Rani Divine's Blog, page 8

Rani’s Favorite Things: Television shows & Movies! (part one)

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. Yesterday was my birthday, and it was such a great day all around—I want to say a special thank you to those of you who sent me birthday messages. You all made my day that much brighter!
This month, as most of you know, we’re talking about some of my favorite things. I’ll also be telling you why these are my favorite things, and how they shaped me into the person (and writer) that I am today. It’s always good to look back and reflect on these things, you know? So last week, we looked at some of my favorite books, and how they shaped my entrance into the writing realm. This week, I want to look at another form of entertainment.
Rani’s Favorite Things: Television shows & movies! (part one)
If you’ve been following me long enough, you’ll probably have heard me talk about this show once or twice before. It’s the show that sparked my entrance into the world of science-fiction, which meant that for me, sci-fi wasn’t really a thing for me until I was close to high school. I didn’t really know what it was, hadn’t seen many of the classic kitschy sci-fi movies everyone talks about these days (still haven’t seen some of them, sorry), but you know what? I don’t really care. So what if I jumped in late? I still jumped in. And I never looked back.
Stargate: SG-1
When I was a kid, I basically did everything my brother ever did. I was very much a copycat of whatever he was doing. Thankfully, most of the time he didn’t mind. But it was because of that copycat nature, that I ever started watching this show. Another friend of my brother’s told him to watch SG-1 on SciFi channel (it wasn’t SyFy back then), and let him know what we thought. We were both hooked after one episode. And somehow, we managed to jump onto watching on SciFi when episode two of the entire series was airing, so we weren’t even really behind.
For me, it was SG-1 that took me into this fascinating world of science fiction, and that put a label on some of the things I already loved—like Jurassic Park and Star Wars. Sure, I liked those movies a lot, but they were the only things I'd really watched in that genre. We were more of a James Bond and classic comedy watching family, back then. SG-1 was the show that got me into drinking up as much SciFi as I could get my hands on, and SG-1 that inspired me to write my second novel—another that I never finished, though I do still have all my notes for it. It’s not very good.
In any case, Stargate SG-1 has become a classic staple, in my life. If I don’t know what to watch, it’s a safe place to go back to, when I need a sci-fi fix and don’t want to delve into something new.
I even followed the series through into Stargate Atlantis, which I think in many ways was better than its predecessor (but not in all ways, of course). I tried Stargate Universe… but it’s awful. The stargate was a nonissue in that entire drama-fest of a series. Awful.
What I mean to say is, Stargate SG-1 was the show that shaped me into a nerd, the show that got my foot in the door when it came to writing science fiction—because, yes, I had to delve into science fiction and fantasy as separate entities, in order to grow to love them both as much as I do.
If you haven’t watched Stargate SG-1, I highly recommend that you do! I believe all episodes are streaming on both Netflix and Hulu, but I could be wrong. Don’t quote me. But go look it up, anyway. It’s classic science fiction at this point, so if you haven’t seen it, something might be wrong with you. ;-)
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Rani's Favorite Books! (part 2)

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! It’s the Fourth of July, the wonderful Independence Day, but I’m still back to share with you, one of my favorite things. If you were around on Tuesday, then you’ll know I was having a hard time coming up with a series for this month, and thought we’d do something a little more fun. Every week, we’re taking a theme and talking about two of my favorite things within that category. And this week is books!
Just for the record, I have tattoos inspired by all of my favorite books. My left arm is literary, and I love it.
Rani’s Favorite Books: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
I told you on Tuesday, I bet some of you could guess what book I’d be talking about today. And again, it’s not just one book. Technically, it’s six. But even more technically, it’s far more than that. To the point that I’m not even really sure, how many books it is. All the same, I love it, and it’s inspired me to great depths since the first time I read it.
Unlike many of my fantasy-loving friends, I didn’t know who Tolkien was, when I was growing up. I didn’t know about CS Lewis either, but that’s neither here nor there. I didn’t know about The Lord of the Rings, I didn’t know about this amazing epic story that would one day inspire me to delve into writing for myself.
And yes, I do credit The Lord of the Rings, in the question of why I started writing in the first place.
I discovered The Lord of the Rings shortly after Fellowship came out on DVD. One of my brother’s friends made a bet that we couldn’t figure out Legolas’ name (as it’s only said twice, in the entire movie). He knew we didn’t know anything about LOTR, so he thought it’d be a solid bet.
It wasn’t. I won. And I was hooked.
I don’t remember how many times we watched that movie, when we borrowed it from that friend. So. Many. Times. And then promptly bought the DVD for ourselves. And the extended edition. And the main trilogy of books, so we could finally read along.
And after reading Fellowship, I started writing my very first novel. I never finished that novel. In fact, I lost it. It was on a computer, somewhere, and that computer was taken apart. But that was still my first novel, it was still inspired by LOTR, and I still love the thought of writing a novel in that genre, in that vein.
Which is why I’m currently working on my very first high fantasy novel, right now. ;-)
In any case, LOTR meant a lot to me, as a writer. It was the first really long book I read, the first big series that hooked me from the first time I picked it up. It was my first, the book in which I took the plunge into fantasy fiction, and for that, I’ll always consider it one of my favorites.
See you all right back here, next week! Have a wonderful and safe Independence Day!
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Rani's Favorite Books (part 1)

