, I had a vivid picture of a world full of aliens and humans who are figuring out their place in the wider universe. Since the whole thing started as a "stream of consciousness" which is by definition in first person format, I continued writing in first person. Though several things I've read say that first person is usually the choice of beginning writers, I had never really done it myself, always preferring to have a separate narrator. I guess you can chalk that up to me being a avid reader as a kid. The further I got into the story, the more I began to question this choice. One side of my brain insisted that this story called for a first person view due to its emphasis on seeing things from a unique perspective. The other side of my brain struggled with the constant use of the word "I" and the frequent question "Would my character really be thinking about that?"

So I polled some of my friends, read a couple of websites on the topic, and talked to a friend who took lots of writing classes. All seemed to point to third person format as being preferred (though my friend was very careful not to tell me what to do since she is very much the "let creativity take you where it wants to go" type ). Then one day I had a funny realization: though it isn't the focus of the story, I plan to have a romantic relationship develop between the two main characters and I'm gonna feel awkward enough writing that (having not had one myself), let alone being a woman writing that first person from a man's perspective. Maybe that's a silly thing to let influence such a major decision, but it is what finally decided me. Since then, I've been working to convert my story (already 15,000 words long) from first person to third person with a limited narrator focused on the main character. I plan to allow the narrator occasional trips into the minds of other characters, but that will only be to allow action to happen away from my main character without having to invent ways for him to learn about that action. Try reading Harry Potter while focusing on how J.K. Rowling stuck almost purely to Harry's perspective - pretty amazing over such a long story. I am not that good.

Since making the decision to change the story, I've felt such relief. The agonizing conflict in my brain has been resolved. I've also discovered as I convert the text that I have so much more freedom to add details. I don't have to wonder why my character would take notice of trivial details or devote thought to certain things. Though the decision to change was hard, I'm finding the result to be exactly what I needed.

I had often thought of starting a blog, but I'm not the "here's what happened in my day" type. I just don't keep up with that stuff. So instead, I decided to make a blog using the little devotionals I write based on stories from my job. For those who don't know, I'm a zookeeper, mainly working with African Penguins. Occasionally, God will use everyday situations - well, everyday when you literally work in a zoo - to teach me something, and I try to share those with my blog readers. If you're interested, the blog is called The Rest at wearetherest.wordpress.com/

With the new Star Trek movie coming out soon, I had a request for me to make a pair of my Star Trek insignia hair clips for someone. I thought perhaps there might be some other Trekkies out there who would be interested so I thought I would make a few pairs and put them up for sale on my Etsy page. I'll even post a listing for a commission piece if you would like a specific colour combination.

www.etsy.com/shop/theceltice

Saw this on the journal of Sevslover6195  sevslover6195.deviantart.com/j…

She answered it for me so I'll post it on my journal.


Comment on this journal and I will......

1. Tell you something I learned about you by looking at your DA page for 13 seconds.

2. Tell you a color you remind me of.

3. Tell you Element I think you belong to e.g. water, fire, air etc.

4. Tell you what comic, manga/anime, or video game character you remind me of.

5. Ask you a question, and you must answer.

6. Tell you something I like about you.

7. Give you a nickname.

8. Tell you the object that is to the left of me.

9. Tell you what food/ flavor/ smell you remind me of.

10. Tell you to do one in your journal too.