by Elizabeth Langford
Inspiration/ideas can be as fine as dust or as sharply detailed and outstanding as a Mozart concerto. Life experiences can all be used as transports into dimensions unknown, and become such a headache you will have to write to get any sleep!
Person: You go to the PTA meeting. You see a neighbor you cannot stand coming over to sit next to you. What action do you take? Will you choose a serious one: nod your head in greeting then ignore them as he/she sits next to you? Or, be creative: fill a balloon with helium grab a hold of the end then be lifted away from the debacle of boredom to the Bahamas and land on Treasure Island? Would you take your wife? Husband? The choices you make during a hit of inspiration develop characters, scenes and possible dialogue situations. My neck is starting to tingle with pain.
Place: What do you see first, the sentence or the picture? You glance at a mural painted in loud, bold temperas on a storefront. Red shorts with purple dots, splashes of black with earrings punctured through the black. (Next Tylenol!) What comes to your mind about this place, and how do you feel? Would you want it to be a drugstore? How do the people look? Where do you think they should live? Should they be floating over the sidewalk or driving a Mercedes?
Thing: What you think you should see, may not be. For example: A plastic helmet shaped like a Northern Pike is glued to the hood of a neon orange truck that has moose antlers strapped on to the front grill. A flower of cigarettes is sprouting behind the left driver side mirror. There are no fishing rods or tackle boxes lying in wait on the bed. Why does my right eye want to close? The pill is not working. I still see the moose. Where’s the hunter?
Humor: Have you never been tempted to wear clothespins while changing a babes diaper- hold your breath and count to a 1000. Let yourself be silly. The less judgments made the better. The twists and turns of how we approach a problem in writing add depth to a character or scene or twists to a plot. Alternatively, horrors, after all that writing could take you somewhere NEW. Yippee! I am tripping. Oops, sorry, It is the gas. As one doctor said to another: "The writer died from an over inhalation of oxygen and baby diaper gas. Oi!" Of course, you know this will never happen, fun thinking about, though, when you have enemies. Hee, hee, hee. My eyes are crossing. Tylenol please. Hello, nurse?
Hearing: What do they say? (Watch your step!) Even the most boring conversation can reveal much about people or, oh no, me. How many teardrops fall before pain leaves? Do their words bring impressions to your mind? Write it down. Use a clean napkin. What made you stop? Yes, falling asleep is important but not in your soup. No drowning allowed. Do you need Bonnie Raitt, Motley Crew or Mozart to rattle your cage? Try every kind of music.
Find the hook that grabs you. Hooks are everywhere. Very little is sacred to the prying mind of a writer. Even if you think you have reached the Twilight Zone as far as impressions-write. I have boxes and piles of different stories in production or just ramblings slung against the wall of my apartment. It does make interesting wallpaper. Alternatively, I have inundated my writing group with my stream of consciousness poems just to keep my mind popping.
The challenge-a story, vignette, snapshot, article or novel may not be immediate; but it will come. Hearing, seeing, tasting how life feels demand attention. They storm through the mind and heart of a writer like water down a stream-silently serene or uproariously loud and splashing against the banks of your resistance until you must write down what is overwhelming you for ideas have a life of their own. All right! Where did you hide my Tylenol? I cannot stand it anymore; I am off to find an ice pack.
As I lay on the grass
Spanish Galleons float by
I walk onto a cloud-plank and see
Gold rays on the horizon
I dive into a vat of
Salt pickles
Potato chips
Ants
Hot dogs skewered through and through
With stick swords
Make Fourth of July memorable
What do you see?
What do you hear?
Did you, perchance, write it down?
This article is by Elizabeth Langford, who has just turned 53. This is her first published piece. She hopes to build a network of goodness through her writing that can benefit others who maybe afraid to try writing.
You can e-mail Elizabeth at birdahoy@mindspring.com
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