The Undiscovered Country

Finding Inspiration in Odd Places

I've decided to jump into Nanowrimo, but 11 days into it, I've typed a mere 4400 words. The problem is lack of motivation and a slight addiction to Netflix. I like the story overall, but there is simply no excitement there.

Until a coworker sent me a link to a man who has been drawing an imaginary world for 50 years:

http://www.visualnews.com/2013/08/13/jerrys-map-drawing-an-imaginary-world-for-5...

I haven't seen the entire thing, but at one point he described the card he labeled "Void". When he draws that card, he has to void out a particular area on his map, and create another world inside it that fights against the current one. He calls it an "inclusion."

I thought, what a great way to create conflict in my own story. I knew I needed a war of sorts, but wasn't exactly certain how it would start. Now I do. It'll start with minor earthquakes that over the years will get more severe with no direct cause as to why. Until someone finds an "inclusion" of another world encroaching upon their own. They then have to come together with those they have been trying to kill off for decades to fight to save their world or be swallowed up by the inclusions.

Just goes to show we never know when inspiration will strike. The key is to always be open to the possibilities. As the the last line in "Ferris Beuller's Day Off" says, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it."