Like any writer, I
have been asked where the ideas come from.
And really, for me, ideas are easy.
Everything is a story. Heck,
given some of my beliefs, everything could be three stories!
The part that makes
writing "work", for me, is the development of the idea, fleshing it
out. Still being interested or curious
or passionate enough about the idea -- the next day or week or month -- to actually
put some energy into creating with it.
I have 2 file
cabinet drawers full of story ideas (obviously, this is pre-lap top) and many
other ideas floating around on scraps of paper and in random computer
files. There are over 200 officially
logged ideas - ideas neat enough to get names or synopses; and at least 100
more ideas hanging out. And of those
300 plus ideas, maybe 100 have endings, and maybe 50 are finished. Not revised, but at least written or broadly
outlined.
Actually, that's
pretty good, now I think about it.
Pretty good indeed.
This does not
include the songs & poems, most of which are finished. That's the nice
thing about writing poetry, for me. The flow & the words have to do with
the truth of the moment, so there isn't a lot of revision. There's
"good" & there's "shudder", but not much revision.
Writing stories
includes a lot of revision. At least for
me. At least right now. I'm learning.
Elusive Dreams is a quite
different story than the original idea #109 - which was actually called Cast of
One when it started. I think I wrote 3
distinctly different stories before everything settled into the book it is now. As opposed to Not Really a Murder Mystery, which had some rewrites but is
recognizably IDEA #68 all grown up.
I thought consistent
blogging might actually be a little easier - where easy equals have an idea,
write the idea, post the idea. Rather like a research paper, I suppose. Because blogging isn't even ideas so much as opinions,
right? And I'm the type of person who
can have philosophical breakthroughs while washing my hair. Heck, I could probably do two or three blogs
a week, considering how opinionated I become over some things. Give myself a deadline, sit down at my
friendly little keyboard, and type away.
Easy peasy!
And now my blog log
is full of half started rants, treatises on driving & commercials,
perspectives on relationships and faiths.
And I just don't care. I mean to
say, I still CARE, but I don't feel an emotional connection to the unfinished
pieces... At least, not enough of one to continue writing about any of
them. This week alone, I put in three
possible subjects, and none of them make me want to take up the torch. At least not right now, when I expected to be
editing so I can meet my deadline.
Right now, the commercial
relationship of faithful humans who drive feels as appealing as mayo on white.
("yum.")
But isn't that how we get through life? One idea at a time? We dream of where and how and who we wish to
be and one of those dreams creates a big enough light to stand out from the
rest. So we grasp that idea. Sometimes we carry that passion to the end,
sometimes it peters out and we're left with half-finished projects or another
job on our resume. And so we dreams and
grasp again. And perhaps that's all
that matters. We keep dreaming and keep
trying and keep adding up the experiences.
A favorite quote of mine, probably used before, is from Into the Woods: "How do you know what you
want 'til you get what you want and you see if you like it?" And sometimes we only like something for a
little while, like only artichoke hearts, and then we lose our taste for
it. That goes for anything, from food to
clothes to hobbies to jobs to relationships.
So I'll keep all the
ideas on my ideas list, story and blog.
From the modern Beauty and the Beast to the romance trilogy. I'll keep the story written entirely in
accounting entries, and I'll keep the story about the teenage band who secretly
run the town while their parents are working at a mysterious government
facility. (l wrote that when I was
14.) Heck. There's probably a market for it now.
I'll keep all the
ideas on my list, or wherever I have them stashed. There are so many possibilities in
ideas. Rather like potentials in
dreams. And as a writer, I can see each
one of them come true, in any shape I desire.
I can flit from idea to idea until the sparks fly between us.
So sometimes, the
question is not, how do I get ideas? The
question is, how do I stop getting ideas long enough to latch on to something I
can feel passionate about until the end?
Like this post.
About ideas.
Which is actually
finished.
Yay me!
Thank you. And I hope you have a great day!