Hi guys! Welcome to July, in Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. If you didn’t know, July marks one of the busiest months for me, and also the month in which I was born. Woo! So, that being the case, I usually like to do something semi birthday related, in our blog theme for this month. And I was wracking my brain in the night, trying to think of a good topic for us to discuss, but I found myself struggling to come up with anything that worked for the number of posts needed for the month… until it occurred to me, that we haven’t done a series about me, in a while. And this is as good a time as any to do it.
So, for those of you who just really want to know a little more about me, you’ll love this month! I’m calling it “Rani’s Favorite Things,” because that’s what we’ll be talking about. Some of my favorite things, in five different categories.
This week? Books! I’ve chosen the two books that I’d call my favorites, the two that have meant the most to me throughout my life. And, honestly, I wanted to choose the Bible as the first one—but I felt like that would be cheating. The Bible has inspired and transformed my life in many ways throughout the years, and probably too many to write in so few words. So I’m just going to leave that as an assumed #1, and we’ll talk about the other two.
Rani’s Favorite Books: Ted Dekker’s Circle Series
I know, I know, it’s not just one book. I couldn’t pick just one book. But I have loved, since the first time I started reading them, this masterful series by Ted Dekker. If you haven’t read anything by him yet, but you don’t want to dive into such a massive series when you’re just getting to know his writing style, check out Blink of an Eye or The Priest’s Graveyard—both really good reads, but reads that don’t require you to read anything else of his. But what am I saying? Just pick up the Circle, and start with Black.
The whole series started with Black, the story of Thomas Hunter, a man who would fall asleep in our world and wake up in one far different, where light ruled one side of the planet and dark ruled the other. Everything was literal in this world, in a way I’d never seen done before—and Dekker quickly immerses readers straight into the story.
I first read them when I was in high school, so I can’t really tell you how fast I got through the lot of them, but I know it didn’t take long, and that I soon found myself reading new releases as fast as they were coming out. I also know I need to reread them all, because they’re just that good.
Throughout the years, even without having read the original trilogy in over a decade, I’ve gotten a massive amount of inspiration from this series. It’s the basis for how I write the druids in the Druid Novels, the idea in the back of my head when I’m describing any new world I create, and the book I think of when I’m focusing in on making my characters the best they can possibly be.
Honestly, Ted Dekker is just amazing when it comes to writing stories that transform readers, to the point that when you start reading his books, it’s almost impossible to stop. And to the point that he's now teaching classes, every year, on how to write transformational fiction.
Highly, highly recommended author. I even have a tattoo, inspired by this epic series of novels.
Thursday… I bet some of you can guess what book I’ll be talking about.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from roleplay games

