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A longer episode with podcast updates, writing updates, a sample read of Chlorophyllium 9, and talking about creativity. What is Creativity?(Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/9) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.  If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. Today's podcast episode is about Creativity.Taking a closer look at what creativity is and what it means to be creative.Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!My WeekLabor Day weekend was great! I'm usually off on Friday's, but this year I've made a real effort to make it to the kids' homeschool co-op sessions. Sure, it eats into time I could spend in an empty house, writing, but I feel like I've been missing out on this experience with them.I guess that's one thing about having your oldest getting ever-closer to 18 and then having a very young one join the party. I just don't want to miss out on the important stuff. I swear, you blink and so much of life has passed you by.I know my dream is to become a full-time writer, but this is just something I have to do. I'm starting to get some rhythm to it and I have even gotten some words in during the classes. I'm mostly an observer at this point, I help when needed, which isn't much in my wife's class on world geography. But when we rotate over to the nursery, I tend to help a little more actively. To celebrate Labor Day, I cooked up some mean steaks on the grill and we tried to watch Tomorrowland. Unfortunately, the disc we got from Red Box was scratched and it was skipping huge sections of the movie, so we bagged that idea and watched some Doctor Who, Season 1 instead.I won't lie to you, I also wasted a pretty large chunk of time playing the new expansion that just released for World of Warcraft. I haven't paid for game time in over 5 months now and this was the perfect time to play the auction house as players were scrambling to level up their crafts. Call me a nutter if you'd like, I love online economies and making money in online games. I know it's not real money, it's just so much fun!Podcast NewsWhat's new with the podcast? Milestones? Achievements?I realized this week, while looking at some of the podcasts I listen to regularly, that my post names were way out of whack with how other folks have their episodes showing up in iTunes. I've gone back and changed the post names and I'll probably have to manually refresh the RSS feed or something, but I hope it changes the older episodes.The change makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it. This is just another one of those instances where I look back and think, "Now why in the world did I think this way was somehow better? Sheesh, no brainer!"I'm notoriously hard on myself and overthink silly things like this.I haven't gotten a whole lot of listener feedback for the podcast lately.Listener Shout-outsMy dad replied to my author newsletter this week. Here's some of what he had to say, "Every podcast gets better and better. They are done in a professional manner yet you draw people in with your personal touch. Listening to them makes me want to know more about you. When you start your writing prompts I am almost disappointed because I realize that we are reaching the end of the podcast. Yet the prompts makes you think with a creative mind. You do an excellent job. I am very proud of you. Nothing in life seems to stop you. You just learn from it and move forward. I think that Coma is my second favorite right behind  “The Boy in the Window.” I know you are very busy but if you get time you really need to work on Coma I think it has great potential."Thanks, Dad! I really appreciate that you take the time to listen to my podcast and read my stories. It means the world to me! I'm really excited about all the stuff I have going on. I won't lie, though. It can be pretty exhausting. This whole podcast journey has opened my eyes to how much I still don't know. But I'm learning and trying to do things better.Writing UpdatesChlorophyllium 9 is pretty much done. I just need to put on a bit of polish here and there before I compile the document and give it a read through start to finish. I like to do this on my Kindle Paperwhite. I find the switch in media helps me find the errors and inconsistencies better than on my computer screen where I've spent large amounts of time writing and editing.This change in venue helps me keep my mind fresh and I don't have to keep going back to reread portions when my brain gets lazy.Next up is Final Hope! The first chapter we encounter after Chlorophyllium 9 ends throws us right back into the most gut-wrenching scene of the novella and we pick up on the details that were washed over before.[Excerpt of Chlorophyllium 9 - Opening Scene.]What is Creativity?Definition: "the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work."What makes you unique?I'll write the show notes later. :)Supporting idea.Narrative.Supporting idea.Narrative.Supporting idea.Narrative.Supporting idea.Narrative.Supporting idea.Narrative.Supporting idea.Narrative.The Sign-OffEnding summary and sign-off.And now, for this week's writing prompts!What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week.  1. Broken Wing You are sitting at the dining room table, eating breakfast, when a loud bang startles you. No one else is home so you quickly check all the doors, but there is no sign of anyone to be found. You figure it might be some of the neighborhood kids up to their hijinks again. Then you see it. Outside the back sliding glass door lies a bird. It must have flown into the pane. It’s flapping around erratically and looks dazed. You carefully reach down and pick it up. In an immense measure of trust, the bird doesn’t struggle. It just looks at you. The left wing looks broken but, remembering a story from when you were a kid, you think you might be able to brace it and look after the bird while it heals. You take it inside and set to the task of wrapping the broken wing.2. A Familiar Case You’re a medical examiner for a sleepy, country town. There isn’t even much in the way of violent crime in the entire county. Therefore, most of your examinations center around natural causes of death. Everything seems routine at your latest call-out: cold body, very little decay, no obvious sign of a struggle, and.. What’s that? There’s black underneath all the fingernails and… a strange black line is drawn down the middle of the victim’s tongue. While the detectives seem remiss to write it off, something in the back of your mind tells you this one little detail is very important. You express your concern to the lead investigator, but they tell you to give the body a full examination and write it up in your report. They clearly have better things to do than chase ghosts when it comes to simple, open-shut cases like this one. When you proceed with your investigation, you discover another clue on the body. This confirms your worst fears, an old unsolved case you researched and used as supporting evidence in your college thesis has come back to haunt you. If you’re right and the deaths follow previous patterns, you should be examining your next corpse in five days; with many more to follow.3. Strange SproutsThis was it, the year you finally got down to it and planted your garden. It was a lot of hard work clearing out the unkempt overgrowth of previous years’ failures, but you did it. You planted tomatoes and carrots, corn, and beans; even a few heirloom varieties, since that’s all the rage. You’ve spent countless hours in the garden pulling weeds, watering, and tending to all the little seedlings. Then one day a new batch of seedlings sprout next to the ones you planted. They don’t look like weeds, but they certainly have something sinister in mind. One by one, they consume your seedlings. When you try to pull them, they resist. You don’t know where these little devils came from but you have a bad feeling about this; still, watching them bear fruit could be interesting.4. On Darker TidesYou’ve been invited to your best friend’s wedding on a cruise ship, it’s been so amazing, and you couldn’t be happier for her. The ceremony is beautiful and you watch the two newlyweds dance. They both look so happy.  It’s the picture perfect wedding. After the festivities, you walk back to your cabin and take a refreshing shower before stepping out onto the veranda. The salty ocean air is refreshing and you watch as the last rays of sunlight are consumed by the fathomless depths. You must have dosed off because the next thing you recall is hearing a man’s voice shouting, begging someone to please stop. You can’t be sure, but it sounds like… the groom. Then a dark silhouette flutters downward and you hear the splash after what seems like an eternity. Rumors abound in the hours afterward while the ship authorities investigate the incident, but the preliminary report seems to indicate that it was just an accident. How can that be? You heard what you heard and something about your friend’s alibi troubles you.5. The Dancing NunNo one can explain it and the whole world is watching as all news channels feature a nun performing an elaborate dance around a fountain in a prominent town square. What first came across and a humorous oddity has transfixed viewers all across the world as the hours tick by.  Bystanders elbow in to share the spotlight and reporters angle in to shout their questions above the cheers of the growing crowd, but the nun just keeps dancing her wordless dance. Is this some sort of demonic possession, a civil protest, an elaborate distraction, or just fun tomfoolery?6. The TemptationYou’ve never considered yourself a thief, but lately you just can’t seem to resist the urge to pocket trinkets and gadgets. You’ve even found things in your pockets you don’t remember seeing before, like the key chain you’re sure someone is missing. As if to complicate matters, it seems that the objects you are somehow attracting have become stranger, more… arcane? Have you become an unwitting magnet for magic items and enchanted objects? And is that a… wand? Just as you think you’re about to lose your mind, you hear a strange knock at the door before the lock clicks open.7. See You LatteAfter several non-starters, you’ve finally found someone on the Internet dating sites who seems interesting enough to meet in person. After talking on the phone for over an hour, you decide to surprise them with an iced latte before you start your date. Then, while waiting in line, you’re accosted with the contents of an entire tray of coffee beverages. The unfortunate perpetrator is apologetic and scrambles to clean up their mess. As you bend down to help, you both lock eyes and any thoughts of your upcoming blind date melt away. I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts. Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. 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  My wife, Tara, interviews me!  What Writing Means to Me(Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/8) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.  If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. Today's podcast episode is a special one. My wonderful wife, Tara, interviews me and asks that tough question: what does writing mean to me?We talk about my first writing experience and why I feel so drawn to writing. This podcast episode follows a conversational format, but under the surface of my own recounted experiences, you can see some of the underlying foundations of writing and what it takes to be a writer as it applies to your own story.We all come to the empty page with different backgrounds. And if storytelling has taught me anything, it's that there are hidden gems of truth within every story. Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!When did you first develop a desire to write?The first writing experience I remember was in Ms. Shupe's first grade class. We were supposed to write a short story and I wrote one that was very similar to The Lion and the Mouse. It was called, The Lion and the Turtle. It was a total knock-off.But my mom worked at Hill Air Force Base and they had computers. So she typed it up for me and printed it out and put it into this very professional looking folio. I took it to school and, probably more because it looked nice, Ms. Shupe put it on the bulletin board outside the classroom for the whole school to read. It blew me away and I was so excited about writing, you know, in first grade... with my knock-off story. So, where did it go from there?Well, for the most part, I only wrote for school assignments. There was something that went down in fifth or sixth grade. A couple of the guys in my class started writing a story about kids with super powers. But it got out of hand and nobody ended up wanting to finish it because we couldn't stop fighting about who had more super powers. So that didn't go very well.But then in junior high I started to write poems. I wanted to write stories, but I got hung up on using the correct punctuation. I had questions and I tried to ask my English teacher but it never came out right, so I never got the answers I was looking for. It was really stupid stuff like, do you put the period before the quotation marks or after the quotation marks. If somebody asks a question, is it a question mark and then quotation marks, and then if it's 'he said' or 'she said' is the 'h' or the 's' capitalized?We didn't have the Internet back then, so I couldn't just look it up and I never really got any good answers to those questions and I just felt kind of silly for asking them after a while so I stopped. But the stories that I did start writing, I would love to tell you that they were awesome, but they weren't. They were crap. I still have some of them. They were just utter crap, but what are you going to expect from a junior high school kid?At the time you thought they were awesome, though?I was pretty sure I was writing them with the punctuation wrong and I talked in the last episode about perfection and how that can be a total creativity killer and that totally killed it for me. Because I wanted them to be perfect. It was really bad cliche stuff. Yeah, I thought it was cool at the time, but it wasn't that great.And then, it was before the Internet, right? So we had the Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) and we would, I called myself a modemer, you'd use the modem on your computer and dial in over the phone line and connect to the BBS. It was basically a simple chat program that brought in all sorts of different users across different telephone line systems and you could chat with people. You could post files. So I posted up some of my poems up there and you read some of them, didn't you?I did.It was before we met.Yeah, I was only on there because a friend who got me on. I wasn't computer savvy, even then. But I was just perusing the file section one day and came across them and the name 'Brady Frost' stuck in my head. And so when I met him later, after he mentioned he had written something, I... it was kind of crazy. Because your name had been stuck in my head.You were stalking me. No, I wasn't stalking you.I was really excited about writing in high school, very passionate. I took Creative Writing, Advanced Creative Writing classes. I ended up getting in a semester of Journalism and I did a horrible job writing articles. I didn't have any beats. I just kind of pumped out pulp crap. But it was fun. It was a lot of fun.I read some of  yours, they were funny.They were humor pieces but there was no... nothing. So, yeah, my humor as a teenager was kind of borderline offensive... non-politically correct, slap and giggle type stuff. So, yeah, it wasn't great work, but I did enjoy writing a lot.Then we got married and I joined the military. And I remember that I wrote a few poems when I was in Basic Training. But that whole time period really took a lot out of me. We had a little girl on the way and the doctor said, well, first... they saw on the ultrasound a dark spot?There was an enlarged area in her kidneys.So, why don't you tell that side of the story since I was away in Basic.It was just during the routine ultrasound and I guess they kind of saw something. I got a phone call later that evening that she had been diagnosed with hydronephrosis. It just means that the middle of the kidney was enlarged and they thought it was filled with fluid. It could be something minor or it could be something very severe that required surgery and Brade was gone to Basic Training. So I had to tell him over the phone.Yeah and it was really tough because we didn't have a lot of time and I had a million questions and I couldn't ask hardly any of them. It was really tough because I was so far away and I was cut off. I couldn't just call whenever we wanted to. That was a really hard time for me. I got pneumonia in Basic and carried it for four to five weeks because I didn't want to flunk out or get washed back or miss any of my training because if I missed any of my training cycles because I might have to wait until the next training class of people came through.That isn't a bit deal in Basic, but when you go to your tech school that next block could be like three months, whenever they have enough people to fill their quotas. And Tara was due like a month after I was supposed to get out of training, so that would give us enough time to get my orders and figure out what we were doing.So with all that stress, I just kept pushing it and pushing it and pushing it. This included everything with the military normally.Even beyond then, you weren't very creatively driven during your time in the military.Yeah, but I'm just saying from that time period, running and everything with pneumonia. We had to run like five miles, we had to run three miles a couple times a week.. I can't even remember, it's been so long now. But by the time I finally