Getting Your Mojo Back

You know the time when your muse (or whatever kind of inspiration you have to keep you going) seems to have gone for a perpetual holiday?  When going to write feels like going to the dentist?

If you’re feeling this change, fear not, for one of these solutions might get you your mojo back.

1) First and most important, read.  If you haven’t had the chance to read anything lately, grab a book of your favourite author and get to it.  Or, if you have been reading, but nothing that excites you (Jane Austen in my case), try shaking it up and grabbing an old favourite from the shelf.

2) Next, it might be a problem related to what you’re writing.  Try writing something else.  Say you’re busy with a novel and you’ve had an idea for a short story for a while now, get busy doing that, at least until you’re back on track.  Alternatively, try something new with your current project.  It might be that you’re bored with the current scene or chapter, and you know what they say, if you’re not interested in what you’re writing, no one else will be either.  Change something and go on.

3) Take a break.  Give yourself a week or two in which you do no writing whatsoever.  Maybe deadlines, family crises or world apocalypse is getting you down.  Sort out everything and recover, then go back and see if your mojo has returned.

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Things that Inspire : Curtains

Curtains? Yes, curtains.

A curtain is a piece of cloth that blocks light or drafts. In general, curtains are mostly used to minimise light in a room. It can create ambiance or atmosphere. Another common use is for privacy reasons – hiding whatever is behind the curtain. Theatres use curtains for exactly this purpose, blocking the audience’s view as things are being prepared on-stage, or at the end of a play.

Curtains (sometimes veils, though generally the same thing) are often associated with border between things – such as the veil between the living and dead in the Sword of Truth series. It usually refers to an unseen but fragile barrier between two worlds.

Simply put, curtains are made to hide things. Hiding things – akin to secrets – create friction and, when discovered, conflict. When not revealed, but known of – either by the reader or another character – it creates tension.

In short, secrets (and subsequently hiding things) are great for stories.

Thus, curtains can be used to hide things or oneself. They can be used to separate two places – also a great story, since an unseen place often attracts people (aka curiosity), and accidentally tearing it will probably have consequences.

Herewith my attempt at flash fiction (feel free to leave an opinion or a piece of flash fiction based on the subject at hand – 200 words or less in this case – of your own in the comments):

John checked that his father was still asleep. A gentle snoring arose from the sofa. He had had a long day. Perfect.

Though he knew his father was a pretty sound sleeper, John worried that the absence of his master key could somehow make him easier to rouse, so he had taken off his shoes and sneaked down the metal hall in his socks.

The key turned easily in the big metal door that his father always kept locked. When he entered, he saw the room he had seen only a few times. Tables and electronic devices. Papers and notes. But the thing that he wanted to see – the thing that had drawn him here at a risk – was the thing that was hidden behind the wine-red curtain.  He wondered what it was that his father hid from him.

He stood before it for a full minute before he could gather enough courage to move again. He could hear bubbles from inside. The curtain moved smoothly against glass.

For a moment, John thought he looked in a reflection. Then he saw two more, each drifting in an enormous glass tank.

He screamed.

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Things that Inspire : Umbrella

An umbrella is most commonly a canopy that protects against certain elements, usually rain or sun. In general, umbrella refers to the canopy that protects against the rain, while parasol refers to the canopy that protects against sun. The difference is in the material – an umbrella is waterproof while a parasol is not. An umbrella or parasol can be used as a hand held object, or it can be a permanent fixture. Other uses of umbrellas (besides protecting from rain or sun) include using it as a reflector or diffuser in photography.

Besides the factual information that you can get about things, your view will be altered by your own personal experiences and connotations (this is perhaps most important, as each person will have a unique view and thus a unique story). For example, I recently (repeatedly) saw an ad on the television where a guy opens his shop canopy thing when it starts to rain so that the people in the street could shelter under it. While this is not an umbrella, it serves the same purpose. Thus, an umbrella can be a great help to someone who gets caught in a storm without one.

From all this information (including my own), I could quickly glean two things that stand out.

