Inspiration

What Inspires You?

Inspiration drives nearly every major facet of my life.  I teach theatre because I find it to be one of the most inspiring forms of art.  Taking a story and bringing it to life with a group of people is amazing.  I especially love the organic nature of drama.  When my play Stuck was performed, I had envisioned the entire work while I wrote it.  I knew what (I thought) it would look like from start to end.  The finished play was drastically different, but that was good, since so many different ideas were involved in creating a new and interesting piece of art.  I do enjoy working with kids too.  Children have the power to inspire me, and inspiring them is something I aim to daily (occasionally with some success).


I am marrying my soul mate, because every time I see or even think of her, I feel inspired.  After dating unsuccessfully, and beginning to feel a bit like a character from a sticom (my summer drama students like to call me Ted Mosby), I was wondering if I'd ever find love.  When I first saw Rachel, I was coming down an escalator.  We'd arranged a date over the internet, but I only had pictures to go off.  My initial reaction was "please let that be her- she's stunning," and it was.  Every time I am with Rachel, I no longer feel writer's block or unmotivated, I feel inspired.  She is also a writer, and has encouraged me to continue being my best.  I look forward to the day when we can do book tours together.

With Rachel at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, California

I write out of a desire to share my inspiration in words.  There are times I have definitely felt blocked.  The first novel I wrote (currently shelved, awaiting the day I try a compete re-write) took me just over ten years, and even then it wasn't right.  I vacillated from periods when the words poured out without effort, to days when I'd dig into my soul with a pair of tweezers, yanking each word out forcibly.  At times when inspiration slows, I have found travel and nature to be my chief sources for reigniting my inspiration.

Barras Nose - taken from Tintagel Castle, Cornwall

My time abroad was undoubtedly some of the most inspiring memories of my life.  When I was accidentally stranded overnight in Tintagel (http://poetsfire.blogspot.com/2011/10/travel-to-tintagel.html) I climbed out to the edge of Barras Nose the following morning, fighting the fierce winds, and watched the sunrise from the edge of the cliffs.  It was breathtaking.

Sunset over Rome, from Piazza del Popolo

Living abroad was exhilarating: a week in Rome with Rachel; visiting the ruins of medieval abbeys in England; traveling to new and exciting places every week.  I did this all while working on the first draft of School of Deaths, and it definitely helped inspire the writing.  The location of the College of Deaths seemed to change weekly, as each week I'd visit a new and amazing place and want to set my story there (ironically, the location it ended up being set is not related to anything in that four-month period I experienced in Europe).

Glastonbury Abbey

Guy Fawkes' Day in London - 2011

Now that I am back in the States, and no longer traveling regularly, what can I do to remain inspired?  I experience moments where the words come easier.  My Winter Escape retreat two weeks ago, while brief, helped me reconnect with nature, and rekindle the spark of inspiration for my writing that was starting to wane.  Even at work, while inspired by theatre and children, there are days when I am in school so long I do not see the sun (I drive to and from work, which is a windowless building, in the night).  How do I keep my writing inspired at times like that?

For me, meditation has been one answer.  It helps me remain focused.  Making sure I revisit natural places regularly, even if it's a simple walk outside, also helps.  Spending time away from work and other stresses also helps me remain inspired.

Perhaps the key is actually recognizing inspiration.  Anything can inspire us if we let it, from the news, to a "conversation" over twitter.

Perhaps inspiration isn't the act of journeying in search of a muse, it's the act of recognizing the muse in ourselves.  Several years ago, I read Julia Cameron's excellent book The Artist's Way, which focuses on methods to reclaim your own muse.  Shortly after reading it, I found myself recognizing inspiration in daily life.  Stress can be a fog, but the light of inspiration is always there, once we look past the fog.

Again, I ask:
What Inspires You?

Thoughts

I apologize for not updating this more frequently, I have been far too busy.  Now it is almost Spring Break, and things are winding down.  Cabaret, which I designed, is over.  Learned Ladies, which I helped with, opens next weekend.  And I only have three weeks of student teaching (around two weeks off for spring break) left.  Things are looking up, and I am very happy.

Still, a couple of disappointing moments.  First, Cabaret.  This was the first time Rachel had seen one of my set designs.  It was also the first time I've been to a show I designed, which I hadn't been around at all during any of the building (usually shows I design that I see are built while I'm there).  Frankly, the set looked poor.  They used primary colors for spray paint that didn't work.  There was a mis-communication about the height of one major set piece, which ended up being built far too short.  And the performance I attended with Rachel was frankly a bit of a mess.  I am looking forward to bringing her to a show I am completely in charge of, and can really impress her with.

 
My second comment is on Hunger Games. I liked the trilogy a lot, so took Rachel to the movie as our date week for this week.  As I sat watching the movie, the man to my right had his phone out texting during the entire film.  The screen of this guy's phone was very bright, and very distracting.  Behind us were two babies, who added quite a bit of crying.  Meanwhile, in the film itself, there was a ton of hand-held camera use and fast cutting.  The first fifteen minutes of the film made me so dizzy that I had to look away every few minutes.  I know this was a choice to help the audience get into Katniss's head, but honestly the camerawork and editing were distracting, and I felt they took away more than they added.  Overall, very good film though.

It's hard to sound negative in a blog, when everything in my life is going so well.  Just got a summer job at Imagination Stage, student teaching's winding down, and my co-operating teacher's planning a trip to London.  She's asked for advice on where to go, which reminded me of my wonderful time abroad.  For that reason, I've decided to start adding some of my favorite pics to blog entries, just to remind me and my readers.  Here are two:

Not my favorite pic, but appropriate for this blog- a statue in Delft, which I thought was the Cornucopia from  Hunger Games

Almost time for the Olympics...

Flights Home and Recap

Yesterday, I flew from Brussels to London, then after a 6 and half hour layover, left Europe and headed back to the US.  On the flight to London, we circled over the city four times, each time flying lower.  The final flight we were so low that I could see people walking, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, St Paul's, and many other notable sights in London.  The first movie I watched on the way to the States was then X-Men First Class, much of which takes place in (and was filmed in) Oxford.  Returning home was odd, it honestly felt like yet another hotel, but I am slowly adapting back.

This has been the greatest trip of my life.  Here is the recap video- click to watch (it's a little long, but is excellent at showing all of the highlights of my amazing adventure):

Trip of a Lifetime Slideshow