A Fractal
* picture curtesy of somewhere on the interwebs
Today I have had many ideas on what to post… Talking about the Flash Fiction course I started last week. Or maybe what motivation; as I seem to be lacking. I have thought to run my errands, and then blog about it in my main characters “voice”. Then there is all those books I love to read, that have inspired and encouraged me to write my own books. And yet… here I sit. None of them feel right today!
So I have decided that is exactly the right thing to write about. When you have plenty of ideas, but none of them “feel” like the one to actually write about! It isn’t that I have “too many” ideas, and I can’t pick one, it is just that none of them seem like what I feel to write about today.
I am not one to write about current events, but storms have ripped across the US, thankfully none severe here. This causes me to reflect. I have been in more than my fair share of tornadoes, some pretty bad ones. I feel for those who are going through this time of terror, it makes my own storm issues seem so petty. You see, having been in a trailer house, having a tree come through above me and then later watching, from my living room the massive tornado that tore through Wadena, Minnesota I have a, let’s just say “healthy respect” for storms of any sort. (Meaning I have spent the past three days in various states of panic) So… I feel for those who have been in the path of this storm, my thoughts are with them today.
What about you? Have you ever had plenty ideas of what to write, but none of them “felt” right? What about the massive storms? Have you been in their path? Are your thoughts, like my mine, lost somewhere with them?
Random Acts of Writing 
It seems the storms have had a similar effect on me…. I can’t work on anything! Usually I really enjoy this sort of weather. And it’s not that I’m not enjoying it, it’s just not translating into anything. I guess I’m grateful for not getting the dangerous end of all the sound and fury, though!
I am never productive during storms, (unless of course you call freaking out productive)
I too am most thankful, just before the rain started there was that massive fire around here… I would not want to add bad storm to the mix… (I am pretty sure the fire is out, what with all the wet, but there was a lot of damage)
Definitely. When I get that flusterpated, I try just making myself write and see what comes out and if I can eventually work my way around to something that inspires me. Most of the time it works. The biggest trick is making myself do it rather than chickening out and going off to read a book.
That is basically, exactly what I did… which is how I figured out that the storms were weighing so heavily on my mind.
Now to see if maybe I can get something into my story, I am so close to done, I really want this draft/outline finished!!! Might just be that a big storm is in order… the symbolism would be fitting in the end of my work and would help tie up some issues…
The storms have been pretty horrible. I feel awful for the people in Oklahoma. We’ve had a lot of flooding in my area in the last month or so. As for ideas, yeah, some ideas don’t feel right for a specific time. But my problem lies not in having too many ideas (well, I have a number of them) but in slowing down long enough to draft. I need to be in a quiet place in my head so that I can sit and inhabit the world of my characters. I can’t get to that place if I’m worried about stuff (paying bills for instance) or have too many obligations on my plate. How about you?
I can write anytime!!! Five years with my wife, going through cancer treatment, taught me to be able to write anywhere, and most often my best writing came from hospital waiting rooms!!! (And trust me, more often than not you have so many worries in your head when doing that, you can’t just… let them go)
I don’t ever “slow down” to draft… I hammer out hundreds of words in a few minutes. I don’t think/worry about how good they are… that comes later. I just hammer them out. Quick little snippits and before you know it, you have a finished draft!
You are awesome. 🙂
lol, nah, learning to adapt is the necessary of all evils!!! I was in an impossible situation where I had to learn to be able to do if I ever wanted to… so I did.
Everyone is capable! It just takes a strong enough will and want!
You sound like a strong person who has dealt with a lot and I am sure that has given you much inspiration. Sometimes although you have a lot to say, it’s hard to say exactly what you want and in that regard, I completely agree. Thank you for following and for sharing your story. 🙂
There are a large lack of ideas when you don’t fully live life… (and well, life has this way of filling us full!)
Thanks for your thoughts
I feel bad for Oklahoma, yet somehow the first thing that went through my mind was how Friedmanites would again implement “disaster capitalism.” 🙂
Anyways, in the moments I’m stuck, I’ll just start with gibberish, and move gradually to rant and write whatever words are floating around in my mind. That works for me. After a few minutes, usually something comes out that makes sense.
What saddens me is not so much the “disaster capitalism” but the political crap, and the regular people who say their governor (ect)… they didn’t want to help so and so, and that means, we shouldn’t help them. That garbage is just wrong.
I also like to ramble away, until I get through it. Most often that is how I find out what is really on my mind and causing the ‘block’. Like in this case, all the storms, and while how it is affecting me was heavy in my mind, knowing what it is like to be in their situation was also affecting me…