Finding My Inciting Incident

So I have been horrible with updating because I had planned on writing more often. Alas, I have been exceedingly busy this month so far, which is kind of odd.

First of I want to give an update with NaNoWriMo: I have been horrible with writing so far. I have so much to do to catch up because everything has been popping up around me this past week and I have literally no time to write and when I do, I have absolutely no inspiration and it feels like I'm pulling teeth, but still writing. My word count is horribly low, but I am keeping my mind positive and I am dedicating my next Friday to writing all day so I will be isolating myself all day, but have been getting inspiration by listening to Vitamin String Quartet, my main character's favorite band.

Next is I finished a book last week which has really changed my perspective on a lot of things, well a lot of things on life. The book is called "A Million Miles in A Thousand Years," by Donald Miller. It was such a good book for this time in my life. Not only did it discuss the idea of character in the literary perspective, but discussed your own character in this story called life. I know it may sound a bit cheesy, but thinking of yourself as a character is awesome.

One of the many parts that really touched me was:

I think this is when most people give up on their stories. They come out of college wanting to change the world, wanting to get married, wanting to have kids and change the way people buy office supplies. But they get into the middle and discover it was harder than they thought. They can't see the distant shore anymore, and they wonder if their paddling is moving them forward. None of the trees behind them are getting smaller and none of the trees ahead are getting bigger. They take it out on their spouses, and they go looking for an easier story. (Miller)

I can completely relate to this. Seriously, if you have read any of my past blogs you can understand my frustration of feeling stuck and unable to advance in any way. I feel like I have to fight my way to where I want to go and I have become weary of this. I'm refusing to go through one of my many middles of the story and fight for a goal. I am refusing to see the horizon or just not willing to look for it.

A point in the story (btw: I am jumping around the book with quotes so sorry about that) that makes you realize that you can't give up was this part:

Robert McKee says humans naturally seek comfort and stability. Without an inciting incident that disrupts their comfort, they won’t enter into a story. They have to get fired from their job or be forced to sign up for a marathon. A ring has to be purchased. A home has to be sold. The character has to jump into the story, into the discomfort and the fear, otherwise the story will never happen. (Miller)

I have had a couple of inciting incidents this week and to be honest last week. I won't go into detail with them here and may not go into detail with them in the future, but it was/ is good. I have been in this super nervous and excited state all week and it feels sucky yet  amazing all at the same time. It's like I'm seeing the potential for future and am feeling like I'm taking that jump off of the cliff to land in the cool water below.

The idea of looking for inciting incidents and looking for the better points of life sounds basic, but it is so hard to do. I mean, think about it, how often do we focus on negatives; how often do we pity ourselves; how often do lose hope when hope is right in front of us? This book helped me find the hope again; this book helped me see the positive things in life; this book helped me understand the inciting incidents in my own life and actually take action.

Now I don't think I have mastered this at all. I have just come to the realization that life is pretty awesome and focusing on some of the negatives is not worth it. One of the moments that I just marveled over was a time when I was going into work for an overnight shift and the sky was filled with stars. When was the last time you just took a moment and looked at a starry sky with no distractions? I had mine a couple days ago and it was breathtaking. I also had another moment after I finished working that shift that I saw this beautiful sunrise over the parking lot at work. For anything to make a parking lot look beautiful, it would have to be God made. Seriously, as tired as I was, I was taken by the beauty because I got the chance to experience it.

The way I am viewing life is in a much more beautiful way. I'm trying to make the positive decisions instead of easily falling into the trap of negativity or helplessness. I guess the best description of this is perfectly explained when Miller wrote:

And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.

I'm tired of the meaningless scenes and I'm ready to take action. The reason I love the characters in literature that I do are because of the struggles they have to face and what they overcome. I can be just like those characters and have to face my middle or middles. I guess I'm now actually ready to face the middle and start the next chapter of my life. It's completely terrifying, but sometimes the most terrifying things are the absolute best things in life.