collapsed after taking the first block test and getting a 96%, they took me to the emergency room. And I remember I was so hot and I hadn't eaten for days. It was all I could do to sip down some liquids and what-not.It was interesting, they got me a cab. It was at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas and they drove me from the school house for our tech school to the hospital. I must have looked like death, I don't know, the base taxi driver took one look at me and cranked up the AC all the way and turned all the vents toward me. By the time we got to the hospital I was feeling good, which was bad.Here I was thinking... they told ya, if you're trying to fake being sick, don't think you're going to get away with it because a million people before you have tried before you. And here I am at the emergency room and I'm feeling great after feeling like crap for weeks, so... yeah... I was like, okay, I gotta act sick. So I tried to act sick, but then they took my temperature and it was at 104 degrees. And then they took X-rays and my lungs were substantially filled with water, or liquid. So I had pretty bad pneumonia and I had to convince them not to keep me in the hospital because I didn't want to miss the next training block that was starting on Monday, and this was on Friday. But yeah, that whole time period took a lot out of me and then my focus became doing well in the military, as best I could, so writing really just fell off to the side. But I still wanted to write.You would still talk about it sometimes.We would go to Barnes & Noble and I would buy a new notebook and write in a few pages.Yeah, you did gather a lot of notebooks during those years.I subscribed to The Writer Magazine and I'd get Writers Digest every now and then. That's when I amassed a lot of the books on writing that I have. I've spent so much money on writing and really I should have just been writing.What would you say that writing means to you now?I think that I've learned a lot of lessons over time and I'm learning more of what goes into a story to make it work. And it isn't necessarily the punctuation things I was getting hung up on before. Because really, learning how to edit and doing an editing pass and then getting outside input can help resolve those issues. It's the story part. Even a poorly written book, grammatically speaking, can do very well if it's got a great story. And people will keep reading even though the writing, itself, isn't that great. Which just boggled my mind with as a reader. And maybe it's because the books I fell in love with seemed to be written very well. But over the years I've read books and thought, this is crap! How did this get past an editor? How is this a best seller, because here's an error, here's an error, and here's an error... and over years I just became more and more and more critical of these books.  I would tell you a book that I liked and then you would start reading it and you couldn't even get through a bit of it. You would say, "How do you like this? It's so awful this way and that way." And I just stopped telling him about books I liked because he would just knock on them.It was really... a lot of that was probably an external manifestation of my insecurities as a writer on the inside, I would hyper-analyze. Because I wanted to be, and I still want to be, the best writer I can be. To see these errors and mistakes, all the books I had said "don't do this..." and there's thins book that's a best-seller that my wife loved and it does all the things the books I had bought said don't do... It... just... arrrgh.. it was so hard.It's like I would tell you, they told a good story.Yep, so that's one thing I've really learned, not just to make the writing as beautiful as I can (but not too wordy for some of the readers) and then encapsulate what really boils down to a great story. And that's a lot harder than it seems because you have to build a story so it's good.You can't just say, why did the story cross the road? I mean, there could be a great story in there, but it's the difference between just telling someone something and the art of story craft. Right? So I'm learning a lot more about what writing is. Writing is about storytelling and it's not just the words you choose to use, but it's also the point that you're trying to get across and how you can strum the emotions of the reader with a good story. We're all kind of programmed to speak the language of storytelling. But I've also learned that writing is hard work sometimes and that's a big difference between when I started out and where I am now. I'm learning to push through the resistance I have. Because for somebody who's thought about writing and dedicated a lot of their mind space toward writing for a very, very long time, I'm a horrible writer. I mean I think I can write well, but I don't do it regularly in a lot of cases. It's really about hard work for me. I know I have to overcome so much to get the story out. There are so many days when I can say, "Uuuuuhng, I'm tired," "My head hurts," "I'm feeling sad." There's a lot of excuses and if I really want to be a writer I've got to learn how to reprogram myself. I can really enjoy writing, then the next day I HATE what I wrote, but then if I put it away and I read it a couple weeks later after I forget the whole process, I'm like, "Hey, that's not that bad." There's this emotional rollercoaster from like in the moment, "Oh, I love this! It's so great." And then, "Aww, I hate it, it's so horrible!" To the point where I'm having nightmares.There are sometimes I wonder why you like it. Because you both love and hate writing from one moment to the next.Another thing I've learned, what writing means to me now is that writing is not cool new gadgets.You mean still, still learning?Hey, I've held off! I've held off for the most part.That doesn't stop you from looking at them all the time. "This would be good for writing, this would be good..."But it would! It would make the process so much simpler, until my technical brain... because I mean, I'm an IT Specialist by day so my whole thing is like figuring out computers and problems and setting up servers and programs and applications and whatever. So, whenever I get a.. it's the funniest thing... this, analyzing myself on this whole process. I get a new piece of technology like a tablet or a Surface Pro and I spend the next two weeks getting it set up perfect and that's two weeks of not writing. In some ways, they are your new notebooks. Although, you still get notebooks!You just can't beat a good looking notebook and a nice pen that flows well when you write and doesn't smear.Yeah, you are a pen snob.Mmmm, yeah. So, where do you see your writing five years from now?Well, I would like to be writing full-time. So, I've worked really, really hard to get to where I'm at career-wise. It was a lot of time spent going to school and taking on tough, challenging jobs, but at no point in my career or my life, did I stop working to go to school. So whenever I've gone to school it was full-time work and full-time school and then spending time with you and the kids.And it's been tough.Yeah.So, on one hand, I don't want to walk away from that, but on the other hand, I'm kind of burnt out. I want to write stories. I want to tell stories. I love telling stories.Now, I would say you're good at your job. It's just not a passion for you anymore.And, especially with some of the stuff I deal with after being in the military, I have days when it's really tough to do what I do and it takes a lot out of you. And those are the days when I come home and I say, "Yeah, if I were feeling better, today would be a good day to write. But my brain is just shot." I'm learning to overcome those because I know I have to overcome them if that's something that I want to end up doing.And those are the days, when you overcome, you feel best about.YeahAre you in-line right now with where you want to be in five years?Like effort-wise?Yeah, with what you're doing.Yes and no. So, I have productive days and I have not-so-productive days. But Chlorophyllium 9 and Final Hope, like that two-part story with the novella and the novel, this is the farthest I've ever got on a single project.By quite a lot.Yeah. I usually get really excited and there are different pitfalls I have. Like sometimes I tell you and it lets all the excitement out of what I'm wanted to do. I'm learning to do that better, though. And there's, like, I think the idea I had is stupid and I let those bad days overcome the good days and I let things go. But I'm really learning how to put a lot more effort into it and overcome.I would say that Chlorophyllium 9 and Final Hope are on track for being finished hopefully in October, maybe I'll give it a push back into November, but I don't want it going further than that. If I just have to sit down and crank out the words and come up with a horrible first draft just to get it done and then go back and slaughter it in editing, then that's what I'll have to do.Even though I've never seen you write a horrible first draft. You self-edit too much.I do. That's the biggest thing for me, is learning how to streamline my process. I spend way too much time trying to find the right words when I'm writing. It goes back to not comparing yourself to other writers, and I have to respect some of my own process, but if I can learn how to do things better, that would be really good.I've also released COMA: The Cataclysm, the first chapter on my blog. rbradyfrost.com/coma. You've read the first chapter. Yep.Do you remember that story?I do. I remember from when it was originally done.So, if there's enough interest, I will continue that. I'll just post a chapter at a time and I think spreading it out like that and only doing it if there's interest really helps free me from trying to do too much at once.It kind of goes back to something I did this last week. I was a part of a multi-author project. We each wrote a chapter to complete a novel and all you really had, there was no preplanning, we just had the chapter that came before ours. Mine was the second chapter and I wrote almost two thousand words in one evening and that was after a long day in the office and driving home from Dallas. I was pretty beat, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to do it. But I had a 48-hour deadline and I ended up meeting it. And I thought I did pretty good.I enjoyed it.So, I think this is something I can do with COMA. And I really like seeing that old story kind of coming forward and getting some closure on that one. Because I think that one was actually a pretty good premise.So to answer your question, if I keep working really hard and I keep learning how to write better stories, then I do think that within five years I could seriously consider whether we want to just rely on my income as a writer rather than as an IT guy.Yeah.So that's where I am. That's what writing means to me, as of this week anyway.I think that's good.Okay. Well, I guess I'll give them their writing prompts.Sounds like a plan.Okay, stay tuned. You have this little intro and then you have seven writing prompts for the week.And now, for this week's writing prompts!What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week.  1. Unknown CityA team of scientists have unearthed several rare artifacts from a construction site in a well-populated city. The discovery has all-but halted normal life in the area as experts from around the world flock to examine the unexpected discovery. All evidence seems to indicate the presence of a very prosperous civilization that existed tens of thousands of years ago in this location. The people of this era appear to be very advanced, using technology we can’t fully understand. This is all in direct conflict with everything we thought we knew.  There are so many questions raised about the discovery. How did this civilization come into existence, where did they go, and what practical applications can we find for their strange devices? 2. The Inside JobYou’ve just discovered that someone very close to you might be a clandestine agent of unknown origin. You have no idea who they’re working for or what their objective is, but one thing is clear; they are not the person you thought they were. As tensions rise, you try to find out anything you can, all while pretending to be as oblivious and trusting as ever. What are they after? Why go to such lengths to get close to you?3. The ReversalPeople aren’t always who they appear to be. You’ve worked hard through the years and managed to amass a small fortune. Since you grew up in a disadvantaged situation, you always try to give back to the community and create opportunities for others to succeed. This means you can usually be seen out volunteering, and you save the fancy duds for special occasions. This has led to some very interesting misunderstandings, but today takes the cake. You’re running a little late on your way to the office after volunteering with a housing improvement project, when one of the candidates for a special fast-track program you just established literally runs into you on the street on their way to a one-on-one interview with… you. You’ve read their file and watched their application submission video, but the person yelling profanities and admonishments bears nothing more than a physical resemblance to the candidate you were sure you were going to pick. Deciding to allow things to play out, you apologize to them for being in their way and then slowly make your way to your building, stopping in a spare office to change into your business attire before walking in and calling them into a conference room.4. Creature ComfortsWhile on a solo vacation adventure, you decide to pay for a cheaper seat on a returning flight of a small charter plane instead of booking a seat on the normal airlines. When you board the plane, you’re taken aback by the luxury that surrounds you.  Halfway through the leg; however, the small plane experiences a mechanical failure and the flight is diverted. The owner of the plane insists on compensating you for the inconvenience and puts you up in a five-star hotel while the parts for the plane are ordered and installed. This strange glimpse into a different world soon affords you with unexpected opportunities and you can’t help but think that this is a life you could get used to.5. Just a Little Bit LongerSomething is out there. You don’t know what it is or where it came from, but one thing is for sure. Where it goes, death follows. You’ve been on the run, dashing blindly through the dense overgrowth, for what seems like ages. The only thing you know for certain is that this creature, whatever it is, doesn’t like sunlight. With the first hints of dawn peeking over the tips of the mountains, you know you’ll be safe if you can somehow manage to stay one step ahead until the sun emerges in the east. But then you hear it somewhere close behind you. Without a second to spare, you don’t dare look back. Up ahead you see a small cave opening. If you can manage to squirm inside, you might have a chance. You just have to hold out just a little bit longer.6. Community SurvivalIn the aftermath of a terrible disaster, a community must overcome isolation and a lack of supplies to rebuild. Together, they work hand in hand. Strangers who largely ignored each other before the event now challenge their vast differences in order to survive. There are many things once taken for granted that are now in high demand and your diverse character ensemble must figure out how they will cope until outside help arrives. How will your characters handle outside threats to their small community? What happens if new parties arrive and old bonds begin to unravel the cohesiveness the group has worked so hard to form? 7. The Super-Secret AdmirerIt all started a couple days ago when you found a long-stem rose tucked under the windshield wiper blade of your car. There wasn’t a note and, as far as you can tell, there wasn’t a special occasion to celebrate. Another rose showed up on your doorstep the following evening. And now there’s an entire bouquet sitting at your desk. No one seems to know who they came from or why. Try as you might, you can’t think of anyone who would have a reason to shower you with gifts like this. Is this the beginning of something special, or are these strange gifts a small precursor to something darker than love? I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts. Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Join my monthly newsletter for writers and get more helpful content, encouragement, and more!* indicates requiredEmail Address * First Name Last Name Email Format htmltext Powered by MailChimp (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); If you enjoyed this feed, please stop by my blog! www.HuntingTheMuse.com

