Today I want to share one of the inspirations behind my fantasy novel I loving call "Teacup." Teacup is short for the longer title of "On the Other Side of the Teacup." It's the first book in a series- right now I'm thinking two or three books- and it's centered around a young twenty something who ends up being transported to another world through a potion given to her while she was at the Renaissance Festival.

I first started writing this book about five years ago when I worked 3rd shift (9pm-5am) as a proofreader for a financial printing company. It was grueling and isolating. My only solace was in co-workers who shared the turmoil and my writing.

I've been writing this book off and on for a while. I finally finished the first draft during the Nanowrimo Storm of '13. Since then, I've dusted it off, edited it for a bit, and then put it back. Even though I had finally finished my first book, I got scared and couldn't complete it. The task of editing seemed so overwhelming especially when I knew how flawed it was. The pressure I put on myself to make it perfect and to be perfect made me afraid to touch it.

In fact, I was contemplating just throwing it away and working on something else. The thought of deleting all that work, truly ending the lives of characters I had created kept me from doing that. So instead I put it away and tried to work on other ideas and stories. Only, that didn't really work. 

Every time I would start something new or pick up something I had set aside, little things kept reminding me of Teacup. I tried to brush it off and keep going but I couldn't. It wasn't until I went back to the basics of storytelling and reading books on crafting novels that I decided to work on Teacup again.

So here I am today. I've pulled out the story and dusted it off. To make sure that I really complete it this time, I've created a task time table in excel. I'm devoting thirty minutes a day to rewrites and edits. As I finish a chapter, I'm going to submit it to Critique Circle for feedback.

Until then, I wanted to put a few things up to help me get back into my Teacup writing mood.

Spandex, Turkey legs, and swords! Oh my!

Bocci Ball is for Lords only

Hmm... AZ can be green

Magic Potion Administrator!

Sunrise in the desert

Inspiration Thursday

Every Thursday I have decided to share a picture, idea, song, artist that have been the inspiration for my current fantasy novel "On the Other Side of the Teacup." A lot of my stories and ideas are grown from the most random moment of clarity and also a spark of intrigue from my fellow human beings.

This song that I am sharing with you today is one of the original sparks that started the creation of this book. I love the imagery found in the lyrics. It created this forlorn longing based on selfish love which moved me and made my muse take notice. The moment occurred back when I was working night's as a proofreader. It was one of the main motivators/philosophies used to create my main character Rigby and the inspiration for one of the opening scenes. Well this song and one another which I will share next week.

This song is Heart's "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You." See the 80's in all it's epic glory below.