When Reading Pushes Me to Write

There are times when a book makes me want to write. Other times, reading gives me little or no inspiration. I’m in the former state at the moment.

For some reason, The Wheel of Time inspires me. The colourful and well-developed characters, the wonderful worldbuilding, and the entertaining story help put me in a creative mood.

On the other hand, The Iliad did the opposite. The characters were like caricatures, very unrealistic, and incredibly melodramatic. The narration (although it was a poem) was adjective-heavy, incredibly repetitive, and the dialogue was completely unnatural. It was difficult to read, and it dulled my creativity. My coming review of the book will say something similar, but I did like it.

Even though I’ve said I wouldn’t be doing much in the way of writing for Ariadne until after we’ve moved to Canada, I have a very strong itch to write. Maybe I can use this opportunity to do some critiquing. Or maybe do some outlining. Or maybe do some more worldbuilding. Maybe all of them. We’ll see.

Do some books inspire you to write, while others do the opposite? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Wars Soft Drinks?

In Japan, Star Wars mania is everywhere. There are posters, ads, products, and toys everywhere. Japan loves Star Wars. With the upcoming movie premiering in only a month, the ad campaign has many people excited about the movie.

Well, there’s a campaign with Kirin (it’s a drink company) where they are selling Star Wars themed soft drinks. They come in two flavours: Mets Blue Force and Mets Red Force. From what the label says, the Blue Force is refreshing, and likely a somewhat minty flavour. Red Force says spicy/dry (they use the same Chinese characters). It also says cayenne, which makes me think it’s spicy. I have to wonder if it truly is spicy.

I haven’t tried them yet, but I’d like to. I’ve seen them everywhere, so it’s only a matter of time. I’ll probably take videos to taste test them. So, look forward to that.

Which would you like to try?