Nov 25 2008
Surprising Finds
I’ll begin today’s blog with a story:
Today, my (notorious) list of things to do included several “find” commands. In other words, I had to find my ledger in which I keep my writing income and expenses tallied, to find a missing book of sheet music, to find my school e-mail code so I could use it in class tonight, to find my paperwork so that I could renew my car’s registration (and make it legal to drive again). While at it, I reorganized my son’s room, which meant finding puzzle pieces, lids to boxes, game pieces, and various locations so that I could store everything I’d found.
Interestingly, though, choosing a thing to find often led, not to finding the object, but to finding something else (for the sake of sanity, I’ve decided to stop putting the word in italics). I searched in the hope chest for my missing music (that’s where I keep all my music, as my hope chest is also my piano bench). Instead of finding the music there, I found my writing ledger. One object down. I went out to the car to search for the music (I take my music everywhere with me), but there I found the old vehicle registration and my son’s lost mittens (not even on my list!).
I then switched gears out of frustration, and decided to search the shelves downstairs for my e-mail information. Not only did I find that, but I also happened upon the very Christmas music I’d been missing. And in the meantime I found various game pieces and puzzle pieces, blocks and cars scattered through everything. Some may very well have been lost since we moved in!
So, that’s the lesson. Can’t find something? Look for something else. You never know what might turn up.
What does that have to do with writing? Everything. Stuck on a scene? Write a different one, leaving space (and a note) to remind you the scene still needs doing. Stuck on a whole project? Go to another one, one that you’ve been stuck on previously. Don’t just sit there at the computer, staring at a blank screen. Switch gears. Who knows, the other project may seem unrelated to your first work, but the work you do on it may lead directly back to the first work, and may make it a much better work.
Lost something? Your sense of humor? Your feel for a particular character? Your desire to work on your novel? Your marbles?) Look for something else. You never know what you’ll find.
So, what have you lost recently, and what did you find when you went looking for it?
Great idea (although if I hate a book, that often keeps me from writing more)…I also like going to plays, especially ones that are new or otherwise unknown to me.
Even dramatic readings–in workshops, for the playwrights’ benefit, but not fully staged–inspire me to go back to my own stuff. And being around actors helps me, too. I tend to write a character with a certain person in mind, for some reason–not anybody famous, but somebody I know in real life.