C.P. Cabaniss's Blog, page 5

How I Deal with Writer’s Block

At some point in time all writers will be plagued with the dreaded Writer’s Block and how they overcome that block on their creativity is very important. It’s also something that every writer will be asked about, either by other writers or curious readers. Each writer is different both in how they experience Writer’s Block and in how they overcome it. For me there is really only one thing that works: take a break from writing and read.

That’s right, reading is what generally pulls me out of a creative slump. It’s not that I completely stop writing or forget about the story that I’m working on, it’s more that I take a break from trying to force it and do something that I enjoy. Usually that is reading. The two activities are so closely related that doing one without the other isn’t logical. In reading I am able to gain new insights on things to do with my own writing. Every time I read I find some new technique that I want to try–or in some cases something to avoid–and this helps put me back into the right frame of mind for writing. So when I start to feel panicky because words aren’t flowing from my brain and through my fingers, I take a day or two just to read a book that I’ve been excited about and the creative sparks begin to fly!

So when you feel overwhelmed and ideas aren’t flowing how you would like for them to, sit down and read a book. I think you’ll be surprised at how helpful this can actually be. I know it works wonders for me.

C P Cabaniss

Final Breath

I used this short story in a weekly contest over at Weekly Short Stories Contests and Company on goodreads a few weeks back. I had a lot of fun writing it. Please let me know what you think.

Final Breath by C P Cabaniss

Glass crunched underfoot, jabbing painfully into Evangeline’s legs as she fell to her knees. Glass, so much glass. Moonlight spilled across the sharp fragments, reflecting throughout the room. Somewhere in the night—the sound magnified in the still quiet, carrying through the broken doors and windows—a bird took flight, wings rustling, a call issuing through its beak.

Drip, drip, drip. Evangeline glanced down, watched the red drops fall on the clear glass, staining it pink. Her eyes did not widen inn shock or fear, she just blinked, trying to make sense of the crimson drops. The shards bit into her palms as she fell forward, catching herself with hands that could barely feel. More red stained the floor, mixing with the flecks of glass.

Evangeline had always wondered, in some morbid way, what it would feel like to bleed to death, to have a gaping hole in your stomach or chest, knowing you could do nothing to stop it from killing you, if rational thought would flee or pain consume your body. Her breath was coming in sharp gasps. She tried to crawl forward but her fingers were stiff, numb, barely responding to the signals she was trying to send. She crashed forward, arms underneath her, red stained glass shards filling her vision. The beats of her heart were like thunder in her ears, starting to fade.

She wondered, in a vague, absent kind of way, what had led to this moment. If she traced her life back would she find some moment, some decision that set this path in motion? Or was it all out of her control? Her breaths were slowing, heartbeats pounding, blood flowing out and away. The glass poked her legs, arms, stomach, face. It created only a dull sense of pain. It was more that she knew it should cause pain than that it actually did.

There, was that the moment, she wondered. Was that what set her course toward this bloody end? Or perhaps this was not an end at all, she considered, but the beginning of something greater. She could not be sure if she believed that, but it was a nice thought all the same.

Groans and whimpers filled the space around her and it took Evangeline a moment to realize they were coming from her. Strange not to know what your own body was doing. She blinked one long, slow time, suddenly feeling like she should be on her feet and moving. Her arms straightened beneath her, wobbling under her weight, before faltering and sending her back to the floor. One more gasped breath, a twitch of her fingers, and she moved no more. Her eyes stared, unseeing, at the red blooming around her, staining the glass with her life essence.

Outside a siren wailed, shattering the stillness of the night.

Copyright 2016 by C P Cabaniss

That Homesick Feeling

In May I spent two weeks in London, exploring and falling in love. I’ve always loved traveling, but this was my first time leaving the US. And it was amazing. That two weeks was packed with museums, Badminton Cross Country Day, Stonehenge, and just staring at the city and feeling a sense of wonder. There is so much to see, so much to experience, that I’m sure I barely scraped the surface. But a piece of that city stuck with me.

Have you ever felt homesick when leaving somewhere far from everything you’ve ever known, in a place you never thought you would feel completely comfortable? Because in the last few days I was in London, I would stare out of my fourth floor bedroom window, listen to the train roll into the Overground station just down the road, hear the cars driving by, people talking on the phone, children running home after school, and my heart would ache. I have the same feeling right now, just thinking about it. I miss it more than I ever expected I would.

I am not a city person. In fact, London is the largest city I have ever visited. I like being out in the country with plenty of open space and my horses right beside me. But when I was in London, riding the Tube from station to station, or swiping my Oyster card on a red double-decker bus, I kept thinking to myself “I could see myself living here”. I could get used to the transportation system and the busy streets and sidewalks, as long as I had something I loved doing. I would love to explore the rest of the UK as well, as I’m sure I would love many places just as much, if not more.

So here I am, missing my fourth floor room and the sounds I would hear through the open window as I drifted off to sleep. The sunlight that would slant into the room early in the morning. Walking the streets and feeling like I was a part of history, imagining all of the people that had walked those same paths before me. The smell of the bookshops on Charing Cross Road… All of it. It was only my home for two short weeks, but it was home nonetheless. And a home I will always miss.

There were so many things that inspired me while I was there. I had many creative awakenings that started new ideas churning in my head. And now I’m able to act on those. Here are a few images that capture some of the highlights of my trip.

[image error]  Stonhenge in my David Cook hoodie.

[image error]  Badminton Cross Country Day.

[image error]  And of course I couldn’t visit London without going to the HMS Belfast.

The trip was filled with amazing experiences that I would never trade. And the city is a piece of my home now, no matter how far away I am. I look forward to going back one day and exploring even more.

C P Cabaniss

The Migraine Takeover

My plans for this year did not involve becoming plagued with migraines that refuse to go away, but things often don’t go according to plan. It started at the end of April, just before I was to leave on my trip to London, when one side of my body went slightly numb and tingly. It was not the best feeling. That spiraled into panic issues which quickly turned into migraines which refuse to go away. I’ve always gotten occasional headaches, but this is a new beast.

The main point behind outlining my issues with migraines is to explain why I have been away from this blog for so long. While dealing with the headaches and other issues associated with my anxiety and panic problems, reading and writing (as well as almost everything else in my life), came to a virtual standstill. But no longer. While I figure out the best way to fight these migraines and panic problems, my writing will be my therapy. So expect more from me in the future. Weekly posts as well as a monthly poem or short story will be coming your way.

Stay tuned for my post about my adventures in London. It will be coming very soon. I fell in love with that city, and given the chance I would hop on a plane and spend another few months there exploring and being inspired.

Life is not about letting adversity rule your life, but about taking that adversity, learning from it, and moving forward stronger than you were before.

C P Cabaniss