Bree M. Lewandowski's Blog: Threads of Thought

Like, what if I told you about the books I was reading? Like, instead of squeezing out witticisms from my pores like water from a stone, I rambled on about books?

Not my own.

Right now, I'm reading Salt Redux by Lucinda Brant. It's the sequel to Salt Bride and I'm all over it. But! A book I ordered from the library, (The Bone Ships) and a book I purchased online (Midnight Marriage) just came in. I don't read fast and I'm equally stoked to read all three.

Quarantine made me a less adventurous reader. Suddenly, I couldn't browse at the library and ended up purchasing books. Always used but it's still money I'm spending. Naturally, I want to kinda rely on enjoying it. This outlook brought me heavy into regency romance and introduced me to some amazing new authors *coughMaryBaloghcough* that are now go-tos for me. So, not all bad.

However, as the world opens again, I'm perusing the library and getting brave again.

You know what's funny? I would have sworn I did a blog post only a year ago. I looked at the date of the last post and yeah, it's totes been more than a year.

Cool, cool.

So...how are you?

I've always found blogging to be something I am super stoked to do, until I actually have the time and the wherewithal to do it. Ain't that quaint? And it's not like I don't have oodles of thoughts and opinions I'd like to expound on a regular basis. But, good grief, ask me to get those down in a coherent manner and POOF. All brain powers are gone.

Funny, too, seeing as how I can write an entire book. Even there, though, I run up against myself all the time. Not sure I ever imagined writing as being one of those things where, once you have the knack, inspiration just floats down to you on gilded clouds of cotton candy, but it's not.

It's always a struggle. Not to say I don't have genuine inspiration sometimes. But inspiration seems more motivated by routine. The act of making a habit. The determination to sit down and do it.

Kinda like writing this blog post today. I didn't have anything in mind when I started typing. Yet, here we are, almost at the end. And for me to yank this out of the writing world and pull it into broader and more relatable terms, I think inspiration from dedication can apply to lots of things.

Being inspired to eat better, sleep more, rely on social media less. I really think, because I've experienced it, the more you are determined to accomplish something, the more joy you'll find in it.

So, I was watching this one youtuber roam around a dollar store. She stumbled upon some adorable Christmas tree ornaments and my very sensitive whimsy nerve was struck.

At the next opportunity, I scrambled to the dollar store (it's a chain) and went in search of the same decorations. And, as luck would have it, I did find them. Excited, I scooped up all I wanted.

But when I walked toward the register to pay, the woman in front of me turned and scrunched up her nose.

"Christmas decorations, already?" she asked.

I laughed. It's a default reaction when I want to wave my middle finger at someone. But, for a little moment, I felt bad. I felt like that little kid whose exuberance over something is squashed by an adult.

But when I placed my treasure finds on the conveyor belt, her shame faded from me. Who cares if I found something pretty that made me smile? People who step on joy are not worth my time anyway.

My point? Let little joys be what they are-joy. Let simple sweet finds make you smile. Our trip around this planet is far too brief.

I get that question frequently enough.

"What book made you want to write? What book inspired you the most?"

And the answer sounds weird.

All of them.

All the books I read inspired me to write the books I do now. Every book I read took me from where I sat, whether that be school, at home, or a library, or a coffee shop.

Or a bar. Yes, I've read books at a bar. But that's another story for another day.

Every book I read zapped me into the world contained within the pages. And the worlds were always different, filled with characters I never wholly forget. Even books I didn't like remain with me. Books that cut out a portion of my heart forever remain.

When writing for an audience opened up before me with fanfictions, I wanted to take readers where I had been: far away. I wanted to bring them characters they wouldn't soon forget and stories with bronze chords enough to resonate within them.

What books move me? So many have and so many will.

So, I've taken a stand on this before. I've gotten up on my little wobbly soapbox and proclaimed to anyone on the internet willing to listen that I do not believe in a muse.

You know how you'll hear people say, "Oh, I just can't (insert creative activity) today. I can't find my muse."

This lack of a muse is often the excuse Creatives use when whatever creative activity they partake in isn't going to happen that day. But I don't jive with that.

