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Kari Trenten

Sources of Inspiration: Impressions of Time

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As time slips away, leaving me increasingly unable to recall certain events, I become more fascinated by it. What was happening during a particular year? What was I doing, or not doing? Whom or what were the major influences in my life? Whom or what was I obsessed with? Certain events remain painfully, exquisitely dear. The summer of 1989; where I discovered Anne Rice, Caravaggio, Sheridan Le Fanu, and many other things in a group of like-minded young people interested in many a fascinating topic. This was the same year I visited Tokyo, Singapore, and Bangkok.  2005, the year immediately … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Noise

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I’ve always been sensitive to noise. Surround me with too much noise and I cannot hear you. Blare your phone and you physically torture me, especially if your phone makes a high-pitched, whining sound…something about the electrical tone is agonizing. More than one meal out has been ruined by other customers, not bothering with ear buds or anything else which keeps the noise private.  On the flip side, I can really enjoy music and songs on a visceral level. Certain pieces uplift me to an almost orgasmic ecstacy, hearing the pulse of their beat within my ear drums.  Pleasurable sounds … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Pain and Pleasure

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Go where the pain is. Transform your pain into prose, into poetry. Do something creative with your suffering. Make a work of art of your pain.  How often have I heard that advice in one form or another. There’s just one problem; I don’t want to go there. I don’t like dwelling upon my pain, the human monsters of this world whom take the forms of politicians, enforces, or part of corporation; all intent upon dehumanizing people to spread hate and satisfy their greed.  Thinking of such monsters sends me into a spiral of despair, which feels as if I’m … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Gifts

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Gifts are on my mind constantly right now, as I shop for family and friends, aware that they are shopping for me as well.  A gift can be a treasure, an offering of love (or hate), a blessing, a curse, a joy, or a nuisance. It all depends upon the gift and the giver.  The right (or wrong) gift can spark a story into action, changing a character’s life.  How often has a sword (or lightsaber), a ring, or a rose been handed over in a book or a movie, changing a character’s destiny, altering the choices they make?  How … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Gratitude

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What are you thankful for? It’s a question many people ask this time of year, before tucking into a holiday feast. Discovering something I or my characters feel gratitude for, when we’re on the verge of losing it can release a flow of poetry or prose, especially when it’s truly precious. How sinister and ominous it feels, writing of such loss. Most of us hope never to face such jeopardy, let alone such loss. Too many of us will.  If we can save or protect whatever was in danger, we may experience a wave of gratitude for our whatever (or … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Vampires

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A figure appears from the mist, right outside your window as you lay in bed, unable to sleep. You recognize the stranger from the gathering, the one who kept catching your gaze. You tried to look away, a thrill of danger running down your spine, as alluring as it is terrifying.  The feeling returns as you see the stranger at your window. It’s just a dream. How you long to let them in, even as you shrink from the possibility. For if you do, the vampire will have you, giving you a kiss that will suck your life away.  These … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Writer’s Block

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Writer’s block has been both vehemently denied and felt all too keenly.  I found myself thinking; what does writer’s block mean to me? What can it be? A barrier, a sinus headache, exhaustion. Writer’s block may manifest as a box in which my ideas are stored, which solidified into an actual block I cannot access. Writer’s block are stories floating away in sludge, a sludge I cannot enter or retrieve them from. Writer’s block is reality distracting me, a curse brought on by jealousy or angry gods. Writer’s block is the muse dumping me for someone far more interesting.  Huh, … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Positivity

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It’s been a challenge, staying positive this year. Too much is happening that scares the living daylights out of me.  The world has never felt like a safe place, even though I’ve been fortunate enough to live in safer places than some of my friends. Safety has felt more and more precarious. Too many loved ones have been threatened with health issues. I’ve been threatened with health issues.  A good friend advised me to stay positive. If I start to get depressed, take a breather, Take a walk, if I can. Look at the beauty of the flowers or anything … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Less Than Thick Skin

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All of my life, people have been telling me; I need to develop thick skin to truly be a writer.  I’ve never had thick skin. I felt everything intensely. Ever triumph on the page was an emotional high. Every failure was a blow, laying me low.  How could I develop this thick skin I needed? I had no idea how to get it. Besides, my sensitivity gave my writing power. Did I really have to lose it? The answer came to me while watching a Japanese anime called Naruto, named for its main character.  Naruto had a short temper. He … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Fallen Idols

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All of my life; I’ve been smitten with people, stories, concepts. They show a beauty, a talent, a skill; which transforms them into an ideal, something I aspire to. If this ideal is a person, they become an idol. Too often, my idols fall.  I’ve lost track of the number of artists, writers, and celebrities who’ve disappointed me. The disappointment can be brutal, when they reveal a cruelty, a bigotry, or a predatory nature.  I tell myself I shouldn’t be shocked. The clues about this hidden truth were there all along. I just didn’t pick up on them.  Were the … Read more