Inside Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Bleak House’ is a wonderworks of horror and fantasy inspiration. Toro has created in this space a world where any writer can be inspired to connect to universes outside of our own. He has one room in particular where it is always raining. Through the magic of (lord knows what) he’s crafted windows that constantly show and sound like it is pouring outside. I’m guessing he uses TV screens, because that is what I use in my space as of late. The effect of the rain on my concentration is amazing. It focuses me and helps me to feel like I am in not only the right headspace but the right environment to be an author. As I fall back into trying to write it is becoming increasingly clear that the key is to put your mind and spirit in a place where accessing the storyverse is as easy as possible. For me that means rain and cold and blankets and it means more stuff too, but I am trying to figure out what.
My walls are a mix of calendars and fantasy maps and framed images of good writing. All of it works to create an environment of encouragement. It is not entirely perfect. My desk is always too messy and nothing I want access to is ever at my fingertips. Still, it is always a slippery question, what I want. I suppose I want a little red pill that slides me into the best creative mindset, a place inside of myself where all the stories are lined up side by side and I can pull one out of line and walk it to the front room in my brain and sit it down next to me and have a conversation.
Yeah. I want a space that makes me feel like that.
Some Thoughts:
- My final coaching season looks to be in jeopardy. We lost another kid from the roster and haven’t even had our first official practice yet. We are down to 14-16 kids depending on who actually pays the fee. League minimum is 15, but to be safe you need at least 20–especially given how undersized our team is right now. The HC and I plan to make the final determination on August 14th. What this means to my eldest is that he will not have that prep year to help him move into high school and be ready to try out for the high school freshman team. Ultimately, that means he is unlikely to play HS Football, killing his college football dreams dead–unless he runs track and builds up his speed and body and walks on somewhere. These things have been known to happen…
- In a post that was supposed to be about creativity and writing conditions I find myself immediately straying to football. This is likely about being an offensive coordinator and learning to express that kind of creativity. It is also on my mind as I run my first solo optional team practice in a few days.
- Being in love is crazy. So crazy that it occupies your thoughts at the strangest times. I can be thinking about anything else and my thoughts wander back to her.