My Storytelling Mind

Puppies, kittens, and bunnies are all motivating in their own way, with cuddles and soft fur, but let me just propose this: dragons. Dragons are one of the more popular mythological creatures, it's true, yet we don't always appreciate their inspirational and motivational magic. searching for source... Take the above draconic artwork, for example. The dragon is large, dark, mysterious, ominous, perhaps even threatening. But consider this: a dragon leaving its cave in the morning, full of sleepiness and yawns. It trudges about the small clearing outside its cave, yawns and sits for a moment, and then trudges back to the cave and back to bed. Monday mornings are hard, even for dragons. (c) TSRodriguez, DeviantArt The copper dragon above, whose hoard is clearly the most wonderful books, looks somewhat ferocious, malevolent, or at least growly. However, it's entirely possible that this dragon woke up early, hasn't had his coffee yet, and realized that hi...

Prompt: "Leapers" are rare people born in a leap year, on the 29th of February, who age four times slower than everyone else. Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest !

Prompt coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest !

He found Dave in the hall, twirling the small bouquet he'd bought for his date. " Bev wanted pink and purple," he said, trying to smile. Will slid down to sit beside him and took the bouquet away, tossing it lightly down the hall. "I think you were right, Will," Dave said and Will raised an eyebrow. "I think I'm trying too hard." "Not everyone can keep up with color coordination," he pointed out, shrugging. Dave glanced at him and he could feel his throat tighten. "That isn't what I mean." Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: (c) Petra Collins.

Much has happened since the last time I wrote. I feel a certain pressure to not be stressed; needless to say, I'm not really succeeding. This quarter, my last ever quarter of school, has been the craziest and least motivated quarter of my life. It's difficult to focus on the scientific names of dinosaurs when you know you're graduating, you're rejected for each internship you applied for, your computer has a nervous breakdown, and you lose two family members in less than a week. I don't like school. To be clear, I love learning. I love reading, working with classmates, and I even love writing essays (is there a job for that??); but I don't like busy work, attending seemingly unnecessary classes, or the stress of being graded. It's hard to stay motivated when you only enjoy half of the school experience. Consequently, a lot of my quarter was spent in stoic emotional turmoil or busy-work boredom. And I was tired the entire time. On a brighter note: it...

She stopped coming down for meals. The rare moments he saw her, she was staring out the window, ignoring the book she claimed to be reading. She claimed to be happy, too, but he knew she just didn't want his pity. That she was forced into their marriage didn't help her opinion of him. But this despondency was new and he refused to consider the only possible reason: she was in love. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Art: Summer Solitude (c) Deborah Bays.

I will be the first to admit I have little musical talent. My parents and my brother all play various instruments - and have rather nice voices - but I've been left out of the gene pool on that side of music. However, classical music or film scores have been a passion of mine since I was young; I had more John Williams or Hans Zimmer on my iPod than whoever was popular during my middle school days (I'm hopeless in the contemporary genres). Around high school, I discovered online radio sites, like Pandora, which could offer lots of music I enjoyed while introducing me to new music. However, I also discovered that Pandora and Spotify are kind of annoying. I. Just. Want. Decent. Music. Then I discovered 8tracks . In a world of irritating online radio sites, here was one I actually had some control over. Here, I could create a real playlist that would then act as a radio: the actual songs aren't publicly listed, nor can you skip through more than three tracks at a time. ...

She found it open; she told herself that on repeat a few times, convinced someone would discover her sneaking about where she surely shouldn't be. Edging closer, she peeked behind the book-laden door. "Oh. Oh, no."  She should have known that glimpse would lock her into absolutely having to know. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: Austrian National Library, Vienna (c) Amanda Rust, Flickr .

The stairs rose from the darkness of the canopy, illuminated only by a spare sunbeam. Few knew exactly where the gilded steps led; few returned from the pilgrimage. Some said the destination was different for everyone, but none knew how it was chosen. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Art: (c) inSahne, DeviantArt.

"I told her not to go," he shouted at the stable boys.  "Sorry, Mr. Cartwright," one of the boys muttered.  "This is her wedding day, Stobbs!" Mr. Cartwright roared.  She could hear his voice over the wind as she rode over the hill, gazing at the large estate she would shortly marry into.  "To become an ornament of a property so fine, he must really love the look of me," she said, and patted the horse comfortingly. After another moment, she started the horse off. "Back to work, ol' girl." Find this blurb on Pinterest !

The unveiling had taken her by surprise. She instantly recognized herself when he pulled the heavy fabric from the frame. Even with the faces partially obscured she knew exactly what it meant: he had seen her that day, all those months ago, at the rehearsal he had denied ever walking into. Now she knew why he didn't pick her up, why he called off dinner, and why the ring she found in his coat never ended up on her finger. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Art: Love Story 2 (c) Anna Razumovskaya.  

