Ask the Author: Elden Dare

“Ask me a question.” Elden Dare

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Elden Dare Similar to writer's block, driving. But not exclusively. Inspiration, like in any art medium, comes from many many sources. I have a few go-to's. I have an amazing writer friend, she's just the sh*t, and she inspires the hell out of me. Even though her ideas are soooo much better than mine.

Music. A good playlist? Get out of here. Nothing inspires more than solid lyrics and awesome bridges over beats, bass, treble, mids, reverbs, and kicks, sh*t. Music. It vibrates. It hums. It's full of little stories.

Books. How can you possibly write if you don't read? Tip: You can't. Not with any form of talent. And certainly not well. I consume books voraciously.

Trees dappled with sunlight, warm breezes, and open fields. Nature. The world. It's so damn beautiful out here. Huge inspiration.

Life. The first time I rode a motorcycle, my first tattoo. The first boy I ever kissed. My horrible relationship with my mother. All of these things shape who we are. It's impossible not to be inspired by the things you live and breathe everyday. I want to experience more. I want to travel and learn to fly a plane. I want to fall off of a horse, and soar high in the Michigan sky in a hot-air balloon. I want to sky-dive and stroll through the French Quarter. Experiencing life so I can write about it.

Lastly, movies and television sometimes help. I'm not much for TV and I have such specific tastes in movies they aren't a big draw for me. But sometimes you see something or hear something in the dialogue and it might help a story along.
Elden Dare THE best thing? Man.

Freedom.
Creativity.
Therapy.
Immortality.

I can't think of just one. All I know is when I have a pen in my hands, or a keyboard, or a typewriter (yes, I'm old school), sometimes even a Facebook status; Something happens. I'm free. I'm creating people, worlds, emotions, scenes, LIFE. Stories. I make it. I made that. I created it, birthed it like I birthed my children. It's a part of me. My soul. My deepest secrets and desires. I get to let go the things that haunt me.
I bleed ink, and the stains form words and they'll exist. They'll live beyond my years and BE regardless of publication or fame. Every word I write. Every sentence I type is my legacy.

What's better than that?
Elden Dare Drive. Driving my car is like meditation. I reach a state of total mental clarity and, if I'm lucky, nirvana. Plots unfold, dialogue spills from the recesses of my mind. It's like someone cracks a nut and all the protein goodness inside is freed. It's the best feeling in the world.

Before the drive, I stew of course. I stew and veg and read books and whine to my friends and question every decision I've ever made in life. I curse myself for ever saying I wanted to be a writer. For days, sometimes weeks while my blank pages haunt me. Empty Word documents mock me.

And then...

I f*cking drive. I drive until I write.

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