Distractions and Inspirations

It's funny that I wrote last about "what your writing life needs", because this week, I've ended up asking myself that very question. I'm participating in Book-in-a-Week, with a goal of writing 60 pages by Sunday night. So far, I've written about 16. Not sure I'm going to make it!

This has been a week of many distractions: a friend in surgery, an elderly and cranky dog, various doctor appointments, and a host of major decisions to make (you know--raspberry chocolate chunk ice cream versus waffle cone extravaganza...okay, just kidding). So I've been storing up thoughts about life more than writing.

Thoughts and observations about life are what bring our writing, well, to life. So here are a few of my thoughts/observations from this week:

• Friends, family, and loved ones aren't forever... I need to make sure that my relationships remain top priority in my life.


• Getting glasses for the first time is miraculous... When a kid puts on his first pair of glasses, he discovers a world full of more detail than he ever imagined. The clouds have texture and shape; the trees have individual leaves; the sidewalk has cracks and crevices.


• Aging... All of us deal with it, in ourselves and in others. Aging changes people and animals on the outside. Sometimes on the inside, too.


• Callouses... When you live with something long enough, you stop noticing it. You stop remembering that it's not normal to ______________ --you fill in the blank. Sometimes, you need to see your life through someone else's eyes to remember what "normal" looks like.


• Denial... Some people will deny the truth, even when presented with incontrovertible evidence, because they don't want to believe it. Parents will deny that their kid stole something; kids will deny that their parent abused them; people deny their addictions.

No, they aren't necessarily new ideas--but they have renewed meaning for me. When I pull these ideas into my stories, I become a better writer.

And if you write some great story around one of these thoughts, you have to tell me!

:) Cheryl