The Air in Me Whispers Stories But Where Do They Come From?
Over the years I have heard the question asked many times to writers; where
do you get your inspiration?
There are as many answers to that question as there are
the numbers of times it has been asked. Each writer has their personal bag of
tricks, and I am no different.
To the young writer struggling to find that magic pill
that will transform him or her into the next best thing on the New York Times
Best Sellers List, let me suggest three favorites of mine.
Over the next three weeks I am going to share three from my bag of tricks; they work for me and if they end up working for you, that much the better.
Life:
It’s going to go on with or without you…so take your
place in line
The first thing any writer needs to experience is Life. I think Mr. Thoreau had the right idea.
If you have experienced the sadness of heart break through
the death of a loved one, the pain of divorce, the joy of birth, the climb to
the top of the mountain and the tumble down…then you have experienced Life, and that’s just the
tip of the iceberg.
I want to share a story that happened the other day. I was
waiting for the bus and an old lady came my way. She was rather rotund, limping
from a bad leg, and she had a little Pomeranian on a leash. This friendly old
lady sat next to me, perspiration falling from her forehead, breathing heavily,
she calmed herself enough to tell me a story about her little dog. “I got him
for free from the Humane Society,” she said, taking in a breath of air, she went
on, “I went to the Humane Society and told them I was looking for a replacement
for a dog I’d had for a long time. I described what I was looking for when one
of the volunteers said, come back tomorrow, that’s when we give the dogs away
for free to senior citizens.”
Now stopping long enough to give her little buddy a
doggie biscuit, she went on with her story. “They were so nice to me, showing
me a selection of pets to choose from, they were all adorable, but I knew
immediately when they brought him in that he was the one I would take home. He
came up to me, jumped on my lap and stayed close, hoping I would take him home.
One of the volunteers said, ‘he’s got a few flaws, he is
not perfect.’ I protested asking what’s wrong with him. The volunteer said, ‘well,
he has an under bite and his left eye wanders.’ I simply replied, just look at
me; I’m old, overweight, filled with flaws from a tough life, which tells me,
we’re a perfect fit. We each faced the storms of life to come out on the other
end, together.
This old lady truly understood that Life does happen and occasionally
it offers a happy ending, and that always makes a good story.
My challenge to you, young writer is to think about your Life experiences and then go out and find
an old lady at a bus stop, a person sitting alone in a coffee shop, or a
neighbor you have never talked to, and I would be willing to wager that she or he
has a story for you.
In his book, “The Art of Dramatic Writing” Lajos Egri
says, “You, however, should never write anything you do not believe.”
In my humble opinion, Life is the greatest gig I could ever get.
In my next blog we’ll discuss the power of passion in a
writer’s life.
Photos are courtesy of Google Images and Jody Miller
.
As always thanks for reading The Air in Me.
Dan
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