Religion (a free write)

Myth based in fact? Or fact based in myth? The concept of religion is one of the oldest debates in history. Every culture in the world has worshipped a chosen god or a variety of gods and spirits, but is religion based in fact or myth?

It is a question that may never be answered because no one truly knows. No one living today has concrete proof that any one religion is based wholly in fact. While there may be bits and pieces of verifiable fact in every religious story, that is what the largely remain – a story.

Religion is mainly a moral prescription of life. In the form of fables and narrative, it gives you a how and why for living a good, just life. A comparison of today’s major religions (and quite a few minor ones) will show common themes. “Honor thyself and thy family.” “Be kind and helpful in your community.” “Do not want for more than you have.” These are some of the basic tenets of religion across the world.

And how you live your life dictates how you spend your afterlife.

What religion requires that a lot of people have lost is the ability to believe. You have to be able to ignore that tiny part of your brain that says, “Wait!! Show me the proof that this actually happened!!” Without that ability to believe – the ability to put faith in something outside of yourself – you will never be able to embrace religion. No matter what flavor is offered, you’ll find it unappetizing. You’ll be unable to find the necessary power to fully believe.

So then, it leads me to ask…

Who is the more powerful man?

He who can step outside the confines of the conventional and trust his faith in the unknown and unseen?

Or he who cannot, even for a moment, suspend cynicism and disbelief to trust in a power outside himself?

Inspiration Revisited

I've talked about inspiration before. What inspires you; from where you draw inspiration. I've yet to ask WHO inspires you. If you could pick a list of people you'd like to meet - and why - who would those people be? I've spent a lot of time thinking about this very question... and I think I've come up with some interesting people I'd love to meet and talk to for just a while.

Stephen King - a lot of people may not like his books, but he's a powerful writer - able to captivate his audience and keep them on the edge of their seats until the very last word... and then leaves them wanting more. I would love to have the opportunity to sit down and talk about writing with him.

Tim Curry - he is a master entertainer who has done it all - television, movies, Broadway and London stage, and recording artist. Every project in which he is involved, he brings his vast experience to but always seems to bring something new to it as well. I would love to discuss his inspirations and how he decides which projects he wants to be involved with.

John Douglas - this man spent years working with the FBI... he was the original criminal profiler. He spend most of his career helping to paint a clearer picture of who the criminal was so that the person may be found quicker. I would love to talk to him about how he got interested in that line of work, what the motivation was to keep him going even after the sickest of serial killers, and how it felt transitioning to civilian life once he retired.

Alan Parsons - his ability to look at a piece of music or a band and find ways to make it/them more appealing to an audience has always struck me. I've been a fan of his music since I was little - grew up listening to it all the time because of my mother. And the work he did with bands like Pink Floyd is amazing.

Robin Williams - I would love to just sit down and talk with him about his view of the world. Everyone's view of the world is different because of our experiences - and Robin Williams definitely has a very unique view of the way things are.

Billy Connolly - I'd love to talk to him for the same reason as above with Robin Williams. He's a funny comedian who can mold himself into whatever part he's playing if on television or in a movie.

Quincy Jones - after being such a major influence with a lot of today's popular music, I would love to talk to him about his views of today's music.

Sigmund Freud - if it were possible to speak with him without the need of a seance or ouija board, I think it would be fascinating to sit down and pick the mind of the "Father of Modern Psychology".

Vincent Van Gogh - again, if I didn't need a seance or a ouija board, I would love to talk to him about his inspiration for his art and what it was like as he spiraled downwards into madness, leading him to eventually take his own life.

Every single songwriter in history whose music I enjoy - as a writer, I know inspirations can come from the strangest of places. And I would love to know where their inspirations are drawn from. Sometimes, it's evident - but a lot of the time, it's not.

These are just a few of the people I would love to take some time to talk to. There is so much you can learn about where others derive their inspiration - so much you can understand about their work, their soul... their passion.

From Where Do You Draw Inspiration?

The other night I wrote a blog, asking from where you draw inspiration. I wanted to address that topic again, but from another view - from where I personally draw inspiration.

I honestly draw inspiration from everything around me - things I see, do, hear, feel, taste, touch, experience. A book I'm reading could yield a new way of looking at a tired old topic or offer up some delictable phrase to use somewhere else. A song could evoke a powerful emotion, one overpowering enough that I have to write about it before the memory is gone like the fluttering of a butterfly. A scent could bring to mind a scene, remembered or imagined, that strikes me as pivotal in someway and begs to be written about. I don't draw upon just a few facets of my life for inspiration.

