Bronwyn Green

The Corner of Quirky & Kinky

Today we’re talking things that inspire us – from A to Z.  Of course there are the usual things like friends and family who inspire me, but I’m going a different route. So…this should be interesting. Probably because I’m going to treat it as some sort of free association psych test. Feel free to interpret at will. I’m not sure how much this will relate to writing.  Aaaannd go!

A is for Arthurian legend and lore. If you’ve been around at all, you know I love this shit. And I have forever. Twenty-some years ago, my friend Margaret stole an ad off a bulletin board for some campus group at MSU. She mailed it to me, I framed it, and it still hangs in my office, today.

Death of King Arthur

B is for Books.  Okay, I realize that this is probably a given, but I love books and I find them inspiring. I like holding them reading them, and falling into other people’s stories inspire me to write my own.

C is for cats. Judge me all you want. I like cats. They’re cuddly and comforting. And some of them have resting bitch face which I rather enjoy.

naughty cats

D is for Drum Circles. I love drumming. I know…I know. No one is surprised. But hear me out. There’s something that’s inspiring about helping create a primal rhythm – all those people playing at once, some of them dancing, some of them singing – all that energy. I’d go to drum circles all the time if I could find some good ones.

E is for Elaborate Grilled Cheese. What, might you ask, is elaborate grilled cheese? Only my most favorite inspirational comfort food. Thick homemade bread, herbed goat cheese, sharp white cheddar, smoked gouda, some sort of horseradish-garlic cheese, crispy bacon, fresh spinach leaves, thinly sliced kumata tomatoes, and thinly sliced honeycrisp apples all toasted together.

F is for Fairy tales and Faeries. I’ve always loved fairy tales – I’ve got shelves full of them.  I also love faeries and faery lore. It’s cross-cultural and fascinating the way the way the various cultures intersect.

G is for Gypsy Wagon. I love vardos. I would love to have one out in a field some where. It could be my office. Or my little mini-writing retreat. I would find writing in that atmosphere very inspirational.

caravan-1_1947598i

H is for Hugh Dancy. Whatever. I find him inspirational. Judge me all you want.

I is for Ireland. And Irish accents. And things that come from Ireland like Aidan Turner and Colin Morgan and Eoin Macken and Colin O’Donoghue. WHAT!?

Ireland-Sightseeing

J is for Jareth.  Jareth…also known as The Goblin King. You might wonder how the Goblin King is inspirational. #MagicBulge, aside, he takes troublesome children away and turns them in to goblins, he gives you crystals that show you your dreams, he’ll be your slave if you just worship him, plus he throws some badass parties.

labyrinth-the-movie-sarah-and-jareth-ballroom-scene

K is kids. I find all kinds of inspiration in my own kids, because, frankly they’re fabulous. Whatever, I know all parents think that. But I also find inspiration in kids in general. I love the way their minds work as they’re figuring out the world, and I love their energy and enthusiasm and curiosity and creativity. I think, as people, we’d be happier if we had more of that.

L is for Lake Superior. There’s a reason it shows up in a lot in a lot of my stories and a reason I love to write by its shores. It’s hypnotic and beautiful and rarely the same lake two days in a row.

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M is for Music. I love listening to music, playing it on the few instruments I can actually still play, singing. I listen to it while I’m writing and driving. I sing in the shower. There’s always a song playing in my head.

N is for New Ideas. There’s nothing quite as inspiring or exciting as a shiny new story idea just waiting to be written.

O is for Originality. I love people that look at the world a little differently – who don’t do what’s expected and unapologetically do their own thing. I love this in all arenas, but I especially appreciate it in fiction. Often, something – a genre or trope will suddenly explode in popularity and you’ll see tons of books with those elements flooding the market. It’s fine if there’s some kind of original twist, but copycat stories really annoy me.

P is for Pinterest. Where else can I find craft patterns, pictures of the places I’m writing about, character images and crock pot recipes for those deadline week – all in one place? All hail Pinterest.

Q is for Quirks. I find people’s quirks endlessly fascinating. Granted, sometimes, they piss me right off. But sometimes they inspire characters.

R is for Road Trips. I love packing up and taking off and just driving. Well…let me qualify that. I don’t like city driving and I really hate driving anywhere near Chicago or busy places like that, but I love taking back roads and exploring. Especially when I’m already on vacation.

