Kari Trenten

I’m a naturally twitchy person and there’s a lot to be terrified of right now. Like the epidemic that’s keeping me close to home. The current governmental situation makes me want to hum the Apocalype song from Revolutionary Girl Utena. I look up and expect to see an inverted White House, floating and rotating in the sky until chunks of it start falling, smashing into America. Yes, I’m probably giving too much ritualistic dignity to the current situation but ritual comforts me in times of terror. I live in a land filled with enemies whom might hurt me or those … Read more

There are certain books I can read over and over. Not only because I love them or I feel they are good books, but I get a creative charge from reading them. A certain phrase, a particular segment causes my imagination to quicken with ideas. Fragments of story, dialogue, poetry, or simply a response to what I’m reading come to mind. I’m starting to take the time to write down those responses. Certain books I read at a table with a notebook standing by, so I’m ready to jot down a particular quote or a snippet of story, poetry, and … Read more

Sources of inspiration are all around us. Sometimes I don’t see them. Sometimes I recoil from what the world has to offer. There’s a person I keep meeting when I venture outside of my home to take a walk, one of the few times I dare to leave it. He’s well-built as if he works out. He never wears a mask. He’s always talking on a cell phone. He doesn’t make any attempt to socially distance himself from me or anyone else on the road. He forces everyone else to get out of his way. I could write about him. … Read more

A vivid depiction of a mythical being brought to life in a story often shapes my mental image of it, particularly if a lot of other writers have fallen in love with that depiction, creating something similar. They shape a mythical norm, which becomes what I think that being should be. Anne Rice wrote such a lush, detailed description of vampires in her fiction that it’s very hard for me to see them in a different light, even though I’m writing several Works in Progress with vampires or vampire-like beings. Dragons have also been shaped by my encounters with them … Read more

Nothing can focus my creativity quite like a project. This may seem obvious, but it’s one of those obvious techniques I cannot repeat to myself enough, of cultivating and harvesting inspiration so it can nourish my creativity, transforming it into a blog, an article, a poem, or a story. Giving my project a title, a plot, a general idea of a plot, thinking about what I want to do or say in this project helps me focus on it, giving my work direction and energy. The more detail and thought I put into it, the more focused upon the project … Read more

Developing my own style is important. I have to find my own voice, to resist the impulse to imitate my favorites, no matter how brilliant I think they are. I need to build up my own brilliance, even if it’s just a feeble, flickering candle flame at present. There are flourishes I can add to my own work, traits I’ve noticed and enjoyed in my favorite authors and their works. A tendency to turn a pretty phrase or describing a scene with very simple words that still gives it a flowery feel. Using unusual word play in dialogue that isn’t … Read more

It’s the beginning of a new year. I should be filled with resolution to accomplish new things. Never had I felt more uninspired. I’ve solidified into a chunk of fandom and routine, rather like a thick, dense piece of fruitcake left on a platter from the holidays. How so I get myself to unsolidify? How can I release all of that story which has gotten stuck within me? It may be time for a change. If I alter one small thing in my routine, it could loosen everything up, shake some of that story loose. Maybe it’s time to do … Read more