Blink and the month of September will be over. It will be October, there used to be a time when this month was all about Halloween and pumpkin flavored food. However, times have changed. In October, there is an event called Inktober. It was started by an artist to help improve his drawing skills. It was put out into vast ocean of the internet and it caught on. Inktober has a large following and merchandise. The rules of Inktober is similar to that of NaNoWriMo, you draw pictures for the 31 days and upload them with a hashtag. There is an official theme list to help artists with their drawing, but you don’t have to keep to it. I don’t know as much as I would like to about the project. Although I am not an artist, I admire people who do it and I have attempted to draw on and off. I won’t denigrate myself by saying I don’t have the talent, when it is more like skill, focus and determination. Every three months or so I try, then settle to color (I have over 20 adult coloring books and about 10 sets of 50 coloring pencils). I find them both to be relaxing in different ways.
Another event that is gaining a following in October is preptober, which is preparing for NaNoWriMo. I have already listened to a pre-preptober podcast for NaNoWriMo in November. I am usually late to prepare for Nanowrimo, deciding to join in a week or two days before the first of the month. This time is a little different, I have enough time and I have some an idea about the writing project. I optimistically believe that I can win Nanowrimo this year. I might even draw a picture or two and share. I encourage anyone who wants to participate in these events. A strong sense of accomplishment and the idea that you are not the only lonely artist or writer attempting to make their way over the creative mountain.
You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children. – Madeleine L’Engle
There are times when I choose pictures that I think match the topic I’m writing about. There are times when the picture does not match. It was just a picture I liked. In AL1W #9, I did mention a turtle on its back, but the turtles with strawberries picture was just appealing to me. I collected several turtle pictures that week and they were good pictures. Thank you, WordPress, and Pexel.
An idea came to me to start looking for season related pictures. These leaves represent fall colors. I’m feeling autumn and the weather is compliant because it is beginning to be chilly at night. It may not have been mentioned before but I live in New York City and I have been so used to warm Septembers, this September feels unusually cold. Which does not bode well for me, it feeds one of my worst fears, getting sick again. It is not in my plan and I am doing all the things to heal. Despite how I think it will make me feel, I am listening to the news to know what is going on around the world. I prefer listening to the news instead of watching. I don’t think visual is better than audio, I just find it better to absorb. Now that I think about it sounds a little weird. I don’t go around yelling at my streaming service like I do at my tv. So, win/win?
Most of my day is spent listening to something, music, audio books, podcasts. I take breaks and look at quick videos on YouTube. I will only watch a film or tv series at night. When I say day, I mean daylight. This is my attempt to realize which time of day is better for me to write. Full disclosure, I’m a night person. I find it extremely easy to be up all night. If I can sleep at 6am and wake up at 10am, I could do this all week. Since I am recovering from an illness, I know this is not healthy. It is a struggle I go through most of the week. I think it taxes my creativity. Which bothers me the most. I want to use my time wisely and produce good for my reader out there. I want to put stories out in the world that can be remembered for a little bit of time. It would be great if my estate has to fight for my copyrights. I got some feedback recently, it stated that my words tend to end on a negative note. I apologize. Because that is not my aim. The one of the intentions of this blog is to inspire. Writing about writing, the writing life or not writing, can be the most frustrating practice. At Least 100 Words rolls in it like snow. I hope these words, let other creative in the headspace realize they are not alone. I hope these words help someone who is not. I hope these words inspire some kid like myself to write me out of the box. I want to be positive, which is better than optimistic. I want to keep a healthy mindset. Not planning to write about the opposite. Everyone if Monday was not good, you have 5 more days to fix. Stay positive.
JC Henry Universe 