1) An umbrella is waterproof and a parasol is not, though they look pretty much the same.

2) An umbrella can be a help to someone caught in the rain.

Why these two things? Because I can see potential conflict in them. Conflict drives a story, thus selecting conflict-potential situations, I can get a story from it.

Say with 1, there is the possibility that, say, someone gets an umbrella for his boss or girlfriend, but when it rains, the water seeps through because it was a parasol.

Number 2 incites the implication that people without umbrellas would be drawn to people with umbrellas. Also, someone with an umbrella might feel it a moral duty to give shelter to someone without an umbrella. Thus, it could lead to someone luring people with an umbrella for some nefarious purpose, or someone leaves his umbrella at home and uses that as an excuse to get close to someone so that he can, say, kill him.

Both of these work because I see a conflict that can result from the particular situation.

Herewith my attempt at flash fiction (feel free to leave an opinion or a piece of flash fiction based on umbrellas – 200 words or less in this case – of your own in the comments):

It was the day. Sean walked five paces behind Peter and the boss so that they wouldn’t see him calling the rain. He muttered the words under his breath – the words he had spent weeks learning. He would surely get the promotion now.

Peter was still sweet talking the boss and Sean knew he couldn’t compete. But Sean’s stunt would gain him the upper hand.

Dark clouds were beginning to build. Thunder rumbled and the boss looked up then his face turned to alarm.

“They said that it would be sunny today!” he said.

Just as the rain started to fall – with perfect timing – Sean hurried closer and whipped out the umbrella he had bought the previous day.

“I thought it looked like rain this morning, sir,” he said in his sweetest voice, ignoring Peter’s glare.

The boss looked delighted as Sean held the umbrella over his head. The promotion was his.

Just as he noticed a little sticker on the underside that said ‘Happy Parasols’, the rain started dripping through the material. The boss got a drop in his eye and scowled at Sean.

It looked like he wouldn’t get the promotion after all.

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Objects that Inspire : Apples

Apples are among the most popular fruit for humans. Most of Earth’s produce come from China, who provide about 35% of the total. The apple tree originates from the Alma in western Asia.

In general, the apple is considered to be a sacred or at least special fruit. It is often considered as a forbidden fruit, and is said to be the fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden. In Greek mythology, the apple is associated with Aphrodite and thus love.

Because of Snow White, the apple is sometimes associated with poison or witches.

This stood out for me, apart from the obvious:

1) Apples are a popular fruit

2) Apples have value beyond nutrition

For number one, because apples are popular, it is implied that many people both eat and like them. Thus it wouldn’t be hard to get someone to eat one, which leads to malicious intent (or maybe that’s just me). Poison seems the easiest way to harm someone through the eating of the apple. However, to go a little further, one could inject some sort of genetic engineering cells into an apple, thus making the eater an experiment or subject. Either way, anything that can be carried over through food can be easily carried over through apples because they are so popular.

Number two implies that apples have a special quality that other fruit don’t have, but it could be that only a certain farmer’s apples have that special quality – let’s say it can grant eternal youth. That would lead to people wanting to get those apples and perhaps the farmer is a sort of guardian of the secret. Or it can be mass produced to enhance someone’s army. The possibilities are endless.

Herewith is my attempt at flash fiction (feel free to leave an opinion or a piece of flash fiction based on apples – 200 words or less in this case – of your own in the comments):

Earl stood and brushed himself off. The tree stood before him, fifteen feet, rising just over the walls that closely surrounded it. The owner of the tree, Orlando, a self-righteous farmer, didn’t want anyone eating from it. Eternal youth was not for humanity, he had said.

The luscious red apples hung just within reach, as if grown for Earl to pick. He reached out and grabbed the fruit, then tore off a chunk with his teeth and swallowed.

Instead of feeling younger, he felt a dull pain in stomach. It escalated so quickly that he fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen.

He heard the squeak of hinges and saw feet approach him. He looked up and saw Orlando.

“The poison’ll kill you in a few minutes.”

“What?” Earl managed.

