If You Want To Write: Seize the Day!

By K Wordbird Bate  Expert Writing Coach

     We think of writers holed up day-after-day in their lonely writer’s garret. They eat bread and cheese, slosh down coffee or booze, and pour out their souls in a dimly lighted, bug infested “loft.”  Many a writer of yesteryear did live just that way.  Their sensitive awareness of social conditions and the inner human world sometimes made them unpopular, and life difficult. There are recluse writers also, who astound us by producing a tapestry of stories full of true-to-life details on wealth, or intricate relationship, which that writer never experienced. Sitting at a comfortable ladies desk in the suburbs, one can write up a swashbuckling’ pirate. We do not have to live a story, to bring it to life.

     On the other hand, with few exceptions, a writer has experienced the landscape, the people, the struggle, or similar feelings, related to what he or she writes. Experience is our best material. Many a writer complains of the isolation that limits writing. The more life we embrace, the deeper, broader and more fully we can put experience into words.

     I have not talked about classes and workshops yet, but, with some reservations, I am supportive of all the involvement, learning, and opportunity in the writing world you can find and attend. I sure owe great debt to many writing teachers, lecturers, and fellow students, not only for what they taught me, but also for the encouragement they offered.

     One such workshop stands out for me today, when I talk about writers and life experience. With apologies to all, I cannot remember this playwright’s name, as it was many years ago, except that it was John. John’s view on writers is that you cannot hope to write vivid, believable stories “when you are sitting alone at a desk.’ He talked about writing dialogue, for instance. “How can you tell an actor what should come out of his mouth, from your chair in your house? You’ve got to get UP.” 

     Often writers describe themselves as “observers” of life, watching from the outside, rather than participants. I believe we can, and should, be both keen observers, and active participants, in a balance suited to us.   

     Create experiences. Let them fill you as a person, and deepen your spirit and knowledge. Create a habit of living as fully as possible. I do not mean wild and crazy. That’s to avoid life. Full living is like this:  you are walking along a city street, and you pass a tiny alley. You notice it is painted azure blue. You glimpse some kind of café, far down at the end…GO in. 

     Doors open, and we walk through, to create fuller lives. My friend had an extra ticket to hear a concert pianist, and though I did not think I would enjoy it, I said yes. I was listening there in the dark, to beautiful music, when my friend came in.  To my horror, I see her trip, and tumble right over the back of the seats. A woman dressed in evening gown black, wearing sequins and high heels, just fell directly over the back of the seats! Her legs are upended and kicking. Yet not one person makes a sound. The pianist goes on playing. The audience goes on listening. No one moves to help.  My friend, astoundingly, is also silent. She uprights herself, smoothes her dress and takes her seat.  She explained later that one simply does not make noise, in a concert hall.

     If I had said no thanks, I’m busy, I don’t care for piano music, I would have missed that bizarre and fascinating social experience. I said yes, and so I learned something about a world foreign to me. I also grew in music, and in friendship. Throughout my life, I say “yes” to opportunities and experiences, and as a result, I have thousands of small and large, ordinary and unusual experiences that form my view of the world, and fill the well of my spirit and my creativity.  For a writer, this means having a lot to say and share.

     Other experiences not missed:  learning to snow ski on my face. A young boy from the poverty projects who fell off his bike. A wrong turn, to discover a lighted Christmas Store.  This sign by the side of the road, “World’s Fattest Gopher.”  Habitat for Humanity. A phone call to offer me a job for which I had not applied. Scorpions sunning on the highway.  

     Accept opportunities. Fill up your writing source. Say yes, yes, yes, to connecting with, stopping for, following, and experiencing life. Walk through doors, follow sounds, meet people, and try new things. Then…write it down, in detail, at your desk.

Let Yourself Bloom

© Kimberly Bate

photo of South African alley by catz2