"Well, he came to school like that, you see. Nervous and jumpy, tight grip on his bag, too, like someone could steal it any moment," the girl said, a large gossipy grin on her face as she leaned toward the man.  "He came like that, you say? Did you see him?" the man asked, scribbling in a small notebook.  "Well, no. But my friend nearly bumped into him as he came in, and he looked like he'd seen a ghost, she said," the girl replied.  "Tight grip on his bag?" the detective repeated. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: (c) Teen Wolf .

She could hear the hoof beats as she settled down in the grass. Taking a deep breath, she tucked her head down until all that could be seen, if one looked particularly carefully, were her wide eyes. The horses came up the path and paused.  "Two weeks we've been riding," grunted one of the riders, uniform adorned with medals. The leading soldier pulled his horse around.  "The search ends when you find her, Daly," he replied. Daly bowed his head, and the group continued up the path away from her hiding place. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: (c) PlastikStars , DeviantArt

Magnus, thoroughbred son of Midas, was the most prized horse of the royal court. He was the queen's steed, much to the chagrin of the royal prince, and his loyalty never wavered. He refused to be ridden by any other member of the court, until the little princess arrived. Magnus would be her constant protector as the queen's health failed and the little princess was left on her own, with an ambitious half-brother and a distant father. Magnus became her friend. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: (c) Shannon TK, Flickr.

"Tom, come back," John whispered, stopping as he glanced over a shrub down to the water. "What now?" Tom asked, stepping back. "There's a girl in the water," John said, pointing. Tom pushed him out of the way to look. "She's not wearing anything," Tom said, and John nodded. "And what gentlemen would we be if we let her go around like that, John?" "No gentlemen at all, Tom," John replied as Tom smiled, mischievously. They ducked down and made their way, quietly, to the shore. Find this blurb on Pinterest . Photo: Queen Vicky Park , 2009 (c) Tom Hunter.

The flowers in the main hall were wilted when she arrived home, and the candles were more than halfway burned down. "Where were you?" he asked, coming out of the study. "I got you flowers." "They're beautiful," she replied. He didn't ask her again as he looked into his glass of whiskey. She excused herself to bed and he didn't stop her. Find this blurb on Pinterest . Photo: (c) Elsa Billgren

Mondays are tough, and motivation always seems at its lowest on Monday mornings, regardless of how much the birds sing or how blue the sky is or how blustery it is. But words can change the worst of moods or attitudes, and poetry is a great, small way to wake up the creative centers of your mind. With creativity flowing, your motivation and inspiration is guaranteed to follow, improving your Monday at least a little bit. (c) Tyler Kent White Tyler Kent White specializes in short and significant poems, speaking elegant truths about the world. His poetry is a simple motivation and a beautiful one. This poem, for example, which I read over this morning, got me moving and motivated for class today - something I always have trouble with - and I'm cognitively functioning much better than if I let the Monday gloom stick around. For more helpful, insightful poetry, check out my Poetry board on Pinterest.

Reading is hard these days. Case in point, I went to look at my Kindle library for this post and got distracted by that Disney Kingdoms app. Our minds are stimulated in such different ways now than from when I was growing up. Reading was easy, fun, and satisfying. Now that I've become a more digitally dependent person, I have to reprogram my brain for books . Reading Girl, A.C.W. Duncan Although I've read bits and pieces of books in the past couple years, and a few required books for school, I haven't (of my own vocation) read a full book in quite a while. To reintroduce my brain to not staring at a screen for entertainment, (1) I'm limited what's on my bookshelf here at school and (2) I want to start off with something I haven't read in a long time but have read previously. My thought process here is that rereading a book I enjoyed will utilize the muscle memory of my brain with much more specific memories. This narrowed the options to a really fun book:...

Inspiration for breakfast by Jennet Liaw Good morning, wordsmiths! In case I haven't said so already, I'm a major procrastinator. There isn't anything I won't procrastinate if it's an obligatory task - like homework or laundry or exercising or even writing sometimes. Hence my love of lists. I can list out what I need to do and work through the list in increments rather than being overwhelmed by just knowing I have to do everything. Today: A glass of water - I always wake up thirsty. Household tasks - A clean home is a creative home. Breakfast - Honey Nut and lowfat milk. Mmmm. Reading Challenge - Check back at 10am. Class prep - I told you. I procrastinate on homework. Dinosaur study - Midterm season is upon us. School time - 2 to 4pm, all about Imagination & Creativity. Grocery list - Yes, I do math before I shop. I'm on a budget. Watch new episodes of my shows - Bob's Burgers and The Flash, anyone? Anyone? Other blog work -...