Now, let me say that this isn't me stating how I don't believe in inspiration. I do. I believe in being genuinely inspired and feeling the joy and freedom of that sensation.

However, what I don't subscribe to is the notion that your creativity should be limited to whether or not you "feel" inspired. Your creativity is better than that. In fact, if you sit down to accomplish your art without feeling inspired, while it may be rough starting, you'll find that you can generate your own muse.

Yup.

You can be the reason you are inspired. Your determination and hard work will breed the imaginative juices you need to get your art from your brain into reality. And the more you work, the more you override whether or not you "feel" like it, the more you find imaginative powers you didn't know you had.

It sounds so cheesy.

But be your own muse, babe.

So, I don't mind admitting that I spend way too much time on youtube. I don't really watch tv; I watch youtube. And in my travels there, I stumbled across one vlogger whose content I really enjoy.

Don't worry. I'm not trying to sell you on someone's YT channel.

No.

But after watching several of her vlogs, I noticed that the books she mentions enjoying as a child, I enjoyed too. Books like The Secret Garden and Little Women. And when she mentions those, something made of glee and excitement jumps inside of me, I instantly want to comment and write in all caps that I loved those books too.

Still do.

And it struck me. How wonderful is it to gush with someone over the same book? How great is it to talk about those scenes that made you gasp and those characters whose struggles were yours, while you were immersed in the story? It's wonderful!

Perhaps, I'd go so far as to say it's a gift. Books can touch us in unique ways. Possibly because we all read and envision the book differently. Maybe because it's such an intimate thing. Reading I mean. Just you and the pages.

So, when we discover someone else who has experienced that quiet joy, we feel a commonality with them. A bond. They know and understand the magic that waits between the pages of a book.

Whoops. I'm late. But notice this: I did not put off this blog post till the weekend. I'm doing it now, darn it.

Why?

Because routine is important. And I'd like to beg to differ with all those fancy magazine articles and other blog posts and trendy vlogging peeps who maintain that if you do something for three weeks, or a month, or three months, that it becomes habit.

What those articles don't take into account is, frankly, you as an individual. Those daily-insta-inspirational posts don't take into account your daily life. The headaches you get. The struggles with work and family. Those things can throw you off a routine in an instant.

And then what happens? You feel bad. You feel like that routine you worked so hard to establish is a failure now.

Guess what? It's not and neither are you. Because routine is something you do after you fail. Routine is something you do even when it's hard or you're late.

Like me, this week. This blog is late. I didn't feel like writing it, even though I've committed myself to the idea that I'll write weekly blogs.

But here I am. Here's this blog. I got it done and so can you. Routines can have bumps. Be easy on yourself. You can and you will get back on schedule.

It almost slipped me by, getting this blog out this week. Yesterday, I told myself I'd get it done, but here we are on a Sunday night and I'm racing to get this up.

Could I have put it off? Sure. But I don't want to. Much as I've complained about blogging over the years, I still envy and respect authors who get regular thoughts up on their pages. I want to be cool like them.

But so here we are. Short and sweet, right? Right.

It's the beginning of the Autumn season. I am ready. Candles lit at night. Blankets ready for snuggles and naps. This is my favorite time of year. Hot weather is ending. Nights are chilly. The rush and stress of the holidays is still in the distance. I don't have to bundle up to my nose to go outside. (Chicago native, here.)

What about you? Does this season fill you with pumpkin spice and everything nice? Confession: I don't actually like pumpkin spiced things. Lol!

Anyway, I'm writing my little fingers away to get book two of The Paragon Trilogy up and ready to go.

Until next week, friends!

So, I've got this idea of "short and sweet." This concept that we live in a world of endless scrolling and instant cupcakes. We're wound up in this whirling waltz with hardly a moment to inhale.

But right here is a place where you can breathe.

Every week, I'm going to pop in with something to give you a break. To take your mind away from the grind.

Book related? Yes. Maybe about the writing process? Yeah, maybe.

But more importantly, I want to take a step back with you. Let's look up at the sky together and know that between us are all the same stars, the same moon in the same wide Heavens.

Take my hand and we'll get lost, if only for a moment.