How to write

The words just aren’t flowing. When I plan to write a piece I get about one paragraph and then the well runs dry.  I sit at my computer and read the few sentences I’ve managed to eke out.  I have no idea where to go from here.  The process has become a chore instead of a pleasure, but writing is always a labor of love.  There is no greater satisfaction then creating something from nothing, whether it is art, music or literature.  To create something insightful, enjoyable or helpful to others makes the journey worth every hazard and heartache.  

I have started numerous articles, short stories and even novels. They’re sitting in the corner now until they learn to behave.  In the meantime, I keep starting.   I harvest ideas, plump fruits full of juicy opportunity and squeeze them till they run dry.  

Story ideas liter my path, crumbled little bits of inspiration I gather throughout the day.  

At work I listen to the conversations around me.  The best plot lines occur in every day life - just throw in a little fiction and change the names to protect the innocent (those little dollar bills in my wallet) and a story is started.

There is also a wide variety of characters at work - gender, age, cultural and social diversity.  I observe habits, personality traits, body language cues and listen to language, word choice, inflection, accents.  So much is said without words.

At home I read books, magazines, blogs and watch TV or movies for inspiration.  I take a familiar story and turn it around so it’s viewed from another perspective or I’ll change the course of the plot zigging left instead of right at a pivotal moment.

I also think about my own life story. Writing is the most personal expression of who we are as human beings.  At work, school or home we wear the appropriate costume and mask, but our words unveil us.  I use family traditions, fleeting moments and splices of conversations in my work.  In fact, my daughters read my short stories and see themselves.  Little do they know, I see myself too.

Personal experiences to share in whole or in part: marriage, having a baby, raising children, living with (and not killing) teenagers, death, divorce, financial failure or success, vacations, confrontations, adventures.

I’ll keep collecting ideas, starting and stalling and maybe sometime (hopefully very soon) I’ll see a story through to the end.  When that time comes, I’ll have lots of stories to choose from.