Hi, everybody! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! Can you believe we’re already this close to the end of the month? This means my birthday is right around the corner… and I haven’t even decided what I’ll be doing to celebrate. Yeesh!
Anyway… all month long, we’ve been talking about inspiration. We’ve talked about finding inspiration in our everyday lives, in ways we probably wouldn’t expect. We looked at the inspiration we find from our travels, from television and movies, and even from the music we hear in the background at the store. Our journey took us through books both fiction and nonfiction, and on Tuesday we even discussed getting inspiration from those time-consuming video games, and getting a good use out of that consumed time. ;-) Today, as the finale of our series, I’m going to talk about something I have very little experience with, but something I’m delving into.
Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from roleplay games
Specifically, I’m thinking of games like Dungeons and Dragons.
Now, like I said, I haven’t actually played DnD yet. I haven’t. So I don’t know precisely what I’m talking about. But I have started watching other people play. I watched through Relics and Rarities on Geek and Sundry’s YouTube page, and I’ve recently started watching Heroes of the Vale—so I at least know how it works, and I’ve seen enough to have actually gotten some inspiration out of that.
Thing is, there’s something really cool in roleplay games, that I don’t think enough authors are utilizing: in roleplay, you, the player, have to take on the role of the character you’re playing. You live as them, for the duration of the game. You have to think like them, behave like them, sometimes even talk and act like them, if your group is fairly hardcore. And that’s something a lot of writers tend to have difficulty doing, especially when they’ve just started out—which is why I really wanted to bring this one up.
For one thing, there’s a whole heaping ton of inspiration to be found just from watching DnD games like the ones I mentioned above (I’ve also heard Critical Role is good, but one of the players annoys me, unfortunately). There’s a lot to be gleaned about thinking through the mind of your character, and being who they are throughout the duration of the story—which, like I said, is something we writers could stand to learn, or, to be inspired from.
So today I give you two options. Either you should try playing roleplay games, and learning what it’s like to delve into a world like this, discover what it’s like to really think through the mind of your character, or start watching videos of roleplay games, so you can see what it’s like for other people to do so, and maybe even get some inspiration from the stories they’re living.
Yes, this one makes more sense if you’re a sci-fi or fantasy writer—but like we’ve been saying this whole time, there’s nothing that says we can’t learn from genres outside our own.
Give it a try! I dare you. I’ll be starting in my own DnD campaign, as soon as I can. When will that be? No idea—but I’ll let you know, when I do.
Again, thank you all so much for reading Too Many Books to Countthis month! I’m not sure what we’ll be talking about in July, but I promise it’ll be something really fun. It’s my birthday month, and I’m determined to have as much fun as possible. ;-)
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from video games?!

Hi guys! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count—I’m so glad you stopped by. I can hardly believe that it’s the last week of June, but that means it’s also the last week in our series! I feel like we only just started… but I really have gotten a lot out of this series, and I’ve been a lot better about remembering to look for inspiration in places where I wouldn’t normally think to look. I hope it’s been a help to you, too. This month, as you know, we’ve been talking about inspiration. We’ve been discussing the various ways we writers find inspiration, from the books we read to the places we travel in our everyday lives, and this week, we're taking a really fun look at the final two ways I've personally been finding inspiration for my writing.
Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from video games?!
I know what you’re thinking. Video games tend to be the bane of a writer’s existence, because they take time away from writing. But I’m not saying that you should be gaming instead of writing. No, I’m saying that you’re probably already gaming, so why not use those games as inspiration for the things you’re going to write while you’re not gaming?
See, there are lots of things in video games that can inspire us. Whether it’s inspiration for the choreography of a battle scene, or an idea behind a character you hadn’t quite nailed down yet, video games are a virtual treasure trove of ideas—and, just like with movies and television, it’s not stealing if all you’re getting out of it is inspiration and ideas. After all, like we’ve talked about before, you can’t copyright an idea.
Personally, I have a certain fondness for watching people play video games. Sure, I like playing them, too, but I really love watching other people play. There’s just something extra nostalgic in it for me, in the memory of watching my older brother play video games when we were growing up (don’t worry, he let me play too when I was old enough to know what I was doing). So, for me, it’s more about watching the game than about playing it. And, fortunately, that means I can use things like Twitch and YouTube to get a good video game fix and a hefty dose of inspiration along the way.
I’m sure, however, that a lot of you aren’t like me. In fact, I know it. I know you like to game. How do I know it? Because it’s the thing to do, and it has been since I was a kiddo. Gaming is fun, it’s a great pastime, and it’s honestly a great way to connect with younger generations, which is something we writers really do need to do. But that’s beside the point.
You’re going to be gaming anyway. We all know you are. So why not use that time as an extra time to find some writing inspiration?
I know, a lot of you don’t game in the same genre in which you write, but so what? Who says you can’t get inspiration for a romantic comedy from a horrifying video game? There’s always something to be found, as long as you keep your eyes open to find it.
And trust me, you’ll be glad you opened your eyes to see it.
Be sure to check back in on Thursday, for the finale in our inspirational series!
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from reading nonfiction

