Car Rides And Conversations

For me, I can get inspiration in a multitude of weird and generally accurate ways, but today I'm just going to talk about two of those ways. Right now I'm writing with my old computer in the upstairs of Simon's house, in her art studio actually! It's a bit cold but this is my favorite room in the house and it's seven thirty in the morning, so of course, she's fast asleep. In fact, she just told me to wake her up by nine, I have no idea what time she went to sleep last night but I fell asleep before the halfway mark of "Hercules". Anyway! Back to what I was talking about! Two different types of inspiration that always set me up for a productive night. One's active and the other is inactive, so I guess they balance each other out quite effectively but in the end I believe that the effect is the same. Why these two? Well they were laid out in front of me rather blatantly yesterday so that's what I'm going to talk about since the universe will always provide the inspiration needed to create.

The first one I'm going to talk about is Conversations, and I know that this seems a bit dull, I mean, we're humans, we live off of conversations with other human beings. However, I do believe that this form of inspiration is often overlooked when discussing such a subjective thing as inspiration. This is probably logical since for a conversation to give one any real bursts of creativity, it must contain some pretty important factors, otherwise it just gets labeled as "Stock Conversations" and you basically only use those when you're too lazy to come up with any profound dialogue so you put in some BS and plan to insert important character development later.

The first aspect of a really good, inspiring conversation is really the most obvious, however, it's also easily the most important and that is "the right people". You can't have a good meaty conversation when you're bored with the other person or you two "just don't click". No you have to have at least some connections with them and have a rather high opinion of them, because, if you don't the only person whose opinion you'll respect will be yours and you already listen to yourself talk to much. For an effective and deep conversation, you have to be having said conversation with a person who you not only like but highly respect as well.

The second aspect of a proper, useful conversation is (and this is my favorite one) attitude, attitude, attitude. Yes I know I talk about attitude a lot but that's only because I truly believe that it's the key to the universe. SO basically, you will no be able to complete an inspiring conversation if you are not in the right attitude. The correct frame of mind for a person embarking in a good conversation should be divided equally into three separate parts (There's more of course but these are the biggies). 1) Curiosity; You have to be engaged in the other persons mind and willing to dig deep. 2) Open mindedness; How do you expect to get a person to expose vulnerable and interesting parts of themselves if you're a complete ass about things? 3) Objectivity; To really appreciate a conversation with someone and see things from their point of view while simultaneously removing yourself from the equation so that you can better understand their logic or even give them advice, you have got to take a big step back and remove emotions and personal opinions in an attempt to evaluate any new piece of information.

Finally, the third, and honestly the most difficult to pen down is setting, just like in a book or movie, the setting has a lot to say about the frame of mind of the participants and often the quality of the conversation depends on the condition with which it is taking place. Granted, this is purely subjective and reliant on the current situation but for me, I have about three places that make for the best conversations. The first being around a table of some sort, this is a great tool for balancing deep thoughts with trivial actions that can keep your hands occupied while you take apart the secrets of the universe. The second is on a bed of some sort, the squishyness and relaxing atmosphere of a bedroom is always great for a bit of soul searching. And thirdly, my personal favorite, is on a swing set outside, the fresh air and comfort of seeing the other person swaying back and forth while you hold on to the bars is always wonderful for setting emotions straight without it ever getting to stuffy or claustrophobic.

Now for the inactive way to get great conversations, this one is a lot more simple since it's all you but it still manages to be an excellent source of any and all inspiration and that is car rides... Or bus rides, basically any mode of transportation where you can look out of a window while the world skims past you. Nothing beats these really and I don't know why, perhaps its the movement, maybe the fact that your eyes don't have to focus on anything or maybe its because for a little while you are completely helpless when it comes to your destination. Whatever the reason, if you're stuck or need an idea, try to take a ride with somebody, preferable somebody who doesn't talk that much and just let your mind go, I promise you, by the end of a good long ride, your mind will be in prime shape to create something new. :)

In other, and more important news...

We got a Skimmons hug on the Agents 

Of Shield Finale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!