I had a bad day again...

What do you do on those days when things are going bad, and writing is the last thing on your mind?

This morning I woke up to steady rain and burnt oatmeal.  Later I have to get a cavity filled.  I don't expect much from my brief writing attempts today, but I've got a 10-minute play assignment due for tomorrow.  As I write this I am only up to about six and a half minutes.  At least writing this post has gotten my fingers moving. 

Quitting

Have you ever decided to quit writing?  Did you ever hang up your hat and decide you were done with it?  What brought you back?

I did it a couple of times, mostly when I wasn't receiving support from home, or when basis survival was on the line.  I always came back because the ideas just wouldn't stop.

Teachers

I finally got up the nerve to send my scant pages to my thesis advisor.  I do look forward to her response, though, because she is a great teacher.  I've had good ones and I've had bad ones, but my emotional favorite was my 7th grade English teacher who held up a poem of mine and cried out, "She's done it again!" That had something to do with me becoming a writer, I think.

What teacher had the biggest influence on your decision to become a writer?

The Fickle Muse

I woke this morning to a flash of inspiration, and despite my foggy sleep brain and lack of coffee, I sat down and sketched out the ideas that came to me in that state between waking and sleeping.  It worked pretty well, as I got an hour's worth of ideas down on paper (electronically). 

What do you do to hold onto inspiration when it strikes?  Do you keep a notebook with you? Stop what you're doing and jot? Notebook and pen by the bed?  I'm starting to see the value in striking while the iron is hot, even when it is in the moments after waking.

Beginnings

I'm struggling with the new opening for my novel, and so I suppose I put this question out there looking for some suggestions.

What is your favorite opening to a novel?  Is there one that hooked you from the first sentence?

Journal

Do you keep a journal?  I have been doing so since I was twelve years old. Someone once said to me that the thought of death freaked him out because he would be completely gone.  I said I wouldn't be gone because it's all down on paper. There are many other reasons for keeping a journal.  If you do, why?  If you don't, why not? 

New Year

I have made far too many resolutions this year to be able to keep them all.  I know this going in.  They all boil down, however, to one resolution: to write brilliantly and consistently.  There.  Deep breath.  I've said it.  Eating healthier and avoiding bad substances will help my brain, which I need to write.  Exercise increases oxygen to the brain, which I need to write.  Following a schedule gives me time which I need to write. 

What are your resolutions, and do they focus mostly on writing?