“I poisoned all the apples so no one could eat them.”

Earl couldn’t reply – it took all his strength not to faint.

“When you try to grab eternal youth, you’ll find only quick death.”

Orlando left, closing the gate behind him and leaving Earl to become one with the earth.

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People that Inspire : Postman

A postman (or mail carrier if we want to be politically correct) is a person who delivers mail. Mail carriers are employed by post offices generally, though there can be private mail couriers that would still count as postmen in my eyes.

The earliest mail system belonged to the ancient Persians – though no one can apparently pinpoint the exact point of invention. Either way, post people have been around for some time.

In those early times, the mail carriers were given the mail and sent off with a horse to deliver them. Along the way – apparently in day intervals – there would be people waiting with fresh horses and the mail carrier would then swap his horse for the new one to ensure the speed of the delivery.

Postmen in modern times – and probably ancient times as well – are forbidden to open mail addressed to someone else, enforced by federal law.

Though in this age, paper mail is quickly dying out (much like paper books) to make way for electronic messages and mail.

To forge a story from something like this, you must figure out how it can be different than it seems. From the things I wrote above, three things stand out. Thus, I see three things that can be manipulated into something that differs from the norm to form a story.

1) There were new horses waiting for postmen in ancient times to ensure the speed of delivery.

2) Postmen are not allowed to open other people’s mail.

3) Paper mail is a dying form.

In number one, the deviation is this. What if there wasn’t a horse waiting for a mail carrier on a tired horse? He may be holding an important letter. Speed was essential for mail delivery in those times. What does the mail carrier do? Why wasn’t there a horse waiting?

Number two. What if a certain postman sees something on a letter that intrigues him and decides to open it, despite regulation and law? Upon opening it, he finds a letter to someone important with dangerous information in it; threats or illegal dealings or worse. Maybe there is information inside that puts the postman in danger when the wrong person sees him reading it.

Number three. With paper mail dying, the future could be one that has no post office. A dying old man – the last of the postmen – is recruited by the government – afraid of interception via electronic means – to take a message across hazardous land, using all the skills and talent he had as a postman to achieve it.

To paraphrase Orson Scott Card, always ask what else could happen.

Herewith is my attempt at flash fiction (feel free to leave an opinion or a piece of flash fiction based on postmen – 200 words or less in this case – of your own in the comments):

Bill quivered in front of the massive oak desk that housed the Lord of Mail. The huge man finally put down the paper he had been reading and turned his attention to Bill.

“What is it?”

“Sir, you should look at this,” Bill said, sliding the letter in his hands across the impossibly smooth desk.

As the thin eyes scanned the lines quickly, the Lord of Mail’s face grew more furrowed.

“Where did you get this?”

“It was in my bag of mail and–“

“You opened someone else’s mail?” the Lord of Mail yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

“Yes, sir, but for a good cause! The president is planning on betraying his country.”

“You know what the penalty is, don’t you? Execution of your entire family.”

Bill’s throat felt like a postbox.

“But sir, the president...” Bill began.

“Joshua, take care of this.”

The Lord of Mail’s personal body guard appeared behind Bill and slit his throat. As the red ink in Bill’s veins dripped to the floor, Bill felt the guilt of sending a copy of the letter to Internal Affairs fade away. No one would open the mail, of that, Bill was sure.

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Places that Inspire : Attic

Inspiration comes from everywhere, so for this week’s post (and probably the rest, except if something specific catches my attention) I’ll look at an ordinary place and how to draw inspiration from it.

An attic, for those who don’t know, is a space that fits between a slanted roof and the ceiling of a building’s top floor. This prevents, I imagine, awkward-looking top floor ceilings. Ergo, attics are generally weirdly shaped and are probably filled with rafters and the like. They are also generally hard to get to and hard to manoeuvre in. Most people use them for storage, though some convert them into bedrooms or studies.

There are two things that caught my attention from that and which I will try to expand on.

1) Attics are hard to get to (and subsequently not visited often).

2) Attics are used for storage.

