Never stop reading!  I have not been able to sit and really enjoy a good book for two years now, and as a result my ability to form my own plot lines and characters had completely stagnated!  I turned in my last final on Tuesday, and picked up a book on Weds to reward myself.  For the first time in years, I found myself tearing along on a rip roaring ride of fun and adventure, truly pulled into the plot and really enjoying myself.

Whats even better is that it completely kickstarted my lethargic brain into "inspiration mode," and I have been furiously writing down notes since then.

I never really understood the importance of others' work upon my own imagination, but this past week has made me truly appreciate the authors I love (JB of course being among them).  A big thank you to all of my favorite authors, and the people of this board for providing me with inspiration and direction on this ridiculously long trek towards completing my first story.

Wow, that made it sound like I'm finished.  That would be nice.  I'm still in the "outline" stage, as well as character development.  I DO have the major plots, settings and magical mechanics/terminology worked out though!