Inspirations and imagination.

We all have inspirations...book inspirations that is.   Stories that grab our attention and pull us in. Characters that become alive in our minds that we grow attached to and love.  We cheer for their triumphs and shed tears for their sorrows.  A great story can give us good friends, new passions and ignite our imagination.  

For Brooke, that inspiration, that love for reading and imagination really began with Harry Potter.  She is truly a super fan.  For several years, she spoke regularly in an English accent and quite convincingly. She knows the story of Harry Potter, inside and out.  She knows the characters birthdays, she knows random facts about their families, their towns, their foods, their likes, their loves and their struggles.  She knows and loves those characters because she is passionate about the story. She has read all of the books several times, they are well worn and have been sitting prominently next to her bed for years.  (She owns all the movies, although she is the first to say they aren't as good as the books.) She reads the stories to her siblings regularly.  She quotes the books randomly in conversations.  This series has become a part of Brooke's life, from clothing to jewelry to decor.  She, along with millions of other readers,  caught the vision and the story came to life for her. 

A while back Brooke's birthday wish was to spend her birthday at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter... so her family made that birthday wish come true.  She got to celebrate with some of her favorite people in one of her favorite places and her co-author and uncle happen to be one of them.  Here are the Luminescent Writers together enjoying the imagination of a wonderful author and role model, JK Rowling, brought to life.

 This.  This is what a good book can do. All of this from the imagination of one person. What amazing possibilities exist within our minds. We  hope that a few people will fall in love with our characters and our stories.  There are whole worlds out there just waiting to come to life on the pages of the books we write.  Let's see where they take us! 

What are some of your favorite stories? 

Nike Has the Best Slogan, Especially When it Comes to Writing

There is no "how does one begin?" or "where does one begin?" there is simply beginning. There is simply doing... or "Just do it" you might say...

 Yes, even though a sportswear brand might not seem to have much to do with writing, I've always loved Nike's slogan. It incites action. It demands results and progress. When it comes to writing, we love to talk don't we? We love to dream too. We talk and dream about all the wonderful, suspenseful, emotional and compelling things we are going to write about (and how we're going to spend our millions once we're famous). I've been guilty of this before on many occasions. Far too many of us only talk and dream and not much more. And whatever it was that we thought we might write, gets pushed to the back burner by everyday activities that just can't wait, like watching tv, playing video games, Facebook stalking people, or napping. Don't use work as an excuse. We all work. We're all busy. We all have families with needs. It's that wasted in-between time that we all have at least a little bit of that we can choose to do more with. That wonderful idea you have, that one that's going to inspire me and countless others, doesn't have to stay in the forgotten cobwebs of your mind collecting dust. Simply stop talking, stop dreaming and start writing. Just do it! Cut out some of the other junk from your life and make time for writing. That's what I did, and now I have a completed manuscript! But nothing happened until I took action one day and wrote down a crappy first sentence! Who knows what's going to happen with this first book (Ignition by Andrew Smith and Brooke Estrada) but I'm not just going to sit around and twittle my thumbs and begin daydreaming again. I'm shifting into high gear and carrying my momentum right over into another project. I'm six chapters into my next book and I only started writing it on June 1st! Yep. Get on my level. With a little luck, this sucker might be done before the end of summer! After that, I'll start writing something else. I once dreamed of even completing one book, and now that I've committed to consistent writing, things are happening faster than I originally thought possible. That's all because of action. Join the club. Take action today and write something. Just do it! And to Nike I say... you're welcome. (Yes I will gladly promote and wear your products if you donate them to my cause of "Doing" :)

What? Of course I have a price and can be bought! Don't judge me.