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. This month, we’ve been talking about inspiration. We’ve been looking at all the inspiration we writers get from the world around us, from popular culture and weird music, from nature and from architecture, from our friends and from our enemies—and this week, we’re discussing one of the simplest of ways for a writer to find inspiration. From reading.
Tuesday, if you’ll recall, we talked fiction. We discussed writers reading fiction for the sake of finding ideas, and why it’s important for us to never stop doing that. Today, let’s look at things from the other side.
Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from reading nonfiction
If you know me at all, then you know I’m not a nonfiction writer (unless you count the blog). I’m not much of a nonfiction reader either, if I’m being honest, but I’ll be the first to tell you that it plays an incredibly important role in the lives of us fiction writers. I’ll even be the first to tell you that I have a giant stack of nonfiction books exactly for this purpose.
Why? Because, just like fiction books are read for the sake of finding ideas, nonfiction books are read in order to find an answer. And those answers are some of the most important things for us to know, as we delve deep into our writing careers.
See, information is partly the basis behind writing. It’s all information, really. We’re telling a story, we’re making a world, and we’re relaying the story through information about it. We’re showing it through the actions of the characters and the appearance of the world in which they exist—but it’s so much harder to do any of that if we don’t have a basis of nonfiction reading to back us up along the way.
How so?
I’ll use my Earth-Space series as an example. It’s a series of four books (so far), set primarily in space. It partially takes place in our solar system, yes, but it also takes part in one of the Gliese systems, around a planet you’ll just have to wait to find out the name of. What all this meant is that I needed to find out as much as I could about outer space, and the properties of the void. I needed to know how to write about a place like that, because it’s obviously not a place I’ve ever traveled, myself. It’s not really a place where I want to go, personally. It’s beautiful, sure, but there’s enough for me to see down here.
In any case, it meant that I bought all the space books off the bargain book shelves at Barnes & Noble, and I spent hour after hour reading through those books, taking note of the things that might come into play in my story, of the things I might need to know along the way.
And sure, you can use the internet for al lot of this stuff anymore, but there’s really nothing like having a book in your hands, in which you can find the information. Besides, I find it’s best to do some work that’s not on a screen, if for the sake of my eyes alone. Better for the ol’ noggin, you know.
Nonfiction, just like fiction, will always be something we writers need to have a trove of as well. We need to know how the world works, so we can make sure our stories exist properly within it. We need to know the things our characters know, if only so we don’t make our characters look like idiots, accidentally. And the only way to do these things is if we learn, through the power of the one and only nonfiction.
Honestly though, I highly recommend checking out that bargain books section, if you’re looking for some good reference books. I almost always walk away with at least one nonfiction book I’ll need for the road ahead.
Next week, our series finale! And, potentially, my favorite two topics of the week. You’ll just have to wait and see what they are :)
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from the books we read

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. We’ve been having a lot of fun talking about the many ways we writers find inspiration in the world around us, this month—and it’s a series that I’ve found myself actually gaining a lot from, every time I sit down to write my posts for the week. 
Thus far in our series, we’ve talked about everything from traveling to the music we hear when we’re out grocery shopping, as ways to find inspiration for our writing—and this week, we’re bringing it home. Let’s talk about the super obvious ones, the ones we might think of first when we think of places to find inspiration, and the ones that for some reason we can forget to go to, in our hunt for inspiration.
Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from the books we read
I know what you’re thinking. This is probably already one of the primary ways that you get inspiration, in the first place. And that’s a very good thing. But today, I want to focus on a single side of the coin: Fiction.
See, like it or not, there are two types of books you can get inspiration from: the fiction, and the nonfiction. There’s a treasure trove of inspiration just waiting to be found in either one, but we tend to go about finding it in very different ways—so that’s what I want to talk about, this week. If you’re like me, and you’re one of those weird writers who occasionally finds that they really don’t feel like reading, then this’ll be a really good week for you to stick around and hear what I have to say.
For those of us who write fiction books, reading fiction is about both reading for the enjoyment of it and reading for the ideas other authors have already put onto the pages of their books. It’s about us sitting down and enjoying craft, enjoying someone else’s story and seeing all the work and time and effort they put into it, yes, but really… it’s mostly about finding those elusive ideas. We need those ideas. We thrive on them. Those ideas are how we keep our own ideas going, how we keep our stories alive and our works from feeling stale or old. Those ideas… they’re a big reason of why we can’t ever fully give up reading.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that writers read, no matter what. And you’d be right, in that regard. But some of us, myself included, sometimes get into this rut, of sorts. We get into this zone where we have a pile of books to read but none of them sound interesting. We look in bookstores, but none of those books sound interesting either. We’ve even tried looking online, again with the same result. Unfortunately for us, that means we’ll eventually start to run short on ideas that come from writing—which are often some of the best ideas you can get, when it comes to writing.
So no matter what you do, whether you’re a fiction writer or a nonfiction writer, make sure you’re spending time reading fiction. Read genres other than your own, read works by authors you’ve never heard of (and probably read some classics, too). Read, even when you don’t want to read, even if all it means is that you’re looking for some ideas to add to that file of ideas locked away inside your brain.
Point is, you don’t ever want to get down to the last few pages in that file. You want that file to be filled to bursting. And the best way to do that, as a writer, is to read.
As much as I hate to say it, because, yes, I’m in one of those reading ruts right now. But it doesn’t mean I’ve stopped reading.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from our playlists (and at the store)