For 1, I can deduce that if it is not visited often, it would be a good place to hide. Plus, if I take into account that people convert it into rooms, it translates into a room that was made where someone who does not want to be found can go. Since I’m a sucker for the supernatural, I immediately think of a not-entirely-human man hiding in the room to avoid getting torch-and-pitchforked. Or, maybe he’s trying to stay in. But if he was, say, a werewolf, the room would have to be heavily fortified, or he’d just bring the whole roof down. That’s a beginning.

Number 2 tells me that there is probably a lot of old things in attics. Again with the supernatural, it could be VERY old things. As in ancient times when people still used magic and so on. Old things implies old people or the handing down of items. Let’s say there is an old man who was guarding some sort of artefact from the old days. Before he could pass the responsibility on to his son, he dies of a heart attack.

The son goes up to the attic to clear it out in preparation for the sale of the house, but then he finds the artefact and activates it, inadvertently destroying the world/transporting him somewhere else/anything else that could go wrong.

I hope this gives you an idea of the thought process I go through to come up with a story.

What ideas can you come up with about attics?

Herewith is my attempt at flash fiction based on idea number one (feel free to leave a piece of flash fiction based on an attic – 200 words or less in this case – of your own in the comments):

Henry climbed the ladder that led to the great metal hatch on his ceiling. He typed in the code that released the lock on the keypad next to it. Another box was attached to the ceiling with a green light shining in a corner. He typed on the pad, inputting 12 hours as the time. The light turned red and Henry opened the hatch.

A single lamp hung high in the rafters and a thin light was cast in from outside the window. He climbed inside and closed the hatch behind him. There was a loud click. The lock was active.

The entire room - except for the reinforced window - was metal. Five inches thick. Even so, there were huge dents and long gashes everywhere.

Henry went to sit in the middle of the room, facing the window. After an hour, he felt his skin tingle and his bones shift. It would be eleven hours before the hatch opened again.

The full moon came out from behind the trees.

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Places that Inspire : The Door to Hell

Originally, geologists had expected the gasses from the cavern to burn for a few days, but thus far, the pit has been burning for over 40 years.

Derweze, Turkmenistan, is rich with natural gasses. In 1971, some geologists came upon a cavern filled with some of these gasses. The whole thing collapsed, leaving a gaping hole. The gasses were potentially poisonous and to prevent it from escaping into the atmosphere, they decided to burn it off.

It is a tourist attraction as a pit of fire that never stops burning. The people of Derweze had decided to leave it burning, since it was less harmful to the environment than letting the gasses escape into the atmosphere (methane is one of the greenhouse gasses with a high global warming potential).

The locals were the ones who named the cavern “The Door to Hell”.

How can a cavern still be burning after 40 years? That is a big question to ask if you want to get a story out of this. Is it really a gateway to Hell, fuelled by eternally burning bodies? Or maybe there is a whole other reason for it, a conspiracy using the beliefs of the natives to cover up the burning of something, or someone. Perhaps it is kept alive by spirits who want to deliver a message.

Then again, maybe there’s just a whole lot of gasses. But what happens when it dries up?

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Objects that Inspire : Origami Cranes

A crane is one of the mystical creatures of Japanese culture. It is said that a crane lives for a thousand years.

Origami (the art of paper folding) cranes have a special meaning to the people of Japan. It is said that the one who folds a thousand paper cranes can be granted his or her wish. The most famous example of this is Sadako Sasaki.

Sadako was a victim of radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and she was dying of leukaemia as a result. To prolong her life, she started folding cranes, hoping that she could wish for a recovery if she folded 1000 of them. Some sources say that she only folded 644 before she died, and her friends finished the rest and buried it with her. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on the other hand, says that she actually completed all one thousand.

As a result of Sadako, the paper crane has become a symbol for world peace and people often give them to temples that burn eternal flames for world peace.

The thousand cranes also serve as gifts, for couples, marriages and family in general. By giving someone a thousand cranes, you are wishing them good fortune and happiness for a thousand years.

