X-mas Wishes

I have but two wishes. New glasses and a pair of shoes. So that I may see things differently and find my own path.

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Breaking Through Writer’s Block

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In college I was a film student. I still have copies of my scripts. My notebooks were filled with story ideas and snatches of dialog. The storyteller in me disappeared with my last student film. I could not capture what was lost.

Since then I’ve been reading voraciously. Hemingway. Oates. McCarthy. Hammett.
Last night I realized why I was burning through all of those books. I yearned for a story that did not exist.

I opened a notebook and started writing. No preamble. Just one word after another. It was shocking. It was also dreadful.
I made a few edits, and unearthed a love story. In an hour the romance evolved into a love triangle.
I went to sleep at 3 a.m.

The whole experience reminds me of something Hemingway said:
“I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.”

Dinner Time is Here

I was avoiding my cold kitchen. I was catching up on my blog reading. Then I saw this precious gem on My Paper Crane’s blog.

Now I’m starving.

For more of her work visit her blog or her Flickr.

I’m off to go warm up the kitchen.

Love and Music

Just read the lyrics to a song I’ve been listening to, Es Por Ti by Juanes.
Now I am feeling absurdly romantic.

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Winter Storms

Life in Arizona can be a little warm. On occasion the summers enjoy the beauty of a monsoon or two. But if you suffer the heat, enjoy a dry uneventful summer maybe just maybe when winter comes you may wake up to some clouds and possibly rain.

It was a good morning. Be sure to enjoy the little things in life.

Sufjan Christmas

I hate to admit it but the Christmas Holiday can be tiresome to me because the repetition of traditional songs becomes laughable. I don’t need to hear forty versions of the same pop song from the 50s.

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So I opened my heart up to this Sufjan Stevens song. The lyrics are such a relief.

Sister Winter
“Oh my thoughts I
Return to summer time
When I kissed your ankle
I kissed you through the night

All my gifts I gave everything to you
Your strange imagination
You threw it all away

Now my heart is
Returned to sister winter
Now my heart is
As cold as ice“

Find the complete lyrics here.

Friday Distraction

I just saw this quick little video. Now I’m dying to shop and sew. Besides there is nothing more calming to me than animated knitting, which means that I love to watch these ETSY videos.

Tell a Story

I found some Wednesday morning inspiration on FFFFOUND!.com:

FFFFOUND! | Thomas Doyle – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE INSPIRE COMMUNITY ART DESIGN MUSIC FILM PHOTO PROJECTS

I stumbled upon a very good book last night. Ernest Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories. There was a particular passage that I feel in love with:

“He had destroyed his talent himself. Why should he blame this woman because she kept him well? He had destroyed his talent by not using it, by betrayals of himself and what he believed in, by drinking so much that he blunted the edge of his perceptions, by laziness, by sloth, and by snobbery, by pride and by prejudice, by hook and by crook. What was this? A catalogue of old books? What was his talent anyway? It was a talent all right but instead of using it, he had traded on it. It was never what he had done, but always what he could do. And he had chosen to make his living with something else instead of a pen or a pencil.”

It made me think about how I sabotage myself. How could I possibly know that reading Hemingway would inspire me to finish what I start. Breaks over — back to work.

Late Night Blogging

Blogging late a night is a bad habit that ought to be broken. But in the hustle and bustle I need to get this one out of my system.

I love to create and I am working hard on turning that love into a business. Not asking for the moon. I am not aspiring to be a fashion designer.

Ever since I was a kid my dreams were simple. Have a family. Own a house with wood floors. Fall asleep in a bed covered in dogs.

Having said that I do what I can to keep my focus, keep up the optimism. I avoid most of the news. I don’t appreciate talk about politics, or gossip neither one make me feel better about the world. Instead I rely on fellow bloggers to keep my grounded in my own aspirations.

I just read this article: The Short but Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion.

It made me smile. Its a good guide. I especially enjoyed #8. Banish your fears.

Much needs to be done before I go to bed so  I will post again tomorrow.

Inspiration for the Weekend

I like to look for inspiration in the strangest of places. I find that when I spend time writing or creating something the constant routine can loose much of its magic if I don’t push myself out of my comfort zone.
For that very instance I collect an odd arrangement of blogs in my reader. Changing the routine has helped me in the past to overcome my own creative limitations as well as take some of the stress out of life.
Here is for instance one of my favorite web comic’s more recent posts.

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I hope you take the time to enjoy your favorite distractions and have a great weekend!