I was five. The