Paper cranes have huge cultural significance to the people of Japan and can breed all sorts of stories. The obvious one being the granting of a wish when one completes the feat of a thousand cranes. Sadako is also a great inspiration, especially the mystery about the amount of cranes she was able to finish. If she did fold a thousand cranes, maybe she wished for something else instead of getting better? The cranes can also be used as a symbol in a story, delivering a message otherwise not mentioned.

I specifically chose paper cranes for today’s post for the people of Japan that was hit by the tsunami. If you have the money for it, please donate some to help the victims of the disaster. If you don’t know where to go to do so, here is a link to Maureen Johnson’s page where you can donate for Shelterbox and even win prizes! LINK

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Places that Inspire : Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest covers an area of five and a half million square kilometres. Most of it is situated in Brazil, while the rest lies in Peru and seven other countries. A large part of the forest remains unexplored.

Because of the quantity of trees in the forest (naturally) the rainforest provides more than 20% of the earth’s oxygen. However, the trees are cut down daily for lumber.

A few hundred thousand species of plant life have been discovered to date in the forest. The diversity of animal life is just as great. For example, 2000 species of fish have been discovered in the Amazon Basin. It is more than the number of species in the Atlantic Ocean.

More still, many cures for illnesses have been found in rainforest plants, and the rich diversity in the Amazon Rainforest makes it one of the largest store of medicinal plants in the world. Many indigenous tribes live in explored and unexplored areas of the forest and have years of experience using the plants as medicine.

Some of the tribes have yet to be approached. Unfortunately, most of them might never be safely contacted, for they don’t have the natural immunity for many of the illnesses that have devastated Europe and the rest of the world centuries ago and that any travellers would bring into their camps if contact should be made.

The Amazon is a place that can be used as a setting or simply to make a story of. There are many undiscovered areas in the rainforest that could be home to some frightening new species, or an undiscovered people who have had a breakthrough in dangerous technology. Furthermore, the forests are being destroyed, and a single character can make a stand to stop them. Or, your story could take place after the forest is gone entirely, creating massive global warming and resulting in an epic disaster. I’m sure you can think of more things to do with the Amazon rainforest as inspiration, but that’s all from me today.

(Most of my information comes from Wikipedia, as well as www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm. I can give you a link if you really need it.)

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People that Inspire : Anna Chapman

Side note : I decided to begin with a “that Inspire” series per se. Every week I'll make a post about something – a person, place, event – that can act as inspiration for a fiction writer. While this will normally be something that could or did inspire me, I'll try to keep it interesting.

Anna Chapman is a Russian spy that was in the news sometime back. She was born as Anna Vasil'yevna Kushchyenko in Russia in 1982. Around 2000, she moved to London and met Alex Chapman there, and married him soon after – thus gaining dual Russian-British citizenship.

Then about six years later, she moved to New York and created a business in Manhattan. In 2009, it became a successful business, even after some bad years prior.

Later, Chapman was arrested after an undercover FBI agent set a trap for her. She eventually confessed to being part of a Russian spy ring and she and 9 others were arrested for acting as agents for a foreign government without notifying the US Attorney General.

On 8 July, 2010, she was deported in a prisoner swap between USA and Russia.

Ever since her capture, she had become quite a celebrity. After her release, she cooperated with Zeda Inc to release an application for the iPhone called “Poker with Anna Chapman”. She also appeared on the cover of the Russian version of Maxim.

On 1 October, Chapman was hired by FundserviceBank (a Moscow bank that handles state and private sector payments) as advisor to the President of the bank.

Anna Chapman has a story with so many interesting tales that can be used to create fiction. From her work in the spy ring (it was never revealed to the public what she actually did) to her life after her deportation. Obviously I'm not talking about biographies, but rather taking a piece from her life and expanding it into another story.

If your looking for an idea for a spy novel – even if it's just a few scenes you want to add – look no further than Anna Chapman.

That's it for today. Let me know what you think.

(Most of my information plus the picture comes from Wikipedia. I can give you a link if you really need it.)

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