Task Force: Gaea

How do you define horror? The dictionary defines it as

[B][COLOR="Red"]An intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust[/COLOR][/B] OR [COLOR="Red"][B]A thing causing such a feeling.[/B][/COLOR]

In truth, is that all? Can you look at movies of demonic possession or nights of the living dead and call that horror? What about Friday the 13th movies or I am Legend? Of course. But, there's much more to it, I believe.

I've never been a fan ...

to something you're writing. Tell me if this sounds familiar:

You've had ideas floating around your mind for days—you set up the place you're going to work in, grab a cup of coffee, turn off your cell phone, and begin writing, pouring out all of the images, words, catchy phrases, and greatness you're thinking you've just given birth to. You spend hours, maybe even days, on this treasure you've brought to the surface, only to find out (when you go back to edit) that it's crap.
...

So, I'm reading [I]The Pocket Muse [/I]by Monica Wood as (you guessed it) inspiration for a writing course I am developing. As a writer myself, I found this list interesting, but rather than just post it, I wanted to add my 2 cents, just because. I hope you find both the list and my comments useful!

[B]1. Don't wait for inspiration; establish a writing habit.[/B]

Man, do I know that. Sometimes, inspiration hits you when you're in the shower, in the middle of a meeting, ...

"No more fooling around.

Set an egg timer for forty-five minutes, and don't get out of the chair until the timer dings. Even if you sit staring at the page the entire time, you're ingraining a habit.

Chickens and fraidy-cats may begin with five-minute segments."

The Pocket Muse, Monica Wood

I visited the Aran Islands in 2005 and found myself at a place beyond my imagination. Housed on the edge of a cliff (hundreds of feet above the ocean) on the island of Inishmore was a stone fort aging back to the Iron Age—Dún Dúchathair (The Black Fort). The stones of these forts have no mortar; they're just standing on their own without any ropes or fences.

When I visited this fort, early one morning, a dog was roaming around, sniffing the rocks, and when I ventured a little closer ...