Hi everybody, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. All month long, we’re talking about the various ways we writers find inspiration in the world around us. Some of it is from things you might expect, like everyday life and the things we watch on television, but others I’m sure will surprise you along the way. What I hope to do in this series is inspire you to look for inspiration in places where you might not have thought to look before, or to open your eyes to inspiration that was right in front of you, yet somehow overlooked before. Trust me, we’ve all been there.
So far in our series, we’ve talked about finding inspiration in our everyday lives and from our own adventures, and about being inspired (and not stealing from) television and movies. Today, as I love to do, we’ll be taking the logical next step:
Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from our playlists (and at the store)
You know me, I love music. I talk about it a lot. Maybe I talk about it too much, for some of you. But for others, you’ll love to talk about the tunes you listen to all the time. It’s not just about the things you listen to while you’re writing, you know. It’s about the music you listen to all the time.
For me, I get the most inspiration out of orchestral or instrumental music. I don’t know why, but I have a hard time writing to anything that has lyrics. But that’s when I’m literally being inspired as I’m writing. There are other times when I’m just inspired in general, by something in the lyrics. The song then becomes something I listen to before I write, because, while I can’t easily write while listening to it, I can be inspired by it and have an easier time with writing in general once I’ve listened to it.
That’s why you need to keep your ears open, as it were, for the lyrics in the songs. You’re a writer. Words are your thing. So you need to listen to them. you need to hone your skills in understanding what singers are saying, what words they’re using to get their point across. Because, while a lot of songs sound exactly the same these days (am I right?), there are some, though sometimes few and far between, where an artist does something unique, and you’ll find yourself in the throes of inspiration that you just can’t set aside.
That’s what you always need to be on the lookout for (the listenout, perhaps?). Whatever music you listen to, whether you’ve always been able to write to it or you find yourself constantly unable to write to it, listen for words and thoughts and ideas that you could use as inspiration for your current WIP—or for something you’re keeping on the shelf, an idea that you’ll want to work on later on down the line.
Point is, there’s always music on. Whether you’re in your house, in your car, at the store, or wherever else you find yourself, it’s extremely rare to be in the still and the quiet without at least a little bit of music in the background. So use that to your advantage, and see what inspiration you can find from it, along the way.
You might be surprised, by the things you end up with.
Next week, we’re bring our inspiration search back to home base. What do I mean by that? You’ll just have to wait and see ;-)
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from television and movies