While I'm writing, however, that's at different story. If you've read enough magazine articles about writing or read a book by a so-called "expert" on how to strengthen your writing (or even if you've ever read Stephen King's The Dark Half) you know most authoers have pecularities when it comes to working their craft. Whether it's writing everything out in long hand first or having a particular spot that they can only write in, there is some quirk. In Stephen King's Misery, Paul had a certain room in a certain hotel in Denver and a certain ritual he had to fulfill when finishing a manuscript.

For me, it's no different. How I create my masterpiece is flexible - I can use a word processor or computer, or I can write the thing out long hand (these days, age makes me prefer the computer - less harsh on fingers who have seen their fair share of tragedy), but my surroundings - that's a different story altogether.

Don't think you'll ever catch me sitting at a desk while I write. I've tried that - it's too stiff and formal. The ideas seem to be cut off by the impersonal nature of the hard wood and clutter. You can find me curled up on the couch or stretched out on my bed when the muse grabs me most oftenly - I will only sit at a desk if I have no other choice.

And music - some people can have music, some people can't. I must have music. Very emotional music, at that. The sadder or more emotional evoking the music is, the better. I went through and put together a playlist last night to listen to while I was writing. I finished the foreward, part of the prologue, and wrote a few other things. I took a break from writing but did not switch off the music... and I ended up, collapsed in a heap on the floor - crying like a baby. The emotions pulled to the surface in just three or four songs were enough to make me want to die - to bury myself and hide away from the mean, cruel world.

Sounds strange, doesn't it? To listen to romantic, emotional music when writing things as dark and disjointed as I do? I had never understood it until today - when a very insightful friend of mine (thank you, Matt) said, "you seem like a person whose emotions drag your conscious mind down a path. and then they're dragging you down another one before you even figure out the first" (or something like that - it was a few years' ago) - and it all clicked. Writing is a very emotional process - even writing an essay, you have emotions bubble up to the surface (for most people, it's thinking about how much they hate writing essays, but it's still an emotion.) Writing exposes those emotions - raw, angry, fresh emotional wounds that you try to get down on paper as best as you can.

For me, the music must act as a catalyst for the process - to get the emotions flowing enough that I am dragged down whatever path the muse wishes to lead me. Well, even if it doesn't make sense to you, it does make sense to me now.

So, quit looking for something which inspires you. You may be missing it completely by looking. Embrace the strange creature of habit that lives within your breast, and just write. You may be surprised with what happens.

The Long Lost Art of the Free Write

I took a creative writing class in high school as an English elective. I knew I loved to write, and I thought that it would be an easy way to get an A.

One of the exercises we had to perform daily was called a "Free Write". This was 10 to 15 minutes of time set aside at the beginning of class to get the creative juices to flow. It has been years since I thought of this technique, and it was with no surprise when I found myself sitting here in front of the monitor tonight, having taken a most unfortunate nap earlier and feeling increasingly ill, that my mind returned once again to this exercise.

The goal of the free write is to just write. There is no subject, no constraints, and no restraints on what you can write about. You're just supposed to open your mind and either put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard for the time allotted. Tonight's time was 10 minutes to just ramble on about the first idea that popped into my head.

The previous post is the result of that time. I know where the idea came from - a moment of personal tragedy showing up in my subconscious when I closed my eyes. What resulted, however, could be the beginnings of two different story directions. It's amazing what one little kernel of inspiration can do to light that spark of imagination.

If you're feeling the need to write but are feeling blocked, I suggest you try this technique. Just choose an amount of time in which you're going to write - 10, 15, 20... maybe even 30 minutes. Close your eyes for just a moment or two to see what prompts you to start typing. And then just write. Write what flows into your head. Cause it to flow onto the screen or the paper like a river flowing into the ocean. Don't stop to look at it ... don't take a moment to reread it. Just write. There will always be time later on to go back and look at what inspired you at that particular.

The object is just to write... to live once more within the circus of your imagination.

Creativity running slower than molasses in... well, in January

Everything is so sluggish this morning. As I sit here, looking at the frost building up on everything outside because of these frigid temperatures, all I can do is think about crawling back into bed and snuggling down under my covers. Creativity and writing definitely are NOT at the top of my list of things to do right now.

At times like this, I don't sit there with some writing prompt to try and clear away the writer's block. I turn to things like this and just start writing. Anything that comes into my head shows up on the page... and as long as I can get some word on paper or printed on the screen, the writer's block seems to clear on its own.

I guess it's like when the trainer at the gym tells you to keep working through the pain of a workout, eh?

Creation - the beginning of the end?

Okay, so it's -48F outside today, and I'm trying my best to hibernate from the rest of the world. It's just too depressing to even look outside the window and see the dense ice fog nestled on the ground like a billowy cloud.

So, instead, I have decided to create this blog so that I can have a place to post some writing and chronicle the life of a creatively inclined gal just trying to make this little piece of hell on earth a bit more tolerable.

If you'd like to come along for the ride, by all means - do enjoy it.


- Aphrael