Last night, the clouds rolled into Southern California and along with it, my creativity.  Maybe my Midwestern upbringing is the culprit behind my sudden bursts of creativity every time it rains.  I’m not quite sure.  But what I do know is that whenever it rains, I have this sudden urge to write while listening to the sounds of the rain pounding against the windows and roof.

Some may think it would be wonderful to live in a place where the sun is always shining and the temperatures rarely dip below sixty degrees during the day.  But for me, I get cranky and depressed if there is too much sun.  I love the rain.  I grew up in Michigan where thunderstorms (and other severe weather) signified the end of the winter season and the beginning of spring and summer. 

I have always found thunderstorms to be relaxing.  I even listen to a sound machine at night.  And I realize that I have always been able to sit down and focus on a project, a book, or writing when it is overcast and rainy.  When the sun is out, I will find so many other things to do, like hiking, and procrastinate on the things I really need to do.

So last night, when the rain hit, I pulled out my Netbook and started working on my script for Script Frenzy, a challenge to write a 100 page script in one month.

As the rain fell so did the ideas from my brain.   I was a writing machine.  Then this morning, I awoke to the rain.  Again, the creativity started to flow.  I started writing before I even had my first cup of coffee (and if you know me, you know that is unusual).  By the time the rain stopped, I had written 44 pages of my 100 page script.

And thankfully there is more rain in the forecast.  Tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 60s (cold weather for Los Angeles) and then the rain will roll back into town on Friday.  So hopefully with this welcomed change in weather, I will be able to finish my script before the end of the month.

So to all the other writers out there, I hope you find your own creative rainstorms.  And if you are stuck with writer’s block, check out NaNoWriMo, a website dedicated to helping writers complete a novel in a month.  They also have other programs such as Script Frenzy, Camp NaNoWriMo and some youth programs.  They have so many resources for someone interested in being a writer.

And I would also recommend the writing software program, Scrivener.  I used it for National Novel Writing Month in November and I am using it now for Script Frenzy.  I have the program downloaded on my Netbook and on my iMac.  It is a great resource for any writer and fairly inexpensive ($40 for the Windows version and $45 for the Mac Version).

And let me just state for the record that I have to affiliation with NaNoWriMo or Scrivener.  I am just a proud member and user of their programs.

So Happy Writing . . . and rain, rain, please don’t go away.  I have 56 more pages to create today.

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