Hi guys! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. This month, as you ought to know by now (I mean, you do come read my posts every week, don’t you? ;-) ), we’re talking all about inspiration. We’re talking about some of the usual and unusual places writers find the elusive muse, that inspiration we’re all direly looking for in our everyday lives, because, truth be told, we’re really always writing, even when we’re not. There’s always narration going on, always a story being told.
So far, we’ve talked about a couple basic ones. We’ve discussed everyday life, and mentioned how easy it is to find inspiration from the day to day—and also how hard that can be, if you’ve been overlooking it—and we’ve talked about getting inspired by our own adventures and travels around the world. This week, we’re staying home again.
Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from television and movies
Now, I know that some of you will say this isn’t right. Some of you will say that we shouldn’t borrow ideas from television or movies, because that’s cheating. But I’ll refute that by saying that there’s nothing new under the sun. Everybody has to get their ideas from somewhere, and for many of us, that somewhere is television and/or films. Whether it’s the latest Netflix or Hulu show, and oldie-but-goody movie, or even something obscure that no one really remembers anymore, there’s often a treasure trove of inspiration to be found on the screen.
So I challenge you to watch some new shows (or some old ones) and find some inspiration. Watch something you wouldn’t normally watch, and see what you glean from it. Take note of the story elements that you like, and those you don’t like—and for the ones you don’t like, try to nail down the why in your not liking them. Look for plot elements that could be used in your story, look for character arcs that you find fascinating or cliché, but most of all, keep your eyes peeled for those random moments that somehow inspire you to write something completely different than what's depicted on the screen. Those moments are the most fun.
Case in point: I got a great deal of inspiration for the Druid Novels from things like Sanctuary and Avatar, decidedly science-fiction television and film—though the Druid Novels sit firmly in the fantasy realm. I found myself enthralled by random moments on the screen, various points in time that I wanted to replicate in scenes scattered through my books. And if you know Sanctuary well enough, or you’ve seen Avatar enough times, you might be able to pick a few of those scenes out when you read my work.
Is that stealing? No. Why? Because you can’t steal an idea, nor can you steal a moment.
So, open your mind to it. Allow yourself to be inspired by television and movies. Allow yourself to think outside the box and find inspiration for your modern murder mystery by watching an old west movie. Let your mind go free, and discover the inspiration to be found across genres, no matter what genre you find yourself writing in.
I promise, you’ll be surprised by the things you come up with. Pleasantly surprised, that is.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from your travels and adventures

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count—I’m so glad you stopped by. This month, as you’ll know if you stopped in on Tuesday, we’re talking all about inspirations. We’re talking about the many places and things we writers get inspiration from, when we’re writing our books. Why are we talking about this? Well, because a lot of us find ourselves blocked when it comes to finding that inspiration, that muse, and I’d like to do whatever I can to make sure we get past that block. Sometimes, all it takes is remembering some of the things that used to inspire us, in times past.
Tuesday, we talked about being inspired by our everyday lives, and the things we see around us on a daily basis. Today, let’s take a different spin on a very similar thing.
Inspired to Write: Getting inspiration from your travels and adventures
I, personally, love to travel. And I know I’m not alone. In fact, it’s a very trendy thing to do, these days. People want to travel, they want to see the world in all its wonders and terrors and highlights and pitfalls—and you know what? That can make for some amazing inspiration, right there.
Whether you’re traveling to a country fairly similar to ours, like the UK, or going all-out and experiencing a culture very dissimilar, like that of the Russians, you’ll find that there’s inspiration everywhere.
For me, the biggest thing I started noticing when I really got into traveling was the people. And for someone who prides herself on writing realistic characters and characters that everyone can find they relate to in some way or another, that was a really big thing to inspire me. What was it? It was that no matter where you go, no matter what you’re doing, no matter what kind of culture you’re in or what country you’re in or what time of day it is, most people really boil down to the same things. The majority of people in the world are kind. They’re nice. They’re just wanting to live out their lives in the best way they know how to do, and leave a mark for themselves in one way or another. They take care of the people they love, whether that be family or friends. They work hard, and they play even harder—no matter what form of play that is. People, and therefore characters as well, are the same no matter where you go.
But it’s not just the people who will inspire you, in your travels and adventures. It’s the sights, the smells, the tastes and touches, the experiences you’ve never had in your life before this moment. These are all things, things from the real, living world, that truly, deeply, and honestly inspire the words we write on the page.
And these are the things that—because of how deeply we ourselves have connected with them—our readers will connect with even deeper, within our stories. These are the things we’ll find our readers coming back to, because when it all boils down, everyone knows the real world. We know how life works here. We know what people are like, both the good and the bad. We know there is darkness in the world around us. And we know that the beauty can, and often does, outshine it in the end—just like it does in story, because art always imitates life.
Next week, we’ll chat a bit about getting inspiration from the media we see and hear all the time!
[love]
{Rani Divine}