It's the start of the school year and in this week's episode we're going to talk about Beginnings (Back to school) (Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/7) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.  If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. This week's podcast episode is about beginnings. Summer break has faded into the past and it's the start of the school year again.As my children get settled into their new schedules and meet their new teachers, I'm reminded of those days when I was a child. New pencils and notebooks, new clothes, and a new chance to have some memorable adventures.While we mourned the loss of our summer freedom, going back to school symbolized exciting times.I often feel this way when I get excited about a new writing project. Don't you?Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!My WeekHello, Muse Hunters! I hope you all had an excellent week and that you were able to get some good writing done since the last episode.This last week for me was very interesting, and if you remember from the last episode, I ran into a huge slump and found myself trying to push through a lot of self-doubt. This lead to a lot of soul searching and revealed some great insight into the motivations of one of my antagonists.Well, let me tell you, that discovery seemed to jostle a few more out of the woodwork and I began to examine how I've been approaching my writing. This has to be one of the greatest parts of doing this podcast so far. I'm really forced to examine my beliefs about writing and what I've told myself I'm capable of and that introspection has brought forth some very interesting fruit.It's been a cooler, rainier August these last couple of weeks, breaking the streak of 100 degree (plus) days. It's much cooler than last year, that's for sure. The change has been nice, though all this extra water has encouraged the grass to grow double-time, so I guess I'll be out there with the lawnmower and some of my favorite podcasts this weekend!It was time to go back to the VA hospital yesterday for my migraine shots, 32 of those little suckers, if you believe it. It sounds bad, but it's not quite as horrible as it sounds. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not pleasant, but when it saves you from some of the headaches, it all works out in the end. I'm not seeing a huge improvement yet, but this is just my second round and the doctors told me that a lot of patients see more benefit in the second or third batch. So I've got my fingers crossed.Podcast NewsI'm still trying to play around with my settings and the process I'm using to record these episodes. I'm still new at this, so if you've heard a few of my episodes so far or if this is your first one, please stick with me. If you have a suggestion for improvement, I'd love to hear from you!Right now, there are no sponsors for this podcast. I'm doing my best to write and deliver helpful content, but it does take a lot of my time. I've made it a personal goal to do at least 52 weekly episodes. That means that if you're worried about whether you should invest your time in a new podcast, you can rest assured that I'll be sticking around for quite some time.After that? Well, we'll have to see where this road takes us. If there's enough support and interest, this could definitely be an ongoing thing. I can honestly tell you, as a podcast listener, I know how sad it can be when you go to refresh that next episode on a podcast you've been enjoying, only to find an abrupt end.Do you have suggestions for topics? Do you have comments about any of the episodes or want to say hello? Hit me up on Twitter, @BradyFrost, and I might read your comments on one of my future episodes!Listener ShoutoutsBen Marble (@BenMarble1) said, "Nothing wrong with a little passion in your work! I plan on listening on the way to work tomorrow. So far I've liked your cast"Thanks, Ben. I really appreciate you saying so! Keep listening and let me know how I'm doing!Ben currently has three short stories available on Amazon, all of which are available to read for free if you have KindleUnlimited. So if you're into short fiction with dark, horror/occult persuasion, and you'd like to support another Muse Hunter out there, give Ben a look.Writing UpdatesThis week was pretty amazing for writing progress. First off, I'm learning not to compare my efforts and results with other authors, and that's a huge takeaway from the episodes leading up to this point. I know I still have to challenge myself to find out what I'm capable of,  but it's a journey.While my word count wasn't massively impressive, I did make some great strides in piecing together more of the interwoven threads that make up Chlorophyllium 9. This novella is now sitting at around 23,000 words and won't need too much more work before I call it done and move on to the rest of the novel. Altogether, between Chlorophyllium 9 and what I have written for Final Hope, I'm about halfway to my full-length goal. I'm still aiming to be done before October!For those of you who listened to the last episode, you might remember how I revealed a hurtful moment in my writing past and how I gave up on a novel I'd started over a decade ago. Well, I have some good news!This fantasy novel, COMA: The Cataclysm, will take you to the magical and enchanting land of Velmoria, where the balance of power is kept in check by three Nethers, men and women who come from other worlds through portals opened by a being known only as the Catalyst.I've decided to release this story for free, a chapter at a time, on my blog in a serialized format. But there's a catch. With everything I've got going on with my science fiction series, this podcast, and a bunch of short stories I'm writing for a collection I'll release sometime in the future, I need your support to make this project work.I'm not asking for money. No. What would really help me out is page reads, comments, Facebook and Twitter shares if you enjoy it. I just need to know people are reading it, like it, and want more. If that seems to be the case, I'll post the next chapter, and so on. If you're interested, you can check it out at www.rbradyfrost.com/coma.I also decided to participate in a writing project with the 20 Books to 50K crowd, where twenty authors each write a chapter of a novel (or novella, I'm not sure how long this thing will end up being when it's all done.) I chose chapter 2, thinking I would probably get tapped once I'd produced this episode and had a small break for the week.Nope! Chapter 1 landed in my mailbox just before I got off work for the day and I only had 48 hours to get it written and turned back in. Talk about pressure! After reading what the first author, TJ Ryan, had written and set up in that first chapter, I knew exactly what I needed to do.Okay, it wasn't that easy. I freaked out for a few minutes and stressed about how I was going to put together an engaging chapter. I wondered if I would be able to create a strong, memorable character the readers will care about. And I wasn't sure if I could give her a purpose while also leaving the chapter with a punch.But I started. I began the journey and it was slow at first. I moved forward one word at a time. Before I knew it, things were starting to fall into place. After a while, I knew what was coming next. Then the end of the chapter hit me and it was awesome. I knew in that moment how I could wrap it up and tie it in with the first chapter, while also setting up the next author with a solid footing.The only thing that remained was getting there. In total, I wrote 1,970 words. I completed my chapter and turned it in within just a few hours. I was so happy!Then I had nightmares all night. In my fitful sleep, my chapter wasn't as good as I thought it was while I was still on that writer's high. I woke up with a heart full of doubt. But I sat up, shrugged it off as best I could, and told myself that I did well. Because I did. It might not be a perfect chapter, but I wrote it and I wrote it fast and I think I wrote it well. It was something I could be proud of.Beginnings.It's that time of year. Summer is winding down and those of us with kids are sending our spawn off to school. Well, okay, we homeschool our children, but they do a lot of that stuff online and have to interact with their teachers and other kids. But play along with me here, let's not lose that mental image.Butterflies are flapping their wings and flitting to and fro, the kids are decked out in their best new duds, and your Facebook feed is full of other people's children all dressed to impress in their first-day-of-school pictures. Don't have kids? Never went to school? Don't have a clue what I'm talking about? That's fine, I'm going somewhere here, I promise!You see, the beginning of the school year reminds me of that sense of excitement I had as a kid. Sure, I knew there would be work involved and, depending on the teacher, some homework as well. But there were so many new social prospects and other things to look forward to.The Beginnings of a Writing Project.Okay, that's better.Starting a writing project is fun and different parts of the startup process can be addicting for different reasons. I imagine I've probably spent thousands of dollars over the years in coffee drinks, chai, and writing books -- all in the act of preparing to write.I've somehow managed to keep myself from buying a single pre-made cover because I know that once I slide down that slippery slope, there probably won't be any semblance of financial recovery for me.Research can be fun. I love to consume information and random facts. I like to think it makes me smarter and better informed as a writer. When I started writing COMA: The Cataclysm, I just knew I needed a copy of Sigmund Freud's book, The Interpretation of Dreams. It's around here somewhere.In fact, I have boxes of books on writing and subjects I thought would be interesting to incorporate into my writing.Beginnings are fun, sometimes they taste delicious and give us that boost of caffeine we need before, you know, life calls and we've got to leave the cafe and get back to the grind. Yeah, they can be kind of expensive if you let them get out of hand.Planning is Good.You have that idea and before you start to run with it, you set a plan in motion. Maybe you get around to writing a scene or a chapter and you just want to tell someone how everything will fit together. You want to write the story, but it's got to be perfect.You need a better plan. Maybe you didn't think this out well enough. What if this happens instead of that? What's the significance of a dream anyway? A lot of people don't like Freud and he did have some pretty weird ideas. Maybe I need to research more?The danger with planning is getting stuck in the planning cycle. Do you see where I'm going with this? Each phase in the writing process has these little slots in the ground. Some people seem to sail right over them without a care in the world. Some can't help but fall in and lose their way. The important thing is to realize when you struggle with certain things and be wary of where your feet land. Telling the Secret.One of my biggest story-killing pitfalls happens when I allow myself to tell the secret of how things turn out. After all that research and planning, I've got it all worked out in my head (and spread across random pages in four or five notebooks that end up here and there and everywhere in between).Nothing relieves the pressure of needing to get the story out like blabbing the freaking story! Trust me. My awesome wife, Tara, has seen this happen far too many times. I've gotten better at it, and part of it is allowing myself to work through story elements with her as my trusty sounding board, while also stepping up my determination to write.Something that helps me here is allowing a bit of discovery writing (pantsing) to find its way into my writing plan. I can find myself scrambling to catch up when one of my characters does something different than I had planned or a new character pops in to say hello.Who is this person? I guess it's time to figure out how they fit in the whole plot!Look, we do what we have to do, right?Just Like Going Back to School!The initial excitement wears off after a while. But unlike going to school as a kid, you have a choice. Maybe it would be better if you didn't, but you do. You have to decide whether you're going to stick it out and grind through the tough bits.It doesn't mean you won't get excited about the project again. It doesn't mean that writing is all work. It is going to be hard sometimes. We're going to lose our motivation and question why we ever started in the first place. We might even doubt our abilities and feel the temptation to succumb to the negative energies in our life. But whenever we begin creating something, we are committing ourselves to an idea. It is our responsibility to see that idea to fruition.It's okay if it isn't your best work. It's okay if you decide to put it on a shelf and never show a soul. The point is, you saw it through. You showed up and you did your job and before you know it, you'll get another idea. Only this time, you'll be even better equipped to tackle it.Avoid Perfection.I remember when I went to school as a kid, I had two habits that haunt me still and one of those habits was hunting perfection. Sometimes I would really get into an assignment and go overboard. I did this with my Master's degree too. Sometimes I would completely stall because I didn't see a way to create a perfect response with the way the assignment was designed. One thing I wish I'd learned sooner was that there are no bonus points for perfect, especially when you spend way too much time on one assignment and neglect the rest. The law of averages just isn't in your favor.Now, don't get me wrong. It's always important to try your best. But if you're waiting to finish something until your best is as close to perfect as possible, it might be that you're not respecting the process. Perfect products never ship. They get stuck in research and development and cost money and people lose their jobs because revenue isn't being generated. If we had one perfect story, we wouldn't need any others. It would perfectly satisfy all of our human desires. It would instruct and entertain, and surely save us all from every ill fate or act of hubris. Procrastination.The other habit I wish I would have broken sooner is procrastinating. I do this a lot. I always felt like I performed my best when the pressure was on. This resulted in more overnighters that I could count and a few crappy grades.Meanwhile, other kids were starting on their assignments when they were handed out. Even if they weren't due for another two weeks. They worked regularly and rewarded themselves when the work was done and they had extra time to goof off while chumps like me started thinking about getting started.This works the same way with our writing. Who is going to be that motivating force to tell you it's time to cram? If you're good under pressure, you've got to learn how to turn the pressure on. And hopefully, over time, you can learn how to even things out so you don't die of stress overload. That constant feeling like you're behind and you have to crank something out in the knick of time will kill you...Find What Works...As writers, we have to find the process that works best for us. That process will likely evolve over time as we gain skill and insight. We might see improvements by changing certain aspects which wouldn't have worked before when we were just starting out.It's okay to make mistakes and have hangups, that's part of the learning process. The important thing is to keep moving forward and writing those stories.The Sign-OffThank you for Hunting the Muse with me this week. I'll see you next week!I've got some writing prompts coming up, so make sure you stay tuned through the transition. And now, for this week's writing prompts!What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week.  1. The Empty CityYou are traveling with a few close friends on a spontaneous road trip across the country. Things started out great, but then a petty squabble erupted  into a full on argument, airing out some long-buried conflict. You decide to pull off the interstate at the next exit so everyone can take a breather, grab a bite to eat, and work things out.As you pull into the main strip from the off ramp, you notice how empty everything looks and feels. A moment later, the argument hangs in the air as the rest of your crew feels the oppressive emptiness. Further investigation reveals that the modern-day ghost town really is as empty as it feels with life seemingly paused in what must have been an ordinary day. Cars still line the streets and the telltale signs of people are everywhere to be seen, though covered with thick layers of dust. 2. Virtual WorldVirtual Reality is making a resurgence, taking the tech world by storm after falling by the wayside for decades. New simulation programs allow gamers of all backgrounds, young and old, to experience life’s greatest adventures (real and imagined). But somewhere under the current of excitement lurks a dangerous secret.A very small subset of users experience periods of displaced reality, succumbing to uncontrolled fits of paracosmic emersion, a sort of internalized, disconnected continuation of the VR simulations. After an amazing VR experience, you can’t help but feel haunted by the reality that never was. Are you just now waking from a dream, or are the events that have taken place since you disconnected the real reality? Who will you go to for answers and what dangers stand in your way?3. The Fascination MachineYou’ve finally done it. After years of research and sacrifice, you’ve managed to invent the world’s first thought-activated neural-integrated circuit. With this tech, you can control remote devices with the power of your mind. A single thought can influence practically everything around you. This kind of technology will reshape the world, but before you officially release your invention, it’s time to have some fun. All in the name of science, of course.4. Before the Sun SetsIt’s been three wonderful days since you were granted your last wish and now the payment for the genie’s services are due. You have until just before the sun sets to deliver, but one thing after another has set you back and it’s starting to look like you might not make it in time. What token of payment has the genie requested in exchange for your wishes, and what do you stand to loose if you don’t make it in time? Are the setbacks a coincidence, or has the genie set you up to fail? You best hurry. Time is running out.5. The Spark RememberedIt’s been five years since you last saw your one-time secret crush. That’s long enough for the memory to have faded into the mist, but not long enough to prevent you from immediately recognizing them when they walk in the door of your small flower shop. Of course, they must be buying flowers for someone special.After a few moments of catching up, you learn that they will be staying in the old town for a while and the flowers aren’t for a romantic interest. Their mother has been sick and likely doesn’t have long to live. Knowing how you felt when your father passed, you offer your sympathies.Then you feel your heart race when they tell you how nice it was to catch up and admit they always liked you. Having been offered cupid’s unexpected arrow, will you pursue the opportunity or let them walk out the door forever?  