That, to some extent, explains why I write. My office is full of varied size pieces of paper that I have jotted down ideas or thoughts that come to me at all hours of the day and night. An inspection, of what I have started calling my Idea Desk, will render napkins from all sorts of restaurants, business cards from all over the United States and some foreign, fast food restaurant receipts and scrapes of all sorts of paper or cardboard that I have torn from envelopes, stationary, legal pads and boxes. There is one thing that all these pieces of scrap have in common; each contains a thought that occurred to me while away from home and that I felt necessary to jot down. These thoughts may of may not have anything to do with the place or person that gave me the scrap.
From example; I have a business card from an appliance store that was given to me by a salesman when I bought a new refrigerator. On it I have written, "2011 Kia Optima can have backup cameras installed". I do not have a Kia nor will I be buying one but I thought that it might be a good car for a character I was developing and a backup camera is essential to a scene I was writing. I saw the Kia parked in the appliance store parking lot, chatted with the owner and jotted down the information on the appliance store business card. LOL!! And yes, I talk with strangers a lot because people, in my opinion, are a writers fodder for thought and ideas.
" Writing is a rediscovery of my experiences, in a good way, with my opinion attached to it."~~ Rita Wilson
Rita Wilson is an accomplished writer and actress. Her thoughts about writing mimic my own almost to the letter. For me I would add 'in a good and bad way' because I find inspiration in my bad experiences; no matter how dreadful they might have been. I also find closure when write about 'the bad times'.
From an interview with Rita Wilson, "You have to get over the self-consciousness of what people think. For me, that is the No. 1 thing, because that will trap you. That voice in your head that says, “You can’t do this. Are you insane? There are people who have been doing this for years. Who do you think you are?" We put imaginary limits on ourselves that are destructive, and we should never allow that voice to play a part in the situation. If you really have a passion for something, then just do it. Find a way to do it!"
I could not agree more with any statement about 'living your life'. Writing is a challenge for me. Whether you, the reader, likes what I write is of less important to me than the actual writing itself. Of course I want people to read what I have written but, and you can bank this, I would have written it even if I knew that No One was going to read it. First and foremost I write for myself and if someone finds what I write helpful or entertaining than that is a bonus that I am quite humble to accept.
Gavin de Becker is an amazing author who wrote this book called The Gift Of Fear. It’s all about trusting your instincts. He says your instinct is like a muscle that needs to be exercised, and the more you use it the stronger it gets. I can credit Rita Wilson, through an interview she did, for turning me on to this book
Ergo my scarp paper collection. I trust what I see, what I feel and what is interesting to me. I swear that if I did not write something everyday I would go mad. My thoughts have to be played out through my writing or they will literally tear me apart.
Love ya,
Night
PS.....For the 2 or 3 of you that were reading the chapters from 'Nights Dance To Day'; that concept is now under contract and I can not include it in the Blog at this time. It will have some major rewrites and when it comes out will be paired with 'Nights Dark Dance'. If you leave me an email address in the Blogs Comment section I will find a way to get you a free copy of both books when they are available.
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