Sources for Inspiration

As a writer, I am always inclined to think where my work will take me one day. Don't we all want to get published and make it big? I'm hoping that, one day, I'll become enough of a recognized writer that someone will come up to and ask to me "where do you get your ideas for stories?" While I'm sure that day is far off, I thought I would post a few links to events and phenomena that inspire me to write the things I like to write Let's go on a tour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_Pass_incident

The Dyatlov Pass Incident seems like something straight out of a sci-fi /horror movie. Nine hikers, on a trek to Mount Ortoten, are found dead in the Ural mountains of Russia.  Official reports declare that the group died due to a compelling unknown force. All sorts of theories have risen regarding the event, ranging from radioactivity found on the bodies, to hypothermia, to UFOs.

http://www.zmescience.com/science/archaeology/stonehenge-under-lake-michigan-3125445/

This year, archaeologists found what could be argued to be a Stonehenge-like series of stones at the bottom of Lake Michigan. On the stones are petroglyphs appear to depict a mastodon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript surfaced in 1912. Beautifully illustrated, the manuscript is completely unreadable, in that no one has been able to translate it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event

Back to Russia for this one. Just over a hundred year ago, an explosion covered 2150 sq kilometers of land. While scientific theory states that it was an impact from a meteor, again, many more theories have sprung up, including a natural hydrogen bomb, a black hole, and, again, UFOs.

Hopefully this will be an entertaining read for you. Bear in mind that my views aren't reflected in the commentary of these articles. I just believe they make for interesting fodder to write on.

Why Creativity Fails

As I sit here, attempting to work on my portfolio for my class, I can't help but be drawn to browsing the internet. I found this article on one of the regular websites I visit.

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/stf/168

It's an article called "Six Ways to Fail at Creative Endeavors" by Doug Beyer. While I first saw it as demoralizing, it helps remind us as writers the pitfalls we can fall into as continue our process. It's definitely worth a read if you have the time.

Attempting to Write

Chances are, when I don't post for a long time, I don't feel like I have anything interesting to say. I don't know if it's that I don't have anything witty to remark or what, but I feel like I needed to post something on here. Perhaps to keep my sanity for another long night of work.

As of right now, I'm wrapping up my two story submissions due for tomorrow. I've been really attempting to experiment with different styles of writing for these two assignments. One is extensively reflexive and meta, while the other is attempting to encapsulate the mundane almost to an absurd degree. Needless to say, these two stories are far from my comfort-zone. I'm not sure whether or not these stories will succeed in their goals. Only time and grades will tell.

Don't get me wrong, it's fun to experiment with different styles of writing. I mean, how else can you grow as a writer if you don't attempt anything new? It's certainly worthwhile to try to expand your writing style just to even see what works and what doesn't.

Anyways, I'll try to post on here more regularly as I work on my final project for my Creative Writing class. The challenges I am expecting to face with my story is working in the epistolary format. Namely, the diary of a suspect that is slowly losing his mind.

Hippocampus Press

When I was writing my honours paper on Lovecraft, Hippocampus Press was an invaluable resource for me. They publish a plethora of books on the man, many other writers during Lovecraft's time, and writers of horror/speculative fiction further back in history. If you're a writer of horror/fantasy/speculative fiction, I find that this press is perfect if you want a sense of where these genres have come from.

http://hippocampuspress.com/