Remembering the Summer of Inspiration

Social media reminders of posts and moments that occurred a number of years ago have reminded me that it’s now been a whopping decade since – what I call – the summer of inspiration. In 2012, two distinct occurrences happened that summer that ultimately inspired me to start taking my creative writing more seriously.

Advertisement

Meeting David Mitchell

It’s the dawn of a new year with very little to expect. That’s why to kick things off, I decided to have a little fun with this first post for 2022 and share something that happened to me a few weeks ago.

Thoughts About Drawing Inspiration From Real Lives

If you’re someone who’s in tune with widely read pieces on the Internet, then by now, you’re probably aware of the lengthy New York Times article that was published earlier this week called “Who Is the Bad Art Friend?” To put it short, it goes into great detail about the legal dispute between a kidney donor and a writer whose short story may or may not have been inspired by the former’s experience.

A Film Festival Screening and A Zoom Play

When was the last time I did a spotlight on two major announcements for my weekly Saturday blog post? That would have to be back at the beginning of August 2018 a.k.a. “simpler times.” To think that I would have some big announcements to make in the midst of a pandemic might sound kind of odd, and yet that’s exactly what is happening today. So here it goes:

A Time to Create and Support Creatives

Three months ago on New Year’s Eve, I think it’s fair to say that many of us weren’t expecting the first major pandemic in over a century would kick off the beginning of the 2020’s, and yet here we are. Movies, conventions, and sporting events are being postponed or cancelled completely. People who work in the medical field, restaurant industries, banks, and grocery stores are busier than ever. This week in the Bay Area, a shelter-in-place went into effect for the next few weeks. Countries like Italy are on complete lockdown. We can’t see any family or friends in person aside from those who we already live with, and for people like me, it’s already driving me bats.

A Time for Filmmaking

A year ago, I blogged the day before last year’s Academy Awards, in speculation of what’s to come from that year’s ceremony. This time around, I’m coming to you nearly a week after this year’s ceremony, and I feel surprisingly rejuvenated from both that and some recent events in my life and beyond.

Art Imitating Life

I believe in the past on this blog, I’ve talked plenty of times about life imitating art. More often than not, it’s particularly eerie when you’re a sci-fi writer, whose story is set in a fictional future, and then events in real life begin to bear some level of resemblance to ideas and occurrences you had initially constructed in  your mind.

The Timing and Timeliness of “Hamilton”

Rarely do I ever get to write about theatre on here; probably because when I do, it’s when I have something being shown, and the few times when I go to a professional production is often for work-related reasons. I don’t get to go to the theater just to experience it anymore. However, last week, I did, and it was a production that I never thought I’d get to see, until nine months before when the tickets were bought. Last week, I finally got to see Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical, “Hamilton.”

Thoughts About Playing with Ideas

Maybe this is happening because I made the decision in indefinitely put my third novel on hiatus. Perhaps it’s also that I’m working on a screenplay right now that has me thinking in the scheme of what I would want to write in the form of prose.

Hopefully Gaining Inspiration From Places

As briefly noted in my previous blog post, I was in the Pacific Northwest last weekend; specifically Seattle, Washington. While the main purpose was to visit a friend, it also made for the ultimate opportunity to explore a place I’ve never been to before. Seattle is a city that has been on my bucket list for quite some time, and I wanted to use up as many moments during my trip to get to know the place.