S is for Standing Stones. I find them endlessly fascinating. I love rocks anyway – it’s cool, you can roll your eyes. I’m used to it. But standing stone sites always seem so peaceful and mysterious. And i want to know more. And also hang out there and write. Someone send me to the UK, quick!

carig_sampson_2LR

T is for The T.A.R.D.I.S. Look, I find the T.A.R.D.I.S. inspiring. Time And Relative Dimension in Space. TIME TRAVEL. How is that not inspiring? And also aliens and outer space. That’s cool, too. But I’m really about the time travel aspect here.

U is for (the) Upper Peninsula. It’s no secret I love Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It’s my go to spot to get away from things. You basically time travel back the 1950s, there are very few people, the scenery is breathtaking and it’s inspired many a story…including my YA, Eventide!  (That’s Miners Castle – and yes, it really looks like that.)

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V is for VW Microbus. Go ahead and laugh, that’s fine. But I would love to take one of these on the road for and go off on a cross country inspiration adventure!

vw-camper-van-for-sale

W is for Water and Waves. I love being by the water. Doesn’t matter if it’s a stream, a small lake or a huge body of water like Superior. There’s something about watching and listening to the waves or the trickle of water over rocks that sets my mind free to wander and I come up with all kinds of good ideas. Maybe that’s why I get good ideas in the shower, too.

X is for Xena Warrior Princess. Badass…warrior…princess…lesbian subtext…Lucy Lawless all in a cheesy as hell TV show. What’s not to love?

Y is Yarn. Yes, yarn. I have mad, mad love for yarn. Particularly the hand spun, hand dyed variety and that inspires me to spend money on yarn. Oh, and also knit stuff.

Dark plum yarn

Z is for Zone. I love being in the writing zone and falling into that groove where I can write and write. Doesn’t happen often enough lately. But it’s inspiring.

 

I can’t wait to see what inspires the other bloggers. Click their names below, and don’t forget to welcome Paige – the newest member of the Wednesday Random Bloggers!

Paige

Jess

Jessica

Kellie

Kayleigh

Kris

Gwen

 

0 thoughts on “Inspiration A to Z

  1. Elaborate Grill Cheese sounded awesome until Horseradish-y stuff came about. *shudder* Enjoyed your list and once again reminded how awesome you are!

    1. Bronwyn says:

      You could replace that cheese with a nice swiss or something, Missy. 😀

      1. MMMmmmm and it still sounds good. I may have to attempt to make it soon. 😀

    2. Bronwyn says:

      Awww, thank you. *HUGS*

  2. My heart melted when you included resting bitch face cat. You will also be proud to know yesterday we were blessed with Season 5 Dr. Who and have begun giving the show an honest chance. Not just pickup up episodes here and there in the company of friends. Perhaps I will be fully converted and T.A.R.D.I.S. will make it on one of my future lists too 🙂

    1. Bronwyn says:

      Resting bitch face cat inspires me *and* keeps my feet warm. And yay for giving Doctor Who a chance! 😀

  3. kris norris says:

    OMG..you got Dr. Who in there? I love it. How did I not see that coming. And Elaborate Grilled Cheese. You rock, honey. Far more interesting than my list.

    1. Bronwyn says:

      Paige reminded me about Elaborate Grilled Cheese when I was bitching about the letter E. 😀 Nah – I like your list!

  4. Kayleigh says:

    Oh my crunchy granola, hippie Bronwyn. The drum circle, the vardo, the VW microbus. I love it, it’s all so you and I would expect nothing else. 🙂

    1. Bronwyn says:

      😀 I am nothing if not your predictable crunchy granola hippie. 😀

  5. Gwen Cease says:

    I love your list!!! Of course, your list has some of the same things as my list . . . 🙂 I never thought of drum circles. I love going to Pow Wow and listening to the drums. I actually have a few CDs of just drums because I find them soothing and inspiring.

    1. Bronwyn says:

      I have a lot of drumming CDs, too. 🙂 As much as I love hanging at drum circles, I love playing in them even more. It’s the best. 🙂

  6. Paige Prince says:

    So, I’m not much on yarn (because I fail horribly at knitting/crocheting) but everything else on your list? Well it really is no wonder we get along so well. 🙂 JARETH!!! <3 <3 <3

    1. Bronwyn says:

      Jareth Forever!!! 😀

  7. Kel says:

    I sometimes daydream about your grilled cheese. *le sigh*

    And apparently I’m the only dork who took this week’s prompt literally and just made a list with no explanations. LOL

    1. Bronwyn says:

      Don’t be jealous…but we totally had them for supper, tonight.

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