Something inside me has changed ever since I’ve started this whole writing thing. I think I may have become more confident in myself. I actually look at anything I do or that I see happen in a completely different way than I used to. When I’m at a store, concert, or sporting event I’m always thinking about how the event can be translated into something that I can put on the blog.
I often wonder if that puts things in a different light than they should or do I perhaps miss something that I should take in a different manner because I’m not paying things there proper respect all because I’m writing it in my head. I’ve written about my uncles’ funeral that I probably should have paid much more attention to than I did. I probably should have been more in mourning than I was. It’s weird, I’ve actually found myself waking up on a day off trying to think of something to do and one of the criteria is that it has to be something that could make a good story.
I’ve done a few things that I probably never would have done if I weren’t going to write about it. Back in 2005 I did Karaoke and that’s something I would have never done if, in the back of my head, I weren’t planning to write about it. The same can obviously be said about my recent venture into stand up comedy. I can’t imagine anything giving me the motivation to do something like that if it wasn’t for my knowing I would be writing about it.
I don’t kid myself, I know I’m not going to write the “Great American Novel” but I’ve found something that sometimes make me feel like I’ve got something to offer. I get emails and comments, both good and bad, from literally all over the world. I’ve found that I can sometimes strike a chord with complete strangers just by sitting here in my lounge chair with my computer on my lap. I‘ve found a good friend in this writing thing and we can all use a good friend.
2 comments:
That is exactly the way I feel!
Good friends are hard to find :) and it helps to have at least one who is available, awake and coherent at 3 am.
My Mom used to say "put yourself to sleep every night with a really good story". "one with characters you can't wait to visit tomorrow night in that wind down time between sleep and wake". And most of all, make it YOUR story, don't forget Laughter, suspense, betrayal, quilt, Love, compassion,and most important, redemption, for these are the elements of great characters, which are the elements of great stories. As I get older, I still am writing my story, I used to think my Mom was just trying to get out of reading us to sleep. I now have my kids "writing their own stories" and they are loving it. (Thanks Mom) Kevin has even changed his major to journalism and is working on a story of a very successful traveling youth baseball team, and their take on the whole craze. It is so far called "View from the Dugout" but that will change. He wrote to all his old pals he played around the country with from 8-14 years old and asked for some contribution of memories and stories from that time. What he has received so far is very promising. I would love to take a weekend and write with you kev, you are my favorite unpublished author.
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