Outside the Window

I found a list of 365 creative writing prompts. Now I probably won't do one of these everyday. But if I ever can't think of something to write about these will be a good fall back.

Here is the prompt:

Outside the window: What's the weather outside your window doing right now? If that's not inspiring, what's the weather like somewhere you wish you could be?

It wasn't just hot. Hot she could handle. A blistering dry heat would be a welcome relief. But when she stepped outside on her way to work she felt like she had just entered a sauna. Her skin was instantly sticky. The moisture in the air was thick. And the air itself was stiflingly hot. It had been raining in short intense bursts on and off all day. Like someone was turning a faucet on and off just because they felt like it.

It was one o'clock in the afternoon. Not that she could tell what time it was being outside. Judging by the sky it looked closer to five or six. There was an eerie red glow. It looked as if half a dozen wild fires were blazing from all sides. The air even smelled kind of smoky.  

This kind of weather made her feel powerless. You can't just put on a coat and feel comfortable like in the cold. And she shouldn't wear shorts and tank top to work. She was stuck. Stuck in slacks and a nice blouse that were already rubbing uncomfortably against her sweaty skin.

What wouldn't she give for a cold rain storm? One in which she could wear a scarf, hat, coat and gloves? Instead of this miserable summer thunderstorm. That was making the air so humid that her shower from ten minutes before felt pretty pointless.

I might play around with this some more later. But it's a little something.

Is there an original story?

I want to be a novelist. A young adult novelist to be specific. Anyone who knows me knows my love for Harry Potter. I love the Hunger Games as well. I'm trying to read more. I go through phases. For a couple of weeks I'll have a stack of books by my bed. And maybe I'll get through one or two of them. Then I'll find myself watching Gilmore Girls and playing games on my iPhone.

If I find myself in a slump with reading then I turn to Harry Potter. And honestly some reading is better than no reading. Though I have read the series more times than I can count. And I know to get better at writing I need to constantly be reading new things. And when I do finally get myself set up with a new book I enjoy it. It just usually takes me a chapter or two before I'm hooked. And it's so easy for me to become distracted by pretty much anything. Even by doing nothing.

That's when I get really frustrated with myself. When I sit around and do literally nothing. I'll sit and stare at my planner and journal just waiting and hoping for inspiration to strike. Or I'll be telling myself to get to that to do list and...I do nothing.

That's what I'm really hoping to break myself from. Maybe I won't end up writing anything in here but gibberish. But even gibberish to me is progress. It's much better than just sitting around and wishing I was doing something with my time.

So I want to be a young adult novelist. And I want to write something good. That is me stating the obvious yes. Of course I want to write something good. I guess I feel the need to say it because Twilight is a very successful young adult book. And yes I've read it. And I even enjoyed it. But that doesn't mean it was good.

The problem is many young adult books are very similar to each other. Many have the same elements and very similar characters. I sat down about a year or so ago to brain storm ideas for a book. I had settled on an idea and was pretty excited about it. But then I heard about this book at work (I work at a library) and the book just sounded so similar to what I had wanted to write. So I lost my excitement for that story. And it just got me thinking about how so many books share so many similarities. How is someone supposed to write an original story?

I want there to be magic. I want there to be a love story. I love stories that have a royal family. I love it when the female characters are there to actually be a part of the story and not just a love interest. I want there to be mystery.

Mystery for me is what kept me coming back for Harry Potter. From book one J.K. Rowling set mysteries that would continue for the whole of the series. And she knew exactly how to handle such long running stories. She would give just enough hints that the reader would be satisfied for the moment but still yearning for more. That's what I want to do. I want to write that story that has the reader happily anticipating the next one.

And so until next time... :)

My first entry

Hi everyone,

I have decided to give this another try. You know, writing. I have always enjoyed writing and I've always thought that if I could just sit down and commit to it then maybe I could make something of it. But the problem is actually sitting down and doing it. They say that most writer's just starting out have tons and tons of crap just waiting to get out. And that you have to write for days and days and weeks and weeks and months and months before you even get anywhere near anything remotely worth reading. So here I am at Day 1...

The problem is I know I am my own worst enemy when it comes to committing to anything. I have tried starting countless writing projects. I've tried losing weight several times. I've tried sticking to good, smart healthy habits but they never stick. A lot of the time I give myself ridiculously unrealistic expectations that of course I don't reach. And because I don't get it exactly right then I give up. Just like that.

So in starting this blog I am not going to promise that I will write in it everyday. I'm not even going to promise that this time will be different than any other time I've tried to commit to writing. All I am saying is that I am trying. I'm going to come back to this blog as often as possible. Sometimes I'll write about what happened to me that day. Sometimes I'll write random crap.

The main reason I've decided to start a blog rather than write in my own private journal is accountability. Like I said I am my own worst enemy when it comes to committing to writing. So I'm starting this blog in the hopes of getting some feedback. Whether it's actually about my writing or just someone saying Hi I read it. I'm hoping that if someone other than me is reading what I'm writing then maybe I'll be encouraged to stick with it. Maybe.

To be honest I'm really nervous about starting this blog. I'm nervous that this will be my one and only entry and like many times before I will just give up and forget all about it. I'm nervous that people won't read it. I'm nervous that people will read it and think that it's crap. Or be taking bets on how long this lasts. I have so many assumptions of what people think of me and I'm sure it's mostly me just getting in my own head.

I never share my writing. I always feel like I need to make sure it's perfect before I let anyone see it. And I've realized that that is just stupid. If I'm ever going to get better at this then I need feedback. I need to let people see my writing even if it's crap. So here it is. One blog entry at a time.

Thanks for reading :)
-Jen