my sweet old etcetera: inspiration

Apologies for the lack of blogging -- you can blame NaNoWriMo.

Not that I've been doing much writing lately! I had an upsurge early last week and then Thursday I just... I don't know. I just crashed. There's writer's block and then there's WRITER'S BLOCK. When the characters stop speaking to each other and your muse decides to stop speaking to YOU. It's pretty bad. And I had it pretty bad these past few days.

Instead of getting frustrated at my lack of productivity, I decided to take some time off and scare up some inspiration. I finished reading The Girl Who Played with Fire on Saturday. I relaxed at Ricky's house on Sunday. And then I came to work today only to find out my co-worker really, really likes my story. I gave her the first few pages last week and she had it all annotated and stuff today (we're such English teachers). She had the nicest things to say about my story! So that inspired me to continue writing.

I won't promise I'll produce anything fantabulous today as far as my story goes, but I will say I'm feeling inspired again. And it feels damn good.

Here's my Lolcat of the Week, which I think you'll agree is very apropos:

via

And here's my question: What do you do for inspiration when you really need it? Whether you're a wanna-be writer like me, a budding chef, or whatever. What do you do to light the proverbial fire under the proverbial hiney? Let me know in the comments! :)

Much thanks to sfgirlbybay for hosting blog it forward and letting me be a part of it! For my post on things that inspire me, I've decided to use pictures to help me out. :) So without further ado, here are five things that never fail to inspire me:

Music is and will always be my number one inspiration. I work best, whether it's grading or cleaning or writing, while listening to music. My favorite types of music to listen to while working are classical (especially when it's string-heavy) and ballads (especially when they're by Tori Amos).

I will never forget the creative writing teacher I had in college who advised us that we needed to read in order to become better writers. She was so right. I am forever reading with a highlighter and some nifty post-its at the ready, ready to make note of passages that inspire me. Writers that most inspire me are Michael Ondaatje, Sylvia Plath, and E.E. Cummings.

I often get inspired while traveling, whether it's by foot or by car or by plane. In fact, some of my best poems have been written on napkins while in the car. I don't know what it is about being in motion, but it definitely inspires me.

Relationships have always inspired me. Something about the push and pull of them ignites something in me and inspires me to be a better daughter, sister, friend, and lover. And as for romantic relationships, both the beginnings and endings are so fraught with emotion that they often move me to write poetry.

I have always loved how the best photographs can tell stories. I took Photography 101 in college and it was like my eyes were opened for the first time -- I started looking, really looking, at everything for what felt like the first time, with new eyes. Every moment began representing an opportunity for a great photo. I am currently saving up for a Polaroid camera (not to mention the super expensive film), but in the meantime I make do with my trusty little Sony camera and my iPhone.

Yesterday I was tagged by Anne Sage, who wrote a beautiful post on how March inspires her, and be sure to check out artcetera's post tomorrow. Here are the other bloggers participating in today's blog it forward:

To see the full list of bloggers participating in blog it forward, go here. What are your inspirations?

photo creds: Music; Reading; Traveling; Relationships; Photography.