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Kari Trenten

Sources of Inspiration: What Does This Mean?

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Talking about what inspires me is not a subject that can never be done to death. Not for me. It involves my very creativity, the well spring for which I get all my ideas from. Every story I’ve ever written and will write in the future exists because I got inspired. I don’t use this energy just for stories, although stories are a major part of my life. I often draw direction for what I want to write about and how I live my life from inspiration. For me, it’s the spark of creativity. This spark comes from myself as … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: What I’ve Lost, What I Have

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It’s curious talking to all the readers who loved holiday tales and the writers who craft them. This time, I’m one of the writers. Seven Tricks definitely counts a holiday tale. Curiouser and curiouser. This isn’t a time of year when I focus primarily on writing. Don’t get me wrong. I do my best to stay in practice. I write something every day, working on polishing my craft. My focus is on other things, though. Christmas shopping. Decorating the tree. Writing an annual letter (this is one of the major projects of the season). Above all, spending time with my … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Recharging

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We’re in the middle of NaNoWriMo right now. It’s a time of supercharged creative tension. People are scribbing and typing, trying to churn out 50K words before the month ends. It can also be a time of staring at the blank page or words written, contemplating a corresponding blank space in one’s head. All the while, the writer wonders what happened to their inspiration, their desire to write this particular story? How do they move forward from that blankness, even if it’s just a little? I’m only too well acquainted with this blankness. I’ve stared at my empty page, feeling … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Vulnerability

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I’ve been thinking about vulnerability a lot lately. Every time I use a form of social media, I feel vulnerable. Do I feel brave enough to post this? I constantly ask myself this question. It’s exciting, but it’s scary, too. I don’t know who’s out there, who’s listening. At least some of them may be enemies. By using a social medium, I’m exposing myself and my stories to them. The bright side is that there are friends out there, too. There are allies. There may even be those special readers I dream of connecting with. Readers I’ll enchant and inspire, … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Music

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One of the earliest memories is of hearing Albioni on Sesame Street. The viewer observed a close up of a dandelion while the music played. This moment stayed with me along with many of Sesame Street’s more humorous numbers. Years later, I watched the original Cosmos, open mouthed, while Vanglis’s ‘Alpha’ played to a series of images showing evolution. Music had always had a profound effect on me. It didn’t end with listening and feeling. I remember listening to Depeche’s Mode’s ‘Music for the Masses’. Images played out in my imagination along with David Gahan singing ‘Never Let Me Down … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Hatred

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  Enemies are out there. I’ve seen them. I’ve lived with their insults. I’ve felt their curses, their contempt leaking into the words ‘queer’, ‘gay’, and ‘lesbian’, poisoning them. They’ve projected their own ugliness into the words, turning them into badges of shame. Their virulence pulses within those badges, making those with every right to proudly claim them turn their backs in shame. Hatred has power. It terrifies me. Being brushed with it contaminates me in turn. Every time I’m exposed to it, I feel my own hatred, vibrating with me for the ones who inspired it. I imagine all the … Read more

Torso

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Above is a picture I’ve took at the Capitoline Museum. This statue seemed the embodiment of classical male beauty. It’s one of the reasons I’ve used it as substitute for cover art in any posts relating to ‘Aissa and Polyxena’. Never mind my Work In Progress is about cross driving. Like many a writer and reader in the MM genre, I’ve been captivated by the male torso. I’ve seen a lot of bare male torsos on your covers. Some are slimmer and more classical. Some are broader. Some have a softness to the ripped abs. Some are unabashedly hard. This … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: April Madness

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We’re in the middle of April right now. Spring is in full bloom. The white blossoms have fallen from the trees, to be replaced by tiny pink flowers on other branches. Camellias are giving way to wisteria. Not that I have too much time to notice these things, although I try to snatch a moment or two to observe them. The flowers help refresh my spirits, before I return to the madness. For this is a month of crazy, non stop writing projects for me. Yes, a writer should always be involved in projects to stay in form. This month … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Preparation and Change

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March is a time of change. The weather is warming up. Time springs forward, depriving us of an hour. The daylight lingers longer and longer in the evenings. With the change comes an awakening, a call to get up and move. Projects await us. The Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction contest has begun. Blogging From A-Z is approaching, along with Camp NaNoWriMo. Publishers call for submissions, here and there, offering a variety of opportunities. For the beginning of spring is a time of opportunity. I realize this, even as I’m caught up in my own activities. I took a walk, … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Roleplaying Games

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This month, my husband and I make our yearly visit to DunDraCon. It’s one of the biggest gaming conventions in the United States. You can find all kinds of games there. Card games. Board games. Games with miniatures. Along with my personal old addiction, roleplaying games. I’ll never forget the moment I found ‘Vampire: the Masquerade’ on a shelf at Game a Lot in Santa Cruz, California. I’d played in a few RPGs before, but that particular book seemed to have been written just for me and for players like me. Creating a character in that universe would be like … Read more