6. The Unwelcome GuestsA small rural town has seen a strange influx of travelers who all seem to be gathering for some unknown reason. At first, many of the residents were excited to see an upswing in the small economy, but now local resources are tapped. With no end to the migration in sight and large crowds camping out on the side of the streets, it’s clear that something must be done.When the mayor and police chief approach the gathering, however, a leader from amongst the throng emerges. There is something strange about this character, something almost supernatural. The last anyone saw of the two town figureheads was when they stepped inside a large canvas tent to parlay with the visitor.7. The Tumultuous ExpeditionThe year is 1883 and you are several days late on your unexpected ocean detour to Indonesia to witness and record details of volcanic activity rumbling within Krakatoa, the small, uninhabited island west of Sumatra. It was late May when you first heard the news, which spread like wildfire throughout the scientific community and was met with great fanfare by the indigenous peoples of Java and Sumatra. How could you resist the urge to be a part of such a momentous occasion? On August 26th, just as your navigator lands his sights on the northern shore of Sumatra in the distance and you’re certain that your voyage to the land of spices is coming to an end, a dark cloud billows up like a shadow in the southeastern sky. Early the next morning you hear the deafening explosion that tears the small island to pieces. Luckily, you had made it to port and the resulting tsunamis are largely absorbed by the land mass. Earth and ash rain down, coating everything in a soot-gray. What started out as a scientific adventure has turned into a rescue mission as you struggle to help those who were hit worst by the 120-foot waves. Tens of thousands have been lost forever to the angry depths, but there are still so many who need your help. I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts. Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. 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 Pushing Though (Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/6) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.  If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. Today's podcast episode is about pushing through.We all deal with emotional difficulties at different times with our writing. This episode will talk through that process and help you to overcome your self-doubt.This week was tough, but despite all the roadblocks, the hiccups, and the distractions... I was Doing It!Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!My WeekAs a military veteran, I deal with a lot of anxiety and depression, and I'm going to try to do my best to remove that filter from my personal weekly updates. But, if you asked me right out, I'd tell you I had a tough week. And that would be true. But there were also some really good moments, and I can't discount those.I made some huge progress with lining up story components and defining the motivations of a particular character in Chlorophyllium 9 and subsequently Final Hope. That process often requires that your ego go through the crucible and it's a process that can be hard, but it can also be very worth it if you want to create the best story possible.Work wasn't too bad, though I did get some stern words from an upper management member who, I feel, misunderstood a situation where I was trying to do the right thing. I won't go into any detail here, but my supervisor was pretty awesome and smoothed it out as best she could. It was great that she supported me and was on my side. (Of course, insert emotional trigger here, though. Feeling like I was stuck and unable to defend myself took me back to a pretty bad situation I was in for a long time during my service. This probably helped fuel my bad feelings about my writing.)Podcast NewsI didn't get time to produce the shortened outros I talked about in the last episode. I think doing this would be an improvement, but it probably isn’t the highest priority at this time.Installed the Patreon App on my phone and have been uploading some quick writing prompts: both audio and pictures. It's been a lot of fun and it doesn't take much time. Now, I've been trying to figure out how Patreon works and it seems like there are two types of posts you can do. One is the standard free-for-all, while the other is attached to a donation. So, for patrons who support you, you provide special content on a pre-arranged agreement (such as, no more than twice a month).This raises the question, if in the future I do start getting patrons, what content should I create for my supporters?I originally planned on providing up to two additional podcasts per month, but these things take a lot of time to produce and that might not be very feasible. So, what about posting stories based on some of the creative writing prompts posted that month?You see, my goal with this podcast isn't necessarily to get better at podcasting, though that's naturally one of my concerns. I want to do well at whatever I'm doing. Producing extra episodes is taxing and coming up with seven writing prompts that are more than a single sentence can be tough. Furthermore, producing podcasts doesn't necessarily make me a better writer.Writing stories based on the prompts and providing them to my patrons could be mutually beneficial, but are my podcast listeners here for their own creative writing endeavors, or are they interested in my writing. Is there a segment of listeners who are interested in both? Who enjoy what I do enough to offer their support in exchange for my writing?My biggest concern is, what is the best thing for me to do to provide value for my patrons, while also increasing the skills that best align with my writing goals?What do you think? I would love to hear from you!Writing UpdatesI started out the week feeling pretty good about the progress I had made. Then I started questioning the overarching motivations of one of my characters. This spilled into self-doubt about how I was handling narration versus dialogue.Then I started to doubt my previous good feelings about character development and progression.This led to a downward spiral that ended with a whole lot of not writing.The task seemed insurmountable and I didn't feel like I was up to it. I felt like a hypocrite for podcasting and writing about the creative writing process. I embodied everything that I warned about in the last podcast episode, "Doing It."I did not do it.Pushing Through.In this week's episode, we're going to get real about writing. The first thing you need to know is that EVERYONE STRUGGLES. (period.)We each struggle with our own, unique demons and in our own way. But the key thing to understand is that many have gone down that road before you and many will travel it long after you are gone.Some will think you've never seen the beaten path, never known its twists and turns or tripped on the jutting roots that creep out from beneath the surface.You know, it's so easy to dismiss or discount what it takes to be a writer today. So many people have done it. It seems like we have more writers now than ever before. EVERYONE, it seems, is writing a book.Sadly, only those who push though will make it.You are not alone.In those dark moments, when you think it's pointless to go on, remember why you wanted to write in the first place. Other writers have felt very much the same as you're feeling in your darkest hour. Do you feel like a fraud?Are you a faker? A chameleon who lacks a sense of individual talent?Are you nothing more than an amalgamation of everything you've ever read?Who would want to read this crap?It's contrived, self-important, and utter nonsense.Trust me, others have thought those exact same things. I know I have.At least, that's what I thought... you know, that others felt this way too.To prove, or disprove, the point, I decided to pose the question to a group of authors I've mentioned on the podcast before.Let's see what they had to say...Martha Carr:"Don't mistake how you feel for a reason to stop. Let it buzz around in the background and just keep going. Getting through it each day, little by little, will do more for wearing away the doubt than backing off of a goal. Remember that the journey will not be what you expected, but it will happen anyway. That and keep in mind that external forces like writing a book, getting it published can't make you feel secure. That's an inside job."E. R. Starling:"I struggle with this ALOT and it causes quite a bit of havoc on things like creative flow and motivation. The bad part is, you can get it from just about everything: unsupportive people... insecurities that have NOTHING to do with writing at all. It's a difficult thing for an author to put themselves out there to begin with. Like it or not, it's a piece of the bare soul going out for the world to see, but there are so many other contributing factors as well. It can be overwhelming."But E. R. Starling pushes through..."It's a very big struggle, but I've always been a fighter so I find it easier to push things aside and reach for what I want instead of what I'm afraid I'm going to get. Focusing on why I write also helps. It is a process, and a long one at that. Like Martha sais, it's an internal job. As long as you work with it, you see results."E. A. Copen:"Self-doubt sucks and we all experience it. Even Stephen King. When I feel like throwing the towel in, I revisit some of my rejections, specifically and old note from a college professor who called my writing, 'outrageous, over the top and all around an unpublishable mess.' The book to which she was referring was the first one I published and has now sold a few hundred copies and received some glowing reviews. It's even nominated for some kind of Indie award right now, though I doubt I will walk away with a win. I let myself get mad all over again because getting mad makes me more determined to push on and prove her wrong. Other people's doubt of me is my fuel to go forward."Then an anonymous writer from the group chimed in..."I'm pretty sure it's normal and a good sign. I was talking with a buddy the other day about this aspect of the creative process and even great writers like Stephen Kind have a history of this. King threw out his draft of Christine, but his wife pulled it from the trash. I think we all feel that our stuff is crap after pouring our hearts and energy into it and the folks out there with stars in their eyes and no talent are the ones who have no doubt. We're our worst critics..."After probing a little deeper, the author, who wanted to remain anonymous, expressed a hurtful memory with a close family member. The laughter and the hurtful words still echo in their head, "You'll never make a living as a writer."Hurtful WordsAs it turns out, I have some of my own hurtful words I carry around. I remember one particular event very well. I was sitting in my grandmother's dining room on a warm, Sunday afternoon. I loved my grandma very much and we would visit and she would prepare a nice lunch every Sunday.We were talking and I was going on about some of my goals. I was working on a manuscript that has long collected dust in the years gone by, but I remember saying that I was writing a book. My grandmother laughed."What are you going to write a book about," she asked."Well, it's fiction," I managed to say, hoping she was just dismissing my lack of supposed expertise in a non-fiction realm.(Which would also have hurt, but I could just shrug that off as her not understanding my job or what I'd done in the military.)Still, she laughed and repeated, "What are YOU going to write a book about?"It hurt. A lot.The Complex Issue of Self-DoubtKat Lind says, "The issue on self-doubt can be very complex, but if you boil them down to basics, they are simple. You have a message in your head that was set some time ago that disagrees with where you want to go or do. The argument is the expression of self-doubt"The conflict is part of the reason that so many creative type people suffer from depression. The internal fight and the argument saps energy and you have bursts when you can overcome the issues and then fall into a depression when you run out of energy. "There are exercises that can be used to surface the nasty messages that hold you back, but sometimes you can just use the voices as a focus for defiance."E. A. Copen:"I'm working hard to turn my own misgivings into the same. Whenever I think, "I can't," I try to immediately follow that with "But what if I can?" Confidence is all about how you talk to yourself... Say enough positive things and, hopefully, you start believing them and they'll start happening. That's my theory, anyway."Michael Anderle was actually the first person to respond to my question. He said, "Figure out your strategy to deal with it early. I've told my fans that each time I hit release, I'm always chewing fingernails until the first reviews come in to see whether 'this one is the one that I screw up!' It doesn't matter if the previous book was a high seller... THIS book is the one that I worry about. I think I had less worries on book's 1, 2, and 3 than number 12. Don't know if it helps, but... well, there it is."But I wanted to know more, so I asked the next logical question:"If you had to pinpoint why your anxiety has gone up with subsequent releases, what would you think the reason for that would be? Is it a desire to not disappoint fans?"Michael Anderle: "Yes, in the beginning there were NO expectations. I wasn't expecting a lot, and had nothing to compare my efforts to. The writing rather 'flowed'. Most books since number 3 or number 4 have been more and more complex, the writing harder and the exhaustion... bigger. Consequently, there are times I'm not sure about the book. (I think) I'm getting better at figuring it out, but I never 'know'."How did I Push Through?My wife was a good sounding board for my frustrations. She told me she believed in me. And then my oldest daughter, Gizmo, told me that my writing efforts were inspiring her to pursue her desire to be a digital artist. When she thought about me putting so much time into my podcast and my writing on top of my full-time job and spending time with the family, she felt like her personal art goals were achievable.Boy, did I feel silly. (Here, the podcast includes an audio clip of Gizmo explaining her thoughts.)So, What Came of My Struggle?Somewhere along the line, I had a breakthrough. Maybe my gut was trying to tell me something. But why in such a hurtful way? Why did it have to bash my self-esteem and crush my belief that I could be a successful writer? I don't know...After reforging my understanding of one of my primary antagonists, while going through the crucible of self-doubt, I uncovered a very interesting character thread that connected another disjointed element in the story. Suddenly, something that had been bothering me made perfect sense and I could understand the character motivation. It was both shocking and yet explainable in one deft blow.This realization will inform my writing and further character development. And understanding the conflict the antagonist faced helps me understand who he is as a person and why he's been doing some of the horrible things he's done. We're all the hero of our own story, so it couldn't be simple ideology that fueled his reasoning. That would make him a stick-man and his emotional resonance with one particular mistake couldn't be explained with that logic. No, the ideology is nothing more than armor, because acknowledging what he sacrificed would crush him.Tactics, Techniques, and Skills to Overcome Self-DoubtTake a step back.You have to realize that everyone struggles.Sometimes our parent (critical) ego steps into the territory of our child (creative) ego. We need to understand that the creative side of ourselves has to feel safe in order to create.Much of the advice we receive in life centers around the safe choices. (Get an education, get a job, work your way in the system toward the goal of eventual retirement.)Putting yourself out there for the world isn't a safe choice, it's an artistic (read: risky) one.The parent ego, in this case, represents our fears and our doubts. Kat Lind says that, "Most frequently, the voices associated with this ego get recorded in your brain when you are younger or very vulnerable. But you can neutralize it with logical and conscious thought.The Sign-OffI realize this episode was a bit on the heavy side, but thank you for sticking it out with me. Writers of all types usually encounter some form of self-doubt.You are not alone.You can do this.You can push through and overcome!I believe in you.And now, for this week's writing prompts.What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week.  1. The Smoldering RuinYou are a special investigator out on assignment. The scene of a crime across town requires the attention of someone of your… expertise. You’ve been tracking down a serial murderer for the last eighteen months, really getting inside his head, and the folks at the bureau seem to think he might have just made his first big mistake. All you know for sure is that you’re headed to the scene of a deadly arson. Which seems odd, given that fire never really was your guy’s MO.2. The PackageYou’ve been working hard finishing a project and, in a trance-like state of flow, you blow right through lunch. Hours later, you find yourself starving and running out of steam fast. So, you decide to step out for a quick bite to eat before getting back to the grindstone. When you return, a small and mysterious package has been left on your keyboard.3. You Might Regret ThisFrom the first instant you remember after waking up in the morning, you knew today was going to be rough. There was something in the air, something almost ethereal; like smelling ozone and knowing an electronic device somewhere has fried, or biting your cheek and tasting copper. The feeling was more instinct than anything else. And then your day went on and everything seemed fine. More than fine, in fact. You’ve just been offered a very big and very important promotion, but still that feeling remains. As you shake your boss’s hand, you can’t help but wonder if there isn’t more to this deal than you were told.4. Stuck on the BridgeEvery week, you get up in the morning, get dressed and ready to impress, and then set out for work. You drive the lonely, dark streets until the rural capillaries turn to veins and you merge onto the artery that will take you into the heart of the city. You make your way through the traffic, watching for brake lights and avoiding the lane weavers, until you eventually arrive at your place of employment, snug within one of the buildings that make up the city skyline.But today, on your way home, traffic comes to a standstill as you reach the midpoint of the long bridge that stretches across a large body of water halfway through your commute. With no end to the wait in sight, you notice a strange shift in the mood of the commuters around you. So you turn down your speakers, roll down your window, and listen.  