Monday, November 4, 2013

What Inspires You?

Different people are inspired by different things. One person's raucous ball game may be another person's rainbow. Some people love a rainy day, while others only bloom in the sun. Some people leave a party hyped up; others leave a party exhausted and unable to do anything else.

I would love to hear what inspires you. And I don't necessarily mean in writing. What inspires you overall? What makes you want to run out and do something artistic, or something you love? Does attending a musical make you want to write a song? Does a gorgeous sunset inspire you to go on a photo tour? Does going to the zoo inspire you to go out and help wildlife? Does a stirring speech push you to action? Does a movie with an awesome set of parents and kids involved make you aspire to be a better parent or to have more fun with your kids?

And, yes, I'd still love to hear what inspires your art, specifically, what makes you want to write, but I don't want to limit it to that. We're inspired to do a lot in our lives, and it isn't always about art.

On a side note, how are you doing with your monthly goals? If you're doing NaNo, how's that going? If you're not, do you have personal goals you're reaching for this month?

I spent Sunday setting up a new laptop since my old one crashed and burned a long time ago, requiring me to do a weird Twister-like contortion to keep the power cord from moving whatsoever so the computer wouldn't die on me. Plus, it would randomly stop reading the keyboard or the mouse (not at the same time, one or the other). It would overheat if I had to use the video card at all. It was a hot mess.

While getting my Outlook set up, I managed to hit a button that said "Delete All Emails in This Folder." Problem being, I didn't want to delete all the emails. I wanted to delete one email (it had imported all almost 8000 emails I hadn't deleted from the online Gmail version of the email), and I pushed the red "x." Only...I didn't notice it said it would delete ALL the emails. Yeah. Who knew that was even an option. Apparently, it just gives me that option while in the midst of importing with IMAP, because I haven't seen that button since then.

I had a bit of a heart attack, because those deleted emails didn't show up in any of the other folders, and when I logged in online, it showed that everything had been cleared out of there, as well. In short, I was screwed!

Many hours, rants, and borderline panic attacks later, my email made the sound that signifies emails received. When I pulled it up, those emails had magically appeared in the trash folder. It was insanity! Thankfully, it looks like everything's there, so it's just a matter of sorting through 8000 emails to get them reorganized. Totally doable compared to the horror of having lost all my emails.

So...I didn't get any writing or editing done Sunday. That was just one small part of the day, but it really signified the kind of day it was.

HOWEVER, I got writing done the two days preceding Sunday, and I'm not actually disappointed in not writing or editing yesterday. I don't have a 50,000 word goal for the month, just overall goals (you can see this post if you want to know what my goals are for ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo), and I'm doing just fine. Friday, I eked out a little time to add some wordage to Novel #2 (1230 words added) and to research some things for said novel. Saturday, I started a short story and got 2541 words written to it. I think I will add another 1000-1500 words to it before it's finished. Today, my goal will be to get some editing on Novel #1 or a short story.

So, what inspires you? How are you doing with NaNo or your monthly goals? What do you wish would happen to inspire you?

May you find your Muse.

11 comments:

Mardra said...

Iim inspired when I feel like what I'm doing, can do, will help someone else. But when I'm overwhelmed and don't feel like I can do anything, I'm refreshed if i can hang out with my 3 year old nephew. And being refreshed is the pre-step to inspiration.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Eight thousand emails? You'll be busy for a while.
I am inspired first by music. Both listening to a great rock riff to playing one. It inspires what I write as well. I always have to have music playing when I write.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Something that definitely inspires me and/or refreshes me is the beach, especially when it's quiet, like early in the morning.

D.G. Hudson said...

Reading inspires me to write, and seeing a great scene makes me want to sketch it or photograph it.

I'm always inspired to write and I'm adding to two WIPs, since both are projects that have been waiting on the back burner. I have to get mailing boxes ready at the end of the month for Christmas mailing to the States, too. It's a good month to write.

Sometimes, you inspire me, Shannon!

Maurice Mitchell said...

Glad you got a new computer since those laptop problems are insanely frustrating Shannon. My son inspires me the most right now.

Andrew Leon said...

I'm glad you got your stuff back. I did something like that recently, but it was with much fewer emails. Only a few hundred. It was a pain in the butt retrieving them all.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I always feel inspired after attending one of my writers' meetings or sometimes after going to the bookstore.

M Pax said...

Television inspires me a lot. I've lived most of my life with my head in a TV show of my own making. Now I write some of it down. :)

The stars inspire me. The mountains. The majesty of nature and the wonderful things people can surprise us with.

John Wiswell said...

Boring though it be, the easiest way to inspire me in everyday life is data. If data correlates, or better causates, with benefit, I'm much more likely to force myself to eat roughage, or exercise for the full thirty minutes, or set specific times to write. And lo, these inspirations have worked out decently over the years! I keep strict data on my own productivity so I can react with elasticity.

Jagoda said...

The example of people who create against the odds inspires me as well as anything in nature. Whenever I hear or read about someone who published a book, completed an art piece, found an innovative solution while also dealing with personal challenges like illness, family and work commitments, etc. I'm inspired to get my butt into the seat and stop making excuses for myself.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Mardra, I think it's wonderful that hanging out with your nephew helps you feel refreshed.

Alex, yeah, I'm taking the emails bit by bit. I refuse to stress more about it. Music is an inspiration to me, as well.

Madeline, oh, I do love the beach! Luckily for me, I am also inspired by the mountains, by the woods, by the rugged hills. I'd be in deep trouble if it were only the beach (what with being landlocked and all).

D.G., that all sounds wonderful. Good luck with your new WIPs. And thank you so much! You made my day.

Maurice, very sweet, my kids do, as well. I'm so happy to be done with my problem-ridden laptop.

Andrew, I've fixed it now via Gmail where when I delete something in Outlook it is synced to delete it online, as well. At least it means it won't happen again. Going through 8000 emails when you're already limited on time is absurd, so I'm taking it one day at a time, a few minutes here, a few minutes there.

Susan, getting together with other writers always inspires me, too!

Mary, the mountains inspires me, as well, and I love my late night walks, much of which are spent looking up.

John, keeping track of what I've achieved always inspires me more than, say a to-do list, which just tells me what I haven't done yet.

Jagoda, that also inspires me! I recently read about an author who published his first book AFTER being diagnosed by ALS, which my dad has, after he had quit his job due to not being able to work anymore. He has now written two books, all with limited mobility and motion in only select fingers. Amazing.