Other writers inspire me...

I’m struggling with the current WIP. I’m in the middle where I wonder what in the world I was thinking when I started this whole thing. Yes, I do this with every book I’ve written so far. Once I move past the middle, all the puzzle pieces tumble into place at an astonishing rate.

In the meantime, I need a little inspiration, and I need look no further than my favorite authors, each for different reasons and yet all the same. Their stories have lifted me, brought a smile to my heart, and inspired me to be a better me.

I’ve talked about how Lord of the Rings, the movie, turned my world upside down. For the record, I’d read it years ago, in junior high school. I loved it, but had no one with whom I could share it. Siblings loved it, but the age difference then was noticeable. I found the cartoons tortuous, so left LOTR behind. The movies arrived on the big screen, and Peter Jackson did an admirable job of sharing the story.

The vast majority of my friendships now can be traced back to LOTR in one way or another.

I’d rediscovered my love for reading. (Yes, I took a long break because I couldn’t find anything I felt passionate about.) I’d taken a children’s literature class in college, when I went back, and fell in love with books most people read when they were growing up. I did not. Books like Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden.

Along with LOTR came Harry Potter. I was hooked, and discovered I was starved for reading I enjoyed, simply for the joy of someone else’s story. C. S. Lewis said that we read to know we are not alone. I do.

I know there are those who scoff at my love of the romance genre. I’ve been ridiculed that it isn’t real life. No. No it isn’t. That isn’t why I read it. I’m quite familiar with how brutal and tragic real life is sometimes. I don’t need to read about it. I read…I was going to say I read to escape, which is true to a certain extent, but more I read to feed my need for hope. And isn’t that funny considering all my efforts to crush hope in my life so I won’t be disappointed anymore.

I love my own stories, or I wouldn’t write them. What I find interesting is that my writing is easier when I’m reading material that inspires me. When I’m reading a book I find boring or grating because the continuity is off or their facts are wrong my own writing becomes stilted.

I’ve been reading a lot of new authors lately, trying to broaden my perspective. Some books have been permanently deleted from my Kindle, and the authors are on my no list. Some books have been fantastic, and I’ve added a few authors to my must-buy list.