Think of something you do on the computer, your smartphone, or any other electronic device as a part of your normal day-to-day activities. Now take that action and make it magical by adding a touch of cyberpunk. How will you visualize traveling the information superhighway? Will you get entangled in the sticky web of Social Media? What is it like to encapsulate how very integrated into the system we’ve all become?5. A Different ShadeYou work in an obscure corporate research and development department of an innovative tech giant. A lot of what you do is smoke and mirrors, funneling money into technology that doesn’t seem to have much of a purpose, like paint that changes color to reflect the emotions of the person standing in front of it. Things were going well for a long time. Everyone you worked with felt like… family. As a team, you created some of the most wild and innovative gizmos and gadgets that most normal people would never hear about, let alone see first-hand. You pushed the barrier of discovery in ways you’d never imagined possible, but ever since the new technology director came on board, the ambience of the place has slowly shifted toward a structured, results-based initiative. First, the free sodas disappeared. Then it was the ping pong table. Of course, that was just the beginning. Now you’re standing in front of a black emotion-sensing wall in the conference room and you’ve got to give your team the bad news. How will you help them see the light at the end of this tunnel? 6. The Stolen FilesYou’ve been working on a special dataset for months, but just as you were about to reveal your findings, all your files were stolen. It’s a good thing you kept good backups because, while surely an inconvenience, you can recover what was lost in just a matter of hours. Yet, something bigger is troubling you. What purpose would someone have with stealing your research? Could they somehow put it to nefarious ends?7. The ProposalYou’re walking in a crowded public space when you’re approached by a charming street performer. After some crowd-pleasing theatrics, they make a fine show of a marriage proposal. It all seems so innocent and fun, so after your initial refusal, met with several boos and groans of dismay, you oblige to please the onlookers. What happens when you come to realize that it wasn’t all just some act for a few coins and a handful of crumpled bills? Does the arrangement suit you, or are there… other… complications to consider? What is the true nature of the proposal, and why did the performer choose you? If you must put an end to the whimsical arrangement, what consequences will you face? I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts. Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Join my monthly newsletter for writers and get more helpful content, encouragement, and more!* indicates requiredEmail Address * First Name Last Name Email Format htmltext Powered by MailChimp (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); If you enjoyed this feed, please stop by my blog! www.HuntingTheMuse.com

 Doing It! (Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/5) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.  If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. Today's podcast episode is about doing it!Setting goals.Following ThroughFighting for the dreams that are important to you.This week was tough, but despite all the roadblocks, the hiccups, and the distractions... I was Doing It!Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!Writing UpdatesChlorophyllium 9 is coming along nicely. I've already written over 6,000 words in my expansion of the story since I unpublished it. The characters are starting to grow and I feel like they have a lot more dimension to them. I've been working in Scrivener and being able to select alternating chapters and read them back to back has been invaluable! I love that I can quickly see if my cliff hangers are paying out and if my pinches and pulls are doing their jobs. So far, I'm very satisfied with how everything is coming together.Greg's thread (my primary MC) is almost done and then I will be moving to polish up Julia's thread. I'm really excited to see the story go back up on the market, but I've learned a lot of things on the road to where I am right now. I'm definitely going to be sticking with Kindle Unlimited for a while. I just don't have the following or enough of a mature series to support going wide. I think I really liked the idea of it, but seeing what that move did to my short story sales is enough to convince me that I need to build a strong foundation before branching out.I will also definitely be waiting until Final Hope is complete before I release Chlorophyllium 9. I've already covered this to a degree in previous episodes, but it just makes sense to finalize the whole novel before I release the novella. I'm not going to make that mistake again.I might even delay publishing Chlorophyllium 9, then Final Hope, until I have at least a strong foundation for the next novel in the series. This isn't a big stretch as I have that novel partially outlined already and I know what purpose it will serve in the overarching series.I'll have to watch how things go as I get closer and modify my strategy accordingly.That's one of the great things about the shifting Indie culture and weighing what is working vs. what isn't. There are so many great voices to listen to and get input from. It truly is an amazing community to be a part of.A Tough WeekAs I mentioned earlier, it was a tough week for me. You see, we moved to the country about 2 years ago and we don't have a few of the conveniences we were used to back in Utah. One of those conveniences we gave up was access to a public sewer system. That's right, we have a septic tank, and this weekend things came to a head when I heard the burbley-gurbelies bubbling up in the lawn. I guess the sprinklers stopped working and the last tank in the system had filled up with water that would normally be pumped out into the field. Yikes!Afraid that we might get some back-flow into the house, I tried my best to get things working again. I attempted to siphon off water out of the tank, I tried messing with the electrical breaker. No dice. I really hoped it wasn't the septic pump.Yeah, it was the pump... $475 later, we once again have a working septic system. But, as luck would have it, just a few hours after that issue was fixed, I got home and noticed that one side of the house was practically boiling. It seemed like one of the A/C units wasn't working.I went outside to take a look and there were several bites in the thermostat control wire leading into the unit. What could possibly do such a thing? Bunnies... Yeah, those crazy North-Central Texas rabbits do some crazy stuff. So, determined to try to fix it myself and save some money, I headed to the hardware store for a spool of wire I could use to splice in. I picked up some electrical tape and some other doodads, (hey... I'm no electrician or plumber... what can I say?) and then got home and replaced the wiring. The unit tried to fire up, but it just wasn't turning the fan over. Sheesh! Defeated, I asked my wife to call an HVAC company to come out and take a look. $189 later, we once again have functioning A/C. I guess one of the capacitors had died and a second was on its way out. Can't a guy get a break?!I can't help but think how those two expenses could be at least two professional-looking covers for books. Or maybe a round of edits. It's tough. But this is just part of owning a house and I'm not the only one to get slammed out of the blue with one issue after another... But, despite all the trouble and the frustration this last week brought, I still managed to meet my writing goal. That's huge! There was ample opportunity, from the moment I discovered the septic was having issues, to toss out an excuse and give up.I've also been playing with the Mac Mini I bought a few months back when I saw a really good deal on eBay. I've used a Mac for work in the past and I never bothered to play with any of the creative features it included. I mean, it was a work machine and I worked the dickens out of it... But I've really been enjoying messing around with it and I even turned off my Windows tower for the entire weekend. That's why I've got new podcast intro and outro music tracks!I also had the opportunity to work on a creative project with my wife, Tara, and it was an awesome experience. We've been dealing with a fair amount of stress for a while now. I'll be honest, this move has been tough on us at times. But sitting down and working on this project was amazing. We talked and laughed and worked together to create something. It's funny how things that take some effort can actually recharge your batteries far more than sitting and trying to relax after a long, hard day.Podcast NewsOf course, I mentioned the new Intro and Outro music tracks I created, but I'm already thinking the out track might be a little long and info-heavy. I tried to include information on how to contact me and interact with the podcast community as it grows. I know I don't have a big following yet, but I guess I was trying to anticipate a future need. I think it might be best to record several similar-sounding out-tracks and then alternate them from week to week. One week you might be encouraged to hit me up on Twitter, while another week might be a plug to join the Facebook group. It's just a thought for now, so let me know what you think.I also set up the Patreon page I mentioned last week. I know, I know... I said I didn't have time. But then I thought about it and I wanted to make sure noone took patreon.com/huntingthemuse. Okay, yeah, that's probably silly... I just didn't want to be that guy. I honestly just put it out there for a part of the journey I'm hoping this podcast takes. I didn't mention the financial hardships we encountered this week in any way to garner sympathy or push supporting the podcast. I hope you believe me! Setting up the Patreon page was just something I did earlier in the week and I was rather proud of doing it.There's still so much I don't know when it comes to Patreon. I mean, I need to figure out what kind of content, incentives, and bonuses I could create to reward the donation tiers. So, yeah, this isn't a push for you to donate money. (I know what the outtro says, but that was just me trying to create an episode feel that sounds the same now as it will in the future when I have several more episodes under my belt. Okay, I'll leave that dead horse alone for now.)Doing It.Are you doing it?Turning dreams into reality is hard work.Yes, it can be harder for some than it seems like it is for others, but we have to stop comparing. The truth is, we don't know the entire story. And even for those to whom success seems to come so easily, perhaps we don't see the agony they face when they try to duplicate that selfsame success.It isn't about how easy or hard the journey is. It's about putting one foot in front of the other. It's about moving forward, even when you don't feel like it. It's about learning from your mistakes and redoubling your effort.Goals vs. DreamsI came across a great post written by Hugh Howey (a well-known Indie author) in 2014. It's all about the difference between goals and dreams and he does a bit of introspection with his own success. It's just the sort of navel-gazing post that I think a lot of writers would benefit from reading; because Hugh has been there and he's done it. It took a lot of hard work and sometimes you need to examine that road and keep a level head about it.You see, goals require work, but they can help you achieve your dreams. Some dreams require more than just goal fulfillment, though. They require outside interaction.For example, your goal might be to write 10 books in the next 10 years. Your dream might be that you will be able to retire rich, write when you want to, and have the love and adoration of fans worldwide. You can do the work, but realizing the dream requires many things that are out of your control.How well do fans connect with your writing?Despite your best efforts, are potential readers finding your books?What market constraints are you up against?An example for those of you who aren't interested in pursuing a writing career:Are you wanting to capture your family's stories?You might have a timeline requirement.Aging family members.It can be hard to track down old records, etc.How do you take control of your desire to write?What goals can you make to help you achieve the outcome you desire?Do you make time for your writing hobby, or do you dream of writing... someday?Do you only dream about finding the quiet and solitude you need in order to sit down and write?Following Through “I have made up my mind. I will strive to finish my novel and submit it to publishers or agents within the year. I must dedicate myself as I have never before - this means that I must ultimately face my many insecurities… It is true that my story may not succeed in being the Great American Novel, or even find itself on a single bestsellers list.” --R. Brady Frost, A journal entry August, 2003.It's 2016. That journal entry was written 13 years ago... What happened?I failed to follow through. Failing to follow through equates to empty dreams...I was in the active duty military when I wrote that journal entry and I had a lot on my plate. While the military took its pound of flesh, I was also working my way through a full-time course load for my bachelor's degree. As time wore on, my passion for the project died.I look back now and I see the project for what it was, a juvenile endeavor, and it probably wouldn't have done well, but finishing would have been a huge start. By not following through, I set myself on a downward spiral where I lost faith in my abilities and gave up on my passion.The military was both very great and very hard on me in different ways. Things didn't necessarily get any easier for me when I got out of the service like I thought they would. In some ways, they got harder as I had to face things that I'd long pushed under the rug.Excuses are the enemy of follow-through.I'm not going to get overly deep into my personal hardships or distractions because there's only one thing you need to know. Excuses are the enemy of follow-through. Follow-through is required to meet your writing goals. It's very seldom that your dreams will come true if you don't have a healthy relationship between your goals and your ability to work towards them. Don't count on your fairy godmother. You have to fight for the dreams that are important. While things might not always be under your direct control, you usually do have a significant level of influence on how they turn out. You have to keep trying. Keep reaching for those dreams.Hedging Your Expectations...It also helps to keep your dreams somewhat realistic. You can dream of winning the lottery, but (generally) short of investing more money than you'll feasibly stand to gain, your odds are not very good. It's still fun to play sometimes, but your expectations have to be in line with reality.In the end, what matters most is...Are you DOING IT?Are your day-to-day actions in line with your goals and dreams? If you need to make a change, what can you do to help reinforce your efforts?When it comes to writing and creating art, there is very little use in guilt or shame in having failed in the past. Look, that journal entry from thirteen years ago is a constant reminder of my past failures, of how sure I was of being able to finish a project and latch onto a writing career. I knew that immediate success probably wasn't going to happen but, even knowing that, I failed to finish my project. I can't allow that to hold me down. I can't let a failure in the past dictate the rest of my journey.It's important to get back on your feet and keep pressing forward. Keep creating. Keep telling the stories that only you can tell.And now, for this week's writing prompts.What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week.  1. The Steamsmith's ApprenticeYou’ve been working on your mechanical wings for months, but when your test flight doesn’t go as planned, you crash into an attractive bystander. You notice right