Recently I have really jump-started my creative process {see last post}.  

 On my mission, I wrote lyrics about a variety of topics including World War II, the refugee crisis, sisterhood, and a soul lost in the River Styx.  Other lyrics I have written since then include break-up songs, love songs, songs about eating disorders, etc.  Recently, I figured out how to connect my high school MIDI keyboard to my laptop to conjure up a variety of sounds on GarageBand. I had always been able to envision the way my music sounded, but finally I have begun to officially compose and record. I love establishing a beat, giving a song depth with base contrasted with various melodies and harmonies, and giving my lyrics life as I sing {however amateur-ly}. 

I have been painting again, blending tones to create dimensional faces.

I have been writing so much more. My brainstorming starts with a Pinterest board.  I save images that represent the setting, clothing and culture of my story.  In addition, I pin photos of people who best fit the descriptions of my characters.  In the past, I would get stuck trying to write chronologically, but now if I have so much as an inkling of an idea for a random scene, I create an outline and then write it instantly, rather than letting myself "ponder" it for months. I wrote two short scenes that way yesterday. If I don't know quite the adjective or quite the way the dialogue should flow, I just leave a _____ or a [rough idea]. I have quit worrying if a chapter sounds awkward, or if it will even fit into the story at all in the end; it has been this constant stress-free writing that has allowed me to develop a plethora of new ideas. 

I love my characters.  I have worked on giving them depth, striving not to make them flawless and unrelatable to an audience. I don't want it to be clear who is the "good guy" and who is the "bad guy," because everyone is a hero in their own mind with their own perspective, thus, that is up for the reader to interpret. On that note, I will go write.