The best things take time, inspiring typos, and other inspiration from Dragonspire!

Welcome to my first inspirational Thursday post! 

This week, trees, Steven Universe, a rare moment of January sunshine, and of course, dragons!

The sunrise over the sea. A rare sight in January, which has mostly been miserable!

But first? How did I get on with my goals this month?

Health:

I succeeded in cycling 3 times a week, despite the cold weather, but I couldn’t resist dairy, even though I’m meant to avoid it. I love curry too much. My goal in February will be to try and make a dairy free Korma sauce!

Writing:

My goal was to write 25k words this month. I’ve written zero so far, and that’s unlikely to change in the few days left of January. When I looked at my NaNoWriMo project it felt like something was missing. I still can’t put my finger on it, but I want to figure it out before I write more. I also got distracted planning a prequel. In February I’ll aim for 37500 words to catch up!

I also aimed to check out a new writers group. Turns out they meet monthly, but the meetup point switches between 4 different towns. Some are too far to travel. I’ll look into others in February, and if not set up my own. There must be other fantasy writers in Lowestoft, right?

Reading:

I’m supposed to read a book a month this year. I started Moroda, but it’s been a busy month and I haven’t gotten far. I’ll aim to read two books in February to catch up!

Hopefully next month will be more productive! Now? Onto the inspiration!

A song that calms me:

Recently I discovered Steven Universe, or more specifically the soundtrack. There’s one song that really resonates with me whenever my anxieties run wild: Here Comes a Thought. The lyrics are a great reminder to let things go sometimes instead of overthinking.

Inspiration from trees:

It takes a tree years to grow into anything substantial. It’s the same with anything when you start out. Even if you can’t see immediate results, it doesn’t mean what you’re doing isn’t worthwhile. Be patient, and be consistent. You’ll have doubts, and there will be doubters who say it will never happen. Ignore them. The end result could change the rest of your life.

From movies: Ballerina.

How have I not seen this movie before? I loved the main character, a young orphan girl who dreams of becoming a dancer, which was a surprise as I usually struggle to relate to female MC’s. I loved the setting: Paris when the Eiffel tower was being built. The story was good too, although I did roll my eyes at the love triangle!

The soundtrack was positive and uplifting, and it was a great feel good film for a dull January afternoon. I know, it’s for kids. But I prefer animated films most of the time!

Favourite Instagram Image:

Snap, a giant red and gold dragon:

He’s painted on a wall in my nearest city, Norwich, and even though it was raining I had to stop and snap a picture! I’d love to write a story about him. Seeing a dragon on the wall whilst walking in the rain is probably the most inspirational thing that’s happened this month!

Most useful writing article: Character Creation

I participate in a monthly blog hop: Author Toolbox. Last month my post discussed if planning is worth it. There were a lot of great posts in January’s hop, but one of my favourites was by Zaireen Lupa, about perfect characters and how to avoid writing them. There were a lot of great tips to help create realistic characters.

Most inspiring Typo:

I was reading a romance story the other day and came across a typo:

‘I thought my pinning was obvious.’

Obviously the author meant to say ‘pining,’ but now I can’t get the idea of someone being hopelessly in love and pinning all kind of things to Pinterest or a corkboard that makes their attraction seem obvious, but the person they’re infatuated with is oblivious.

I’m inspired by the strangest things. If I ever write that, don’t take it too seriously!

Finally, the Sunday Scribbles writing prompts for February are:

4th: Rose. 11th: Eclipse. 18th: Festival. 25th: Sweet.

Stories written using the prompts can be shared under #sunscribbles on Twitter on the dates listed above, or in the comments of my February Sunday Scribbles posts.

Thanks for reading!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve been inspired by? Got any short stories you’d recommend? Articles you’ve found really helpful? Share them below!