away how kind their eyes look as they help you to your feet. When they proceed to gather the scattered parts of your contraption, doing more harm than good with their clumsy hands, you decide to let them help as best they can. After all, chances are you’ll have to start from scratch anyway.2. Save the ChildOn August 9th, 1945, the second of two atomic bombs strikes Japan. This time the target is set on Nagasaki, a ship-building town where an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 people will die at around 11:02 AM. In a horrifying race against the clock, you’ve been sent back in time to save just one of them, a small child who holds the genetic key that will unlock a cure to the disease that threatens to consume us all.3. The Road to NowhereIn Alaska there once existed plans to build a bridge. It was a very expensive bridge ($398 million by some estimates), one that would connect the town of Ketchikan to a small airport on the island of Gravina. When federal funds were shifted to natural disaster relief, the bridge project fell through. Or did it? With funds already allocated to road construction, crews worked to build the road. Now the Road to Nowhere ends where the bridge to Gravina would have once begun. Though, it is often said that if you stand at the edge of that vacant road in the dead of night and stare out into the fog and mist, you can hear the sounds of traffic.4. Just a Touch of CyberpunkIn his book, Neuromancer (1984), William Gibson coined the term, “cyberspace.” (Though he also used it, to lesser fanfare, in a 1982 short story, “Burning Chrome.”) Since then, the magic of computers and the notion of an interconnected grid has lost much of its luster. For many of us, it has become the expected norm. Think of something you do on the computer, your smartphone, or any other electronic device as a part of your normal day-to-day activities. Now take that action and make it magical by adding a touch of cyberpunk. How will you visualize traveling the information superhighway? Will you get entangled in the sticky web of Social Media? What is it like to encapsulate how very integrated into the system we’ve all become?5. A Modern TribeTake a look at the world from where you are in this moment. Do you see convenience and excess? Now imagine the infrastructure crumbling around you. Something has happened, be it natural disaster, man-made pandemic, meteorite impact, or something else. All you have is a group of your most trusted friends and family members. All you know is that you’ve got to get out of the city with your tribe as fast as you can. Take us through that tribulation.6. The Magic TouchHave you ever felt an unexpected spark of magic in a touch? After a man in a shabby trench coat stumbles into you on the street before disappearing into the crowd, you can’t help but feel… different. Now it seems that every time you make physical contact with someone, they instantly feel connected to you on some intimate, trusting level. How do you use this new power? Give us a try-fail cycle (An instance when your best intentions don’t work out the way you hoped they would.) on your way to mastering your new ability.7. A Shoebox in the AtticYou’re cleaning out the clutter in your attic when you find an old shoebox. By the layers of dust, you imagine it’s been tucked into the shadows of the remote corner for decades. You carefully pull it into the light and open the cover. What you see surprises you. I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts. Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Join my monthly newsletter for writers and get more helpful content, encouragement, and more!* indicates requiredEmail Address * First Name Last Name Email Format htmltext Powered by MailChimp (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); If you enjoyed this feed, please stop by my blog! www.HuntingTheMuse.com

 Understanding Your Writing Goals.  (Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/4) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.Since last week's episode was so down-to-the-wire hectic, I tried to have a little more fun this time around. I hope the intro I made for the writing prompts doesn't bother anyone. It probably won't be a regular thing. I'm actually feeling a bit silly for including it now. Haha! If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. My week was pretty busy, but I still managed to get some writing in, about 3,000 words on 9, plus other bits of writing here and there, which is great! We went to see the animals at the Dallas zoo and it was a scorcher out! Still, we got to enjoy some time in the kids area and even got to play some Pokémon Go with the older kiddoes. Other than that, we did a whole lot of walking.Writing updates:Chlorophyllium 9 is now down from all markets. I pulled it from KDP today and switched my old short stories back to KDP Select. I didn't mention this in the podcast audio, but you can now read those stories for free if you have Kindle Unlimited. What I noticed when I took those short stories wide was that ALL sales died.I'm currently debating whether I should do a fresh release of Chlorophyllium 9 when I have Final Hope completely written. There are several reasons for me considering this. It would dump the 7 reviews I have, but I'll gain new release status in exchange. There have also been a lot of growing pains associated with how the story has grown since it was first published. I go into these a bit more in the audio of the podcast.Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!Along with this week's podcast topic, I'm taking a look at my goals. I'm challenging myself to write faster. Things I've considered include viewing my writing time as if I were taking on a part-time job. Would that help me give myself permission to write? (See Episode 3)Podcast News:Just a quick reminder, please consider joining the Hunting the Muse Creative Writing Podcast group on Facebook. I envision this as a place where we can foster creative writing discussions and you can post your questions or suggest topics to be covered in future episodes. You can post links or snippets of your writing that stemmed from a podcast writing prompt.This Week's Topic: Understanding Your Writing GoalsFirst things first, your goals belong to you!You don't need to make someone else's goals your own. You are on a special journey. Sometimes it makes sense to evaluate what your goals are. Just make sure you're setting goals that align with what you really want.It's been said that "Comparison is the death of joy." I think that saying could also be, "Comparison is the death of art."What do your writing goals look like? Do they include a specific word count? Do you want to write short stories or novels? Do you write to achieve relaxation? Do you just want to develop your hobby, without concern for economic factors? Is this a potential career for you, or are you in it for supplemental income?Resources and groups:It can be helpful to seek out resources and groups that align with your goals. Maybe for you, that might include listening to this podcast. (If so, I'm honored.)I have joined a few Facebook groups and forums for writing. Of course, not all of them have worked out. When they don't, I silently exit stage right.20 Books to 50kI recently saw a suggested, closed group on Facebook called: 20BooksTo50K. I decided to check it out and requested membership. Easy enough. Worst case, I figured I'd lurk for a while and then make a silent exit.I have since learned more about the group, and the story is great for a few different reasons. Since I joined, I've listened to several podcasts that touch on this 20 Books to 50K concept. Most of these were older podcast episodes (from a few months back) that I was finally catching up on. Throughout this process, I uncovered more details about the group's origin.Michael AnderleMichael Anderle has a story. As I understand it, he started publishing his books on Amazon in early 2016 because he wanted to encourage his son to pursue his own writing efforts. (If Dad can do it, so can you! And hey, I can sympathize with that as a father of 5!)To his surprise, his first book launched and started pulling in around $7.50 a day. Soon after that, he visited Cabo San Lucas with his wife and learned that the cost of living would be very reasonable if he chose to retire there vs. where he currently lives. He was so romanced by the beach, the water, and the atmosphere that he did some basic, presumptive math.If one book was able to get him about $7.50 a day, he could potentially retire at just over 50K/yr if he wrote 20 books. It must have sounded reasonable, so he got to work and planned to be there within two years!Of course, a lot of people scoffed at this. Some said it wasn't art. Some insinuated he might be a fraud.Michael had something interesting to say in response.Only my readers get to vote as to whether I'm meeting expectations. (I'm probably paraphrasing that to some degree.)So I looked on Amazon to see what the readers had to say. All of his books appear to be very well reviewed with high marks. These are some dedicated fans!Michael Anderle understands his goals.Joanna PennJoanna Penn has a great podcast! You can find it at www.thecreativepenn.com ('that's Penn with a double-N!') Joanna has been a juggernaut of positivity in the writing and self-publishing arena for years. Her podcast is personable and enlightening.I listened to her (July 19th) episode this weekend while I was out mowing the lawn, and Joanna talked about goals. Not just writing goals, now mind you, but life goals as well.She just completed her Race to the Stones -- a 100 kilometer trek that took her 2 days to complete! She said the second day was tough, and it really sounded brutal, but she pushed through and persevered.You see, Joanna is a very goal-oriented individual. Though, if you asked her, she'd say she is goal-orientated. (I love her accent. She's very fun to listen to and her attitude is great as well!) She understands that, even though she's naturally goal-oriented, it's important to enjoy the story. As someone who is also very goal-oriented, this is very inspirational to me.If you have a chance, please do check out Joanna's podcast.What do Michael and Joanna Have in Common?They aren't afraid to challenge normal conventions of what is or is not possible. Michael has proven he can publish a very well-reviewed book per month.You know, maybe I could challenge myself to write a bit faster?Likewise, someone might think, "I could never walk 100 kilometers in two days, that's insane!"Yet Joanna did it. Maybe with the right training and gear, that's something "I" could do as well.The Pitfall:Here's where it gets hard. When setting goals for yourself, make sure your focus is on the journey, not just the outcome. Don't fall in love with someone else's results. Dreamers are especially susceptible to becoming Destination Addicts.Don't become a Destination Addict!!!Enjoy the Journey.Gather a support group, if it will help. This could be other people with similar goals. Don't give up when things get tough because, more than likely, things will get tough.My Goals:I want to write great stories. You know, I've invested a lot in my IT career, probably way more than I needed to. I would love to be able to make a shift at some point to where I can write full time and produce podcasts that help fill a need for others.I want to help other writers achieve their goals and I want to let them know they aren't along. Other writers, like me, understand their struggle.Am I Successful?That's a hard question to answer. A better question might be: Am I happy with where I am right now? To that I would answer, "Yes." I think I can be proud of where I am and how far I've come.You see, I self-published my first short story on Amazon probably over 5 years ago now. There's a lot I could be ashamed of when you consider my goals. Look at all that wasted time. Look at what a fiasco Chlorophyllium 9 was. Why do I even bother calling myself a writer when my actions don't live up to my dreams?Perspective.How you see yourself, and whether you believe you can meet your goals, depends on your perspective. Instead of looking at the last five years and the growing list of writers who have launched their writing careers while I sat on the sidelines:I should examine my personal success stories.What have I learned?What can I do better?Are there any parts of my writing process that should be examined and tweaked?How Can You Help?Let me know if you found this episode helpful. Hit me up on Twitter @BradyFrost or on my Author Page on Facebook.I'm currently looking into Patreon, but I don't want to spend too much time trying to build another page or resource when that time is better spent on my writing and developing the podcast beyond its infancy.For now, if you find this podcast helpful or enjoyable, the best way you can support me is to share it with like-minded folks.Tell Me About Your Goals.Share your goals on the Facebook Hunting the Muse Creative Writing Podcast group. Or send me a tweet on Twitter @BradyFrost with the hash tag #HuntingTheMuse. What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, in first-person or third, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week.  1. Breaking All the RulesAs a life-long fan of horror movies, you’ve subscribed to a certain set of rules that have always served to keep you out of trouble. The rules are simple enough:Never read a book of waking the dead or summoning a demon out loud. In fact, just leave those books alone.Don’t make fun of things you don’t understand.Under no circumstances should you ever take anything from the dead.And never, ever, stray from a beaten path, especially when you’ve been warned not to.These fundamental guidelines are put to the ultimate test one scorching afternoon when you’re out on a walk with an old friend at a local park. A strange object catches your eye and, against your better judgment, you feel powerless to do anything but investigate. Bonus: Make your character break all the rules. 2. A Captive AudienceYou’ve just arrived at an obligatory gathering, and within a few short moments, you’ve already found several faces who might benefit if an unfortunate “accident” took you out of the picture for good. After a few uneventful hours, you decide to make the best of it and try to enjoy yourself.Of course, as things like this usually go, that’s exactly the point when you notice something strange. The other guests around you are beginning to look drowsy. This isn’t the usual high-brow boredom you’re used to. When they begin to slip, one by one, into a deep slumber, there’s no denying that you’re being singled out. It’s abundantly clear that someone has gone to great lengths to acquire a private audience with you. After watching the last hold-out topple over and begin to snore, you gather your senses and head for the exit. It’s locked. And now you’re the perfect captive audience. Why would someone go to this much effort? Who are they and what do they want? 3. Another Cup of JoeIt’s late at night and you’re sitting all alone at the bar of Racquel’s, a near-empty diner . It’s been a long night and you could use some good hometown cooking without much fuss. Lucky enough for you, Racquel’s is open late and the staff don’t ask many questions. You’re just about to prompt the man behind the counter for another cup of joe when the bell on the door behind you chimes as it swings open. You glance back casually but are surprised when one of the newcomers seems to recognize what you really are. While none of their companions seem to be able to see through the veil, this could cause some unwanted complications with your evening plans. 4. DistractionsA group of people bring randomness to the word by coordinating appearances in the background of live news feeds.It all started with a scuba diver climbing out of a water fountain during a piece on city hall. The next big thing was a skydiver dressed in a utility company uniform landing and then climbing into a sewer access point behind the newscaster in a related piece about the city upgrading the utility infrastructure in the years ahead. Each new iteration seems to be ramping up the sheer, brazen craziness of it all. Just last night during live coverage outside the governor’s mansion, regarding a special budget approval session, a man who was engulfed in theatrical flames was “saved” by clowns spraying fire-retardant foam out of seltzer bottles. When the gig was up, all the performers piled into a disproportionately small car and sped off while the woman performing the interview stood, shocked into silence by the sudden outburst of activity. With fear of copycat hijinks popping up around the world, a special investigator has been put on the case. Is this just a desperate attempt by one of the networks to hike up ratings that got out of hand, is it some amateur college art project, or is there something bigger at play here? 5. A Letter in TimeYou get home after a long day at work. You’re ready for the day to be over, but it seems like fate has different plans. When you check the mail, you find a very strange looking letter. It is addressed to you, in your own handwriting, but you don’t remember ever having written such a thing. Perplexed, you take the envelope inside and open it. Enclosed is a hastily written note and a small key.Either someone is playing an elaborate hoax, or some other version of you is trying to warn you about events to come. The handwriting gets progressively worse, perhaps frantic with desperation, as the letter goes on. When you turn to the second page, you find what looks to be a few droplets of dried blood, a coded warning, and one last instruction. 