Geeklings, I saw Logan last night. I kind of want that to sound dramatic and carry weight. Not to be funny or over dramatic but because I think that statement should hold a certain amount of gravity to it. Here, let me try again.

Geeklings, I (pauses and gulps)…I saw Logan last night (sighs and nods his head at nothing in particular).

There, that seems a little more appropriate. My full intention today was to come here and write a review on the movie, but I’ve run into a problem. I can’t do that just yet. Not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I can’t. I need more time to stew in what I saw. In no way is that a negative critique on the film, as a matter of fact the only negative thing I can think to say on Logan right now is that it ended. I could have sat in that theater for four hours watching that story unfold, easily. Of course this would have had to come with an intermission so I could re-up on popcorn and use the bathroom. Nothing worse then really having to go in the middle of a film. It’s distracting and ruins the experience, but I digress. The real reason why there isn’t a Logan review today is because this movie was intended to be digested and savored. It’s heavy and full of content that forces you to think and, god forbid, feel. Once those credits started rolling I was a bag of feels and spent a good portion of my night standing in my kitchen eating cold chicken nuggets and drinking a beer. Just silently looking inward maybe. Sometimes that’s the best gift fiction can give you. Maybe not that specifically, cold chicken nugs aren’t for everyone, but to have you look inward and think.

Which brings us to our post today. I promise you the Logan review is coming, most likely Tuesday,  but over the last two weeks I have found myself relishing in fiction that has been lighting a creative fuse that has been sitting unlit in me for awhile. That in no way is meant to diminish the work I do here or on Fan Fest News, that’s a different type of creativity. It’s the type that’s more conversationalist. I come here, and Fan Fest, to talk about the things I love and to spark discussion with you guys, my Geeklings. This is something I love and would like to maybe have a future in. That’s the goal any way. The type of creativity I’m talking about though is the ability to create something new. For me that resides in writing fiction, something that hasn’t happened in awhile. Too long in fact.

Within the last two weeks I’ve seen Get Out and Logan, I’ve read 80% of A Darker Shade of Magic, and listened to the Nerdist podcast with Jordan Peele as he talks about what inspired Get Out and his creative process, and throughout all of this I’ve felt a spark inside. That need to go to the lab (which is how I refer to writing). A door opening to something that’s been sleeping for awhile, and Geeklings, I can feel it starting to ember. Hands down it’s one of my favorite feelings in life, and I’ve missed it so.

You see I have fifty pages of a large narrative written, something that could actual be my first novel, and ran into some problems with it. I lost the story thread and instead of pursuing the the narrative through different avenues, I allowed it to scare me off. That story currently sits on my hard drive, and the inboxes of friends and family, unfinished because I let the difficulty win. I’ve found that story telling isn’t always easy. I have tons of stories in my head but this road block is preventing me from exploring them. There was a wall and I pushed back for a little bit but ultimately decided to let the wall stand instead of knocking it down. I think I’m ready to start knocking things down.

I think a huge part of being creative is inspiration. If you surround yourself in things that inspire you then it becomes harder and harder to ignore those creative pangs. Over the last two weeks I have relished in the fiction I’ve experienced. With each item, whether it has been Get Out, Logan, or A Darker Shade of Magic, I’ve found a level of story telling that has left me with that glowing feeling you get when you experience something profound. And what that something is differs from person to person. Just because I’ve found inspiration in these things does’t mean that you will, and that’s okay. I guess what I’m getting at here is to find your doorways. Surround yourself in things that inspire and don’t allow you to be lazy or lay dormant. That’s what great story telling does, it forces you to be active both within it’s walls and outside it.

I’m happy to say that I have an idea for a story that came from a brief conversation on Friday with my friend Stephers (hiiiiiii Stephers), and it’s going to be a short story. The way it feels in my mind right now, I’m thinking twelve to twenty pages, and I’m excited about it. Sometimes you need these little exercise stories in order to get in shape for the longer tales. In order to build the muscles to knock down a wall if you will. As of right now I know the beginning and I know the ending but I love that feeling of finding out what lies in between. I’ve shied away from that type of writing for too long and I’m very anxious to get back. So anxious in fact that I haven’t written one word to this story yet. Maybe it’s because I’m still fleshing it out in my mind or maybe it’s because I’m nervous. I don’t know. But that need to write it is there and I’m not running away from it. I would love for this to be an opportunity to be able to balance writing here and fiction simultaneously. Something I haven’t been able to figure out over the last year.

While this isn’t a review on Logan or Get Out or even A Darker Shade of Magic this is kind of a thank you. Some stories stand out above the others and make you want to do something. Almost to compete with but mostly to be held in the same regard. Great fiction breeds great fiction, and sitting here not writing anything doesn’t put you in the conversation. I’m ready to change that. I’m feeling inspired and creative and I’m excited. I didn’t come here today to brag but, I guess to say, don’t let obstacles get in your way. Yeah, it’s easy but if you love it, if you crave it, then just do it. Don’t make excuses (something I work on every day and this website has helped) just do it. Either for you or for others, but don’t short change yourself. Feel your passions and explore them. See what happens.Who knows, right?