For my first post, what inspired me to write in my new novel is Paramore’s Monster. A hit single from the Transformers: Dark of the Moon soundtrack, both the song and video have become a great creative source for me in recent months. Both with a surface and beneath the surface message, this song spoke to me because it not only had a great sound and embodied the rock sound of recent years, but because it told a story all its own. Granted, the story may not be the same to everyone, but that is the mark of a truly great song. A song that truly speaks to each individual person and finds a level that they can either relate to or picture in their mind. This song told two stories: In one, it told of a person divided. A person who had a moral compass, but was plagued with a great darkness that dwelled deep within them. One day, these two halves finally collide, and an internal struggle arises, until finally, one overpowers the other, and the world goes to the victor. In the other story, it spoke on a deeper level, speaking of our insecurities and fear of the outside world overpowering us all, and the struggle that comes with making a name for ourselves. Everyone can attest to a struggle like this at some point or another in their lives, and this is something that I like to bring to my characters. The mark of a good, richly developed character is the integration of depth, and the emotional pull that each character gives off that either has the reader hating them or loving them. This is what inspired me in recent months, and the first Creative Inspiration of 2012.