6. Good Morning, SunshineYou wake up in someone else’s bed in a room you don’t recognize. You haven’t been restrained and there isn’t any evidence of a struggle. After snooping around for a while, you realize you’re the only one home. No matter how hard you try to remember, you have no recollection of how you ended up in this strange house.At this point you figure you have two options, you can either cut your losses and high-tail it out of there before whoever lives in the house gets home, or you could stay and investigate. If you choose to stay and look for clues, you might unearth valuable information to help you figure out what caused the loss of both time and memories, but risk encountering a less-than-hospitable host. 7. The Legend of the Sleeping Prince (Or Princess)Some say the royal family was cursed. Never has anyone seen a young prince (or princess) with such a sour face. The king’s advisors all predicted that the child would one day grow into a more pleasing disposition but, despite their optimism, the young man/woman never learned to smile. Nor had laughter ever escaped their lips.Distraught with the idea that their son/daughter would never know true happiness, the royal family have released an edict to the citizenry. To anyone who could manage to make their beloved child smile and laugh, they would grant a special gift, their progeny’s hand in marriage, knighthood (with lands and servants equivalent to the rank), or more bags of gold than the strongest man could carry. Naturally, the kingdom is abuzz with the news as comers from all across the region gather and prepare to put on their best shows. I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts. Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. 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A Brand New Podcast Format, Outlining and Grapes, and Prompts.Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.(Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/2) If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. This week's show had a brand new format, the title has been changed to The Hunting the Muse Creative Writing Podcast after a serendipitous happenstance that occurred when submitting the podcast for iTunes approval.Weekly creative writing prompts will still be provided as part of the show.Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!The podcast started out with some personal updates. We visited the Perot Museum in Dallas this last weekend and Pokémon Go launched! We live out in the rural areas East of Dallas, so catching Pokémon and leveling up has been harder for us. The trip to Dallas, however, coincided with the server issues the social game was experiencing, so we didn't actually get to log in and play until just before we headed home.As for writing updates, I am hard at work with Final Hope, the continuation of the Chlorophyllium Collection, which picks up at a high tension point mid-way through Chlorophyllium 9 and expands the shorter work into a full-fledged novel. Chlorophyllium 9, itself, will be included in Final Hope as Part I and lays an important foundation for the rest of the story.For this project, I am increasingly realizing that I get my best word count when I have outlined sections in advance. I cover this in the episode and challenge my long-standing beliefs that I had outlining. There's an abstract story about my childhood friend, Joel, and grapes, which I use to break down the path that brought me to where I am today.If you are interested in learning more about outline vs. writing by the seat of your pants (otherwise known as 'pantsing'), a great resource is: Libbie Hawker's book,  Take Off Your Pants!: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing.What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week. 1. Did you say something?You were going about your business in a public space (a flea market, a farmer's market, or a crowded street), when you catch a snippet of conversation between strangers that sounds out of place and unexplainably alarming, though by itself benign and senseless. For some reason, this odd conversation sticks with you as you get back to the rest of your afternoon. After several hours, however, you come to realize the nonsensical words you'd overheard had a profound correlation to big events that were about to transpire that day.2. Before the storm.A large storm is brewing and the weather alerts advise taking cover. While you go about bolting the hatches and securing your emergency supplies, it becomes apparent that something else is troubling you. But just as the approaching storm will leave a trail of torrential havoc in its wake, this central conflict threatens to leave its own path of destruction.3. His name is Fernando.You are walking alone in a park, when you're approached by a dashing young gentleman who appears to be dressed in fancy, old-world attire. When he talks to you, his words sound overly proper, if not downright archaic. He says his name is Fernando and he's lost in this land so far from his own.4. Animal Instinct.You're visiting a zoo with friends when someone points out that all the animals you pass by seem to be tracking you with their eyes. Every exhibit is the same. Even if the animals were previously occupied, they immediately stop what they were doing and give you every last bit of their attention. Some approach the edge of their enclosures and lock eyes with you. What is it in their gaze? What are they trying to tell you?5. A modern golem.You aren't sure why it's happening, but one thing is for sure. You are slowly turning to stone. It started with a hard patch of skin on your big toe that you absently thought you should buff off the next time you took a shower. Now your feet appear to be perfectly lifelike, and mechanically functional, obsidian carvings. What's more, it's still spreading upward at a rate of at least a couple inches per hour.6.  I didn't ask for this.Many epic tales start with a call to adventure or a specific point where the hero must make a choice. You've just been given that choice, but you're tired of being the hero. You decide to let fate play out. Maybe someone else will step up and take the torch. What happens as a result of your decision? Does fate let you stay on the sidelines, or does she thrust you back into the thick of it?7. The damsel in distress.You're investigating the disappearance of several tourists in a quaint town in the mountains. The place is known for its lush forests, exquisite hiking trails, and mysterious ancient markings engraved into caves and rock faces by a civilization long forgotten by history. All of the missing person reports indicate that whatever was taking these travelers was after a certain victim profile: Young men in their early twenties to mid-thirties. Until recently, you hadn't had much luck cracking the case. But a young man just showed up in town, badly injured and bloody. He says he was lured off the path by the cries of a young woman who needed his help. He insists she's still out there in the woods and is rallying others to venture out to save her. (Or, you suspect, to sate her growing appetite.) I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts.Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Join my monthly newsletter for writers and get more helpful content, encouragement, and more!* indicates requiredEmail Address * First Name Last Name Email Format htmltext Powered by MailChimp (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);If you enjoyed this feed, please stop by my blog! www.HuntingTheMuse.com

Giving Yourself Permission to Write.Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.(Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/3) If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. This week's show is all about giving yourself permission to write. Weekly creative writing prompts are provided at the end of the show.Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!In this week's episode, I provided a quick personal update on my week so far and shared my impression of Scrivener's new iOS release.I also talked about Chris Fox's book, Write to market, which I cover in more detail below. It was a good read, and it caused me to rethink my current strategy for my novelette, Chlorophyllium 9. I've since decided to take it down from the wide online market while I make some changes that should better align it to be a fully functional Act 1 for Final Hope. I also learned about cover art and what expectations certain images can telegraph to potential readers. It was really interesting stuff!Podcast news: I created the Hunting the Muse Creative Writing Podcast group on Facebook, where we can share more creative writing discussions. You can also post your questions and request topics to be covered in future episodes. Feel free to post links to your writing that you based off the podcast's creative writing prompts.This is arguably the hardest phase of podcasting and I could really use your help! It's so difficult finding your target audience and receiving feedback. Drop me a line and let me know where I can improve and if you think my efforts are worthwhile.Now on to this week's topic! Giving Yourself Permission to Write.Why aren't you writing as much as you'd like? Are there any reasons that stand out in your mind? Perhaps there's not enough time in the day or you don't feel like it's worth the time? Do you constantly weigh the amount of effort it takes versus your ability or the possible outcomes? At some point, did you convince yourself that writing isn't a valid pursuit?What are your preconceptions about writing and where do they come from?What's more important, the idea of writing or the act?For some of us, writing is all we seem to think about. We're dreamers. "One day I'll write that novel." But actually sitting down to do it can be tough. We have trouble carving out time and negotiating other obligations. We have a fear of failure.What if I do this and it turns out to be no good?I can't fail if I don't try.(Which is actually, as it turns out, the ultimate failure: the failure to try.)Permission has to come from you!You are the only one who can give you the permission you need to write. No one else is going to make you a writer. No one else can make sure that you're present in the task when you show up to write.Support is nice, but it isn't required to produce art.Learn to count on yourself. Hunting the Muse is about taking control of your writing process. I'll admit, this wasn't always the case. Take a look in the archives and it's easy to see that there were times when I lost my way. What I learned is that it's important to have personal accountability and to pursue your dreams on your own terms.Make time to write, because it's important...As mentioned in this episode, Chris Fox's book, Write to Market: Deliver a Book that Sells, provides a good look into a thought process that major publishers have used for centuries. But instead of blindly submitting a manuscript and hoping the themes and tropes match what's on the publishing What's Hot list, Indie authors can do a little research and figure out what themes give their book the best chance on the market.Of course, these themes change over time and I would never recommend giving up the soul of your writing, but it can be helpful to understand what a potential reader might expect when they pick up your book. Understanding these expectations can help you formulate ways to both satisfy and surprise your readers.What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week. 1. The Fig TreeIn a post-apocalyptic world, a world devoid of most everyday conveniences, food is scarce. While picking through the scavenged remains of what used to be a thriving suburban neighborhood, you come across a rare bounty, a fruit-laden fig tree. Your fingers tremble as you pluck the tender figs. For the first time in days, you’ll finally have something to bring back to your small, weary group. 2. Tainted Water SupplyWhether your story emerges in a modern urban setting, a future dystopia, or on a compound at the desert’s edge, you’ve just discovered that the water supply has been tainted. Is it a rotting carcass in the well, a terrorist attack on the populace, or a would-be-resourceful neighbor who rerouted their secondary, irrigation water through the water main to avoid service shut off? What happens next? How do you cope?3. Welcome to Skagway!The year is 1898 and you’ve just arrived at the entry point to the legendary White Pass, a rapidly growing tent town known as Skagway. But unlike the rest of the saucer-eyed travelers enticed by the call of the Klondike gold rush, you aren’t here to pan for flakes and nuggets or stand hunched over a sluice box for hours on end. Your story should slowly reveal your true purpose and demonstrate what sets you apart from the others.4. The Yellow DogYou woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. Your heart is racing, but all you can seem to remember of the vision is a shaggy, yellow dog. What does this omen mean and how does it come into play in the days ahead?5. Travel InterruptedYou were finally on your way, making that trip you always said you would go on. Then life stepped in. Now you’re stuck half-way through your journey and must wait, in limbo, while circumstances catch up and you can either resume your adventure or start the trip back towards home. What is your greatest emotional resistance to where you are now? What ultimately pushes you into either embracing the change or running from it?6.  Someone Magical This Way ComesThrough the course of a normal day, you happen to encounter someone who possesses a bit of magic. From the fantastical all the way down to the mundane charm of a twinkling eye and a knowing smile, there’s just something different about this person that sets them apart from the rest. Is it really magic? Is it charisma? What is it?7. Time to Let GoYou have in your possession a priceless memento, a reminder of a lost love or a best friend, a parent, or mentor. Today you stand at the brink, afraid that you’ve lost it all. But in a moment of sudden clarity, you know what you must do. You reach out your closed fist and let go. You give up that reminder of what the world used to be and resolve to start your journey anew. Letting go of that reminder of the past allows you to refocus on the present and you vow to cherish the ones in your life that you still have. As a special challenge, let your writing take us through that process. I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts.Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. 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Why I missed a week and the importance of fighting for your dreams.Fight for that Dream!(Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/10) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.  If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. Today's podcast episode is about fighting for your dreams. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made if we're ever going to achieve the things we've spent so much time dreaming about.Do you want to be a writer? Well? Get writing!Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!Podcast NewsI missed last week, but I'm back with an extra long episode today to make up for it! Listener ShoutoutsRadio silence. Hit me up on Twitter or at www.rbradyfrost.com/contact-meWriting UpdatesAs I mentioned in the podcast update, I opted to press forward with my writing after encountering some resistance with unfortunate events last week. I am very happy with the progress I made and things are looking good! Still, we always have to keep pushing toward those goals.Pursuing your dreams is important.Don't just dream about what you want to accomplish. Start doing it. Time is the one resource you will never get more of. You might be able to get a promotion or take on a second job to make more money, but you will never get more time. Why do we often opt to spend time on diversions instead of doing the things we really want to do?The Sign-OffShow notes for this episode are rather sparse. This week was full of tangents and passion about writing and dreams. What else can I say?And now, for this week's writing prompts!What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week.  1. Wayward ShadowLike Peter Pan’s shadow, you’ve noticed your own dark twin has been acting of their own accord as of late. While this makes for some interesting party tricks and a lot of laughs, it isn’t something you can control and it seems as if your shadow is learning how to interact with objects in the real world. Your friends are convinced you’re some kind of amateur magician, but the truth is: you don’t have any tricks up your sleeve and you’re just as mystified as they are.A few nights of parlor tricks go by before things begin to get even more strange. Your shadow disappears for hours at a time and when it returns it often appears exhausted, collapsing on the fabric of your favorite armchair. Rarely, it will muster the strength to tear itself off the surface of the floor and walls and sit across from you like a darkened void. Staring into the dark hollows of its eyes makes a shiver run down your spine. How is any of this even possible? Then, after a particularly long absence, your shadow returns just moments before a loud knock sounds on your apartment door. It’s the police and they have a warrant for your arrest. They are saying something about fingerprints at the scene of the crime and inform you that you have the right to remain silent.2. The PatientYou’re a nurse and you love your job working nights at the hospital but, ever since a new doctor rolled into town a few months back, things have been getting weird. You can’t put your finger on what it is, exactly, and you’re determined to figure it out. As tensions rise, you find yourself backed into a precarious position. Someone has taken note of your snooping and now your job is on the line.You’ve always taken great pride in putting the patients first, and when you notice that some are disappearing, you know what you must do. You wait. At first it seems like the pattern has broken