Your Friday Tid Bit -- What Inspires You?

 

Off in the distance, the wind blew the snow, frazzling it just enough to dim the view as if an icy fog was moving in. The small flakes fell, barely accumulating on the needle-like shoots of the coniferous evergreens. The white snow painted the trunk of the oak trees, giving the look of a confectioner's touch on a baked treat. From the window, safe in the warmth of the house, it was easy to forget that this beautiful winter scene wasn't just a photo or a scene on TV. It was real. And so were the two people, moving in the distance, digging...

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you are all well. I was just watching it snow. What direction do you think the above story line could go? Could it be a snow rescue happening? Could it be kids making a snow fort and snow balls? Could it be something more nefarious and mysterious? Maybe it could be a memory? Or perhaps ghosts from the past?

I don't know. Regardless, it could become part of a new story or novel.

Anyhow, I've been busy this week. As you know, I discovered Goodreads. My marketing is bringing in new readers. I do have three novels available on Kindle Unlimited for those who are on that. I am moving forward with baby steps. I already knew building a reader base would take time. Just keep on moving forward, sharing, and doing what you do!

This week I've been both working on my short story collection. If you have missed it, here's the cover: 

It's going to be a fun read. There's one story in there that I wrote as a short story, but then the characters keep bugging me so it would seem that their introduction to the world will stay in "Could've Been Something" but they will have a novel of their own (yet to be titled) and it will be a modern day mystery, mixed with all the greatness of murder, romance, and life that happens. I'm not sure if it will be a single novel, or do more, but I'm just going with what I'm doing and seeing what comes out. 

I'm sure all creative people have things that inspire them. Artists, musicians, photographers, writers, you name it, we all get things that inspire us. I recall reading one of Dave Barry's 'articles' in the Sunday newspaper back when I was a teen. He told a story about going to the supermarket with his Thriller/Mystery writer friend. He was doing a simple task, getting whole coffee beans ground at the machine in the supermarket, when his friend wandered by, looked at what he was doing, and then made a comment as if it were an epiphany, saying something to the effect of, "Coffee! The poison is in the coffee!" And then his writer friend moved on, leaving him there, grinding his coffee beans wondering if he should still buy it. (I'll have to find that article. I found I had saved a lot of them out of the paper when I was a teen because I enjoyed Dave Barry's writing style.) So, I often think of that article when I find random things inspiring me or solving problems in my writing. And it's true for me. My inspirations are found in the most strangest and random places. But again, that's my "what if" line of thinking. I get my best ideas when I am doing a mindless task, like washing the dishes. I do not get much quiet time, or even alone time, or time that doesn't have others trying to get my attention for one reason or another. But washing dishes allows me to zone out and my mind begins to see things and we go down our "what if" tunnel. Of course, when I reach a good one, I'll hurriedly finish the dishes and sit down to start writing and time just flies. If it's a really good idea, it'll keep flowing to me and I'll have twenty-five pages of a rough draft down in no time and then it just keeps spurring on other epiphanies. So, it would seem that, for me, doing dishes inspires me to do more writing. 🤔

If you're talking about personal inspirations or other kinds of inspirations, well, that's a subject I have to encounter at another time because I've got to get a few chores finished before the inevitable electricity loss I'm sure we'll have today because the snow is accumulating again. 

On that note, I'll let you go. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Just remember, if you find yourself losing your electricity too, pick up a book. They are truly time machines. Thanks for hanging out with me today, I appreciate it! Remember, you can find all of my books 24/7, 365 days a year at www.amazon.com/author/embrooks