Some Inspiration for the Day

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running.”

African proverb

* I'm not entirely sure if I'm the Lion... or the Gazelle.... but I definitely feel like I've been running a hell of a lot lately.

Are apocalyptic scenarios still fresh or are they becoming cliche?

We know that man vs man and man vs self are two of the more common forms of conflict, personally, I enjoy man vs environment just as much. In my "What would your character do?" book there is a small section on apocalyptic situations:

- highly contagious plague strikes
- a tsunami is predicted
- two nuclear nations look poised to launch missiles
- ozone layer is suddenly degraded
- an endless drought leads to famine
- during a way, an enemy approaches
- civil war erupts after long economic depression

Definitely situations that can create a dynamic, fast-paced (or tragic) back drop for a story.

It seems that movies and television have taken hold of the apocalyptic / mass destruction realm and constantly churn out something new about the end of life as we know it. But what about books?

Swan Song, The Stand, The Postman, Eternity Road - these are just a few of the works that have an apocalyptic situation.

My question comes down to... are apocalyptic themes still "in" or are they "out"?

Here is an older article on the 20 ways the world could end. It's pretty interesting... and a little frightening at the same time.

How does Inspiration find you?

Writing is a mentally challenging hobby. Nothing stimulates the brain quite like creating an entire new world and people to interact with it. It is a dynamic field, of that, there can be no doubt.

As I sit here on this beautiful and sunny Monday morning. The energy of my mind is high and I feel my fingers twitching in response. Unfortunately, I need to work... but I did wonder, what is it that has me inspired today? Could it be the relaxing weekend? Perhaps the bright and sunny day?

Have you found any trends that seem to influence your creativity and inspiration? When is your creativity highest? First thing in the morning or late into the night?