and everything has gone back to normal. Were you really just imagining things all along? No. Just when you were about to give up hope of ever finding another clue, you catch a glimpse of the new doctor casually rolling one of your patients, strapped to their bed, down the hallway. Knowing this might be your only chance, you follow them and uncover the horrible truth.3. The Secret of Rainier MesaOn September 19, 1957, the United States detonated a 1.7 kiloton nuclear warhead in underground, 65 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada. Code named Rainier, the test was a part of larger mission: Operation Plumbbob, which included some 29 nuclear explosions. However, of all the tests, this one was special. The nuclear device was placed in a small room, six by six by seven feet in dimensions, 900 feet below the surface of the mesa. Of course, most of the real details of the test were left off the reports.As a part of an independent scientific research group, your team has maneuvered to gain access to the remains of the underground chamber. Much of the information you have on the site has been pieced together from redacted reports and off-the-record commentary throughout the years. By taking advantage of certain political oversights, you manage to secure access approval. Though, as expected, you encounter significant resistance when your team arrives on-site. But your credentials check out and, after a bit of hassle, you are permitted to set up a base camp and begin operations. Fortunately, you’ve brought your own equipment, so the Test Site Coordinator’s efforts to slow down your progress doesn’t impede your operations.After two days of digging, you find the first signs of what you’ve been looking for: a previously undisclosed ancillary test chamber. Just as you’re about to breach the hardened rock shell and gain access to the secrets you’ve worked so hard to uncover, you spot a line of armed military vehicles speeding towards the dig site. You know you don’t have much time when you watch the column veer off the road, leaving clouds of dust behind them as they close the gap to your location. It’s now or never.4. Such Beautiful EyesIt was a chance encounter, nothing more than a blip in history to most, but somehow a connection was made. Now you can’t stop thinking about them. No matter how many times you use the your time machine, you’ve never encountered anyone quite like them. They had such beautiful eyes; a deep blue, deeper than any ocean, and no matter how far away you travel, you’re sure you’ll never forget. But why can’t you find them when you go back?Your scanner can pick up no trace of any individuals matching your search criteria. Was it nothing more than a specter, a ghostly image of a history that once was and yet may never be? Or have you encountered another like yourself, one who can travel unbound through the ages? Could there be another time traveler weaving their way through history? If so, were you destined to meet? What will come of this chance encounter and will you ever learn the secrets hidden behind those beautiful eyes?5. At the Bottom of the WellWhen your friend accidentally drops a prized possession into the well, you volunteer to climb down and swim to the bottom in search of it. With the sun directly overhead, you can barely see into the murky depths. Something lurks in the shadows, something unexpected and profound. What is it?6. Before it Slips AwayYour night was filled with enchanting dreams of far off places. While you knew you were dreaming, you couldn’t help but hope it would never end. But, as with all things, the end did come. Now you find yourself staring at your ceiling while you try to piece through what was dream and what is real. Just as you’re about leave the memory behind, you find something lying next to you on the bed: an impossible souvenir from a night you’re now sure you won’t soon forget.7. The Shadowy BargainYou’ve just been informed that the data center you’ve been working at will soon close. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people in your career field will be scrambling for jobs. The market will be flooded. How can you hope to pick up the pieces after this devastating news? Instead of heading home, you decide to linger in the city and walk the darkened streets. You know you’re expected home, but when your phone rings, you can’t help but ignore it. You’ve worked so hard and feel so lost and… alone.Then you see her. She stands beneath the dim street light with her shopping cart full of mysterious objects. She beckons you over with strange promises of a brighter future. As you approach, you can’t help but notice the slight glow emanating from under her overcoat. She’s no devil or demon, she says, just a wayward fairy trying to make her way home, but granting wishes comes with a price. What bargain is this spirit of the fey trying at? What are the stakes, and what choice will you make? I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts. Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. 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The Scene that Never Was -The difference between storytelling and writing.(Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/11) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.  If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. I was talking with Tara this week about my Coma: The Cataclysm project and today's episode stemmed from that conversation.Is it possible to plan a scene so long that you forget you never actually wrote it? Yes. I can confirm that this is a distinct possibility!Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!Podcast NewsI realized that my podcast episode file sizes were pretty large and I'm experimenting with adjusting the settings to get things just right. Big files means more hosting costs and a pain for you. So I'm going to be working on that in the future. Also. just a heads up, there probably won't be an official podcast next week. We're going on a little trip and it may be difficult to record and upload something. Also, stay tuned for this week's special, funny creative writing prompts intro. I don't think this one will be permanent, but it was a lot of fun to throw together and I challenge you to listen to it without smiling.Writing UpdatesI've had to make some tough decisions with my writing lately. Yeah? One of the big ones came with the realization, and finally admitting to myself, that Chlorophyllium 9 doesn't make for a very searchable title. And it's really hard to get the type settings to look good on my cover. So, going forward, I think I'm settling on the new title: Distant Worlds. While this move ditches the novelty of showcasing the name of the mineral I invented, it makes a lot more sense when you consider how readers will find and otherwise look for the novella.I had originally intended that title to be for one of the novels in the series, but it really does capture the essence of what Chlorophyllium accomplishes as a story. It's okay! I have plenty of time to  come up with a replacement title for future books as I move forward.I'm still working on Final Hope and making progress. It isn't coming as fast as I would like, but every day I sit down and write and get my word count higher, it's a win. Storytelling vs. WritingHow much time do you spend in the planning phase of creating your story? Are you like me, in that sometimes it seems like you spend far more time planning and building than you do actually writing?This can be a significant problem for some writers. Myself included. But, I'm climbing that mountain every single day. Instead of just dreaming about writing, I'm actually doing it. Look, there are a lot of resources out there. A lot of products claim to have all the answers, but it's a never-ending road, that one. Sometimes I think how-to writing books and courses tend to feed into themselves, imparting a fear of failure in many cases when they should be filling you with hope.Make sure you're not just crafting a story, if your dream is to be a writer, stop planning and start doing. Start writing and let that be the medium you use to tell your story. I'm doing it. It goes one step at a time. And guess what? You can do it too.Stop buying into products that promise to make you into a writer. You've got to actually sit down and do it. If you want to read something, read a book you love or even one you hate. What did the author do well? More-so, how did they tell the story?The PrologueThis once scene in particular, the one I thought I wrote, will be making its debut on my blog in the next couple of days. You can check it out here: http://www.rbradyfrost.com/comaThe scene has changed a bit since I first imagined it. Much of it is the same, but I did choose to break sooner. I've learned how to be a better storyteller since then, and part of that is knowing where to cut things to leave both an emotional impact and a desire to read more.I'm not about to say I've done it perfectly, but I think it's pretty good and it's a heck of a lot better than not being written at all. Right?The Sign-OffKeep moving forward, folks! You can do this! Don't let your scenes or chapters be the ones that never were.And now, for this week's writing prompts!What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week.  1. Call of the WaterEver since you were a small child, you’ve heard a song that no one else seemed to hear every time you were near a large body of water. Now that you’re grown , you can’t seem to shrug the call of the ocean. You feel driven to the shoreline and some powerful force compels you to step out into the oncoming waves.2. A Sky of FlamesThe world is burning. At night, the sky glows orange from the wildfires. The mid-day sun is oft obscured by the dark tendrils of smoke. Sunsets blaze red in the west, leaving an echo of the days’ destruction in the last vestiges of light before the bonfire that consumes the night.3. ColonyChosen as a member of the first planetary colony, outside of Earth, you have started the voyage to what will be your new home. The trip is long and, once the initial experience and excitement wears off, rather boring. But it’s the perfect time to get to know your new colony-mates.4. The Broken PromiseYou always said you’d never lie to those you love, but after recent events you are starting to rethink that promise. Some things are better left unsaid. How could you expect them to understand? The things you’ve seen would be too much for most and it’s a burden you can’t have them bear.5. Needle and HaystackIn true fairytale fashion, you’ve been set to an impossible task. If you succeed, riches and opportunity beyond imagination. If you fail? Well, let’s just say that would be significantly less pleasant. You have twenty-four hours to beat the odds or pay the price. Will you rise to the challenge, find an unexpected loophole, or suffer the consequences of failure?6. The Three VisitorsThroughout the course of the night, you’re visited by three apparitions. But this is no Christmas story. These ghosts have other intentions, and you are the one person who can help them realize their schemes. Hold onto your hat, throw on your slippers, and prepare yourself for an spectral, out-of-this-world adventure that no one saw coming.7. The Corporate SchemeSomeone high up in the food chain at work has been making waves, and it’s no secret that they’re pulling any string they can find to get their friends in high places. All around you people are talking about leaving the company in an effort to get out of the toxic environment. You don’t know if it was all the promises this person made when they first arrived or what. Surely, other executives have done the same in the past and most folks just looked the other way. As fate would have it, you find yourself in the hot seat. You’ve somehow managed to come across a thread of information that will undo this person’s entire career. You feel morally obligated to bring it to light, yet you’re not sure you want to be the one who faces the consequences of doing so. I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts. Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Join my monthly newsletter for writers and get more helpful content, encouragement, and more!* indicates requiredEmail Address * First Name Last Name Email Format htmltext Powered by MailChimp (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); If you enjoyed this feed, please stop by my blog! www.HuntingTheMuse.com

Creative Writing Commentary and Weekly Creative Writing PromptsWelcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. These prompts are a part of the HuntingTheMuse.com Weekly Creative Writing Prompt Podcast If you haven't already, please consider subscribing.There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you.Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse.Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!1. A large, iron feather falls from the sky, landing mere inches from your foot.It started out like any other day, but you knew things were about to get strange when you were nearly struck dead by a most unusual thing. You instantly think of that science experiment where two objects of differing mass fall at the same speed in a vacuum. But this is real life, not a vacuum. Where did that iron feather come from? 2. But first, let me take a selfie.It's been a rough night, but after your friend took a massive hit to their ego earlier in the week, you've been doing your best to be a good buddy and let them blow off steam. But, so help you, if you have to pose for one more stupid selfie, you swear you're going to scream. Your phone has been lighting up like crazy, undoubtedly from being tagged in the online photo archive of your night out on the town. Halfway through the night, however, something strange happens. When you finally give in and check your alerts, it appears that your online friends have seen something in the background of several photos that has them spooked. What is it? Where do things go from here? 3. Hello? Guys? Where did everyone go?After arranging to meet some acquaintances at an old, derelict factory swallowed by forest on the outskirts of town, you make a quick stopover to grab a video camera from a friend. When you arrive, it appears that the gang has left without you. Their cars are parked where you arranged to meet, but you can see no sign of the group. They must have followed the overgrown path through the woods toward the old building. Turning the camera on, you set out into the dark after them. 4. An unusual request.You're on your way home when a stranger approaches you. From the tear streaks that have drenched their cheeks to their bloodshot eyes, you can tell they've been having a rough time at it. After your awkward introductions, they hit you up with a very unusual request. They have money, lots of it. What they don't have is a friend. Will you be their companion? You can go anywhere, do anything, if only you'll help take them away from the shadow of their misery.5. The elephant in the room.You're called into an impromptu meeting with several people you've only met in passing. Everyone is excited about a new prospective initiative, a veritable goldmine of potential. The only thing is, they're way off base with their numbers and technology can't support their anticipated service. Do you expose the elephant in the room or go on with the ruse?6.  The map to nowhere.When you stopped for lunch at a hole-in-the-wall diner, the waitress nodded you over to a booth in the back. Halfway through your sandwich, an older gentleman with shaky fingers and a stuttering step walked up and gave you a map. He didn't say anything, but the twinkle in his eye piqued your interest. Like an idiot, you followed the directions. X marks the spot, right? You pull up to the marked destination to find a pair of shovels and several piles of dirt.7. Hiding in plain sight.Take a look around you and then choose any one of the everyday objects in your field of vision. Now imagine this thing anew. What secrets does it keep? How is it more than just ordinary? If there doesn't seem to be any striking detail or attribute to make it special, invent one.I hope you've enjoyed this week's creative writing prompts.Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. 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In this episode, Megan and I chat about the ins and outs of using the Disneyland Trams, and also mention some of our pet peeves.    Using the Disneyland Trams What to do with Strollers (to fold or not to fold) Tram Rules, where kids need to sit Help on and off Pro Tips- 3 open strollers can fit in large rows Split up family (one person w stroller, balance in smaller rows)   Mouse Scouts Recommends Drift & Ramble Podcast: True Stories & American Legends - We recently discovered a new podcast that we think you'll love! Imagine being taken into Frontierland and being immersed in stories from the wild west. They don't talk you to Disneyland, but the tales they tell are taken from true accounts of real people, places, and events and they bring you right into the action! You'll love the stores they weave. Trust me!   Get in Touch! Email us at fun@gomousescouts.com, find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play.   Check out our FREE Disneyland Scavenger Hunt! We put together a FREE, fun (yet unofficial), Disneyland Scavenger Hunt for you to bring with you next time you go do Disneyland! Inside you'll find 17 questions to figure out, some easy, some challenging, which will take you through every land at Disneyland! Finally, they come together at the end to help you solve one final riddle. Sign up for our email list and we'll email it right out to you! We'll also let you know when our book is released and keep you up to date on news, contests, and our latest podcast episodes. Subscribe to our mailing list * indicates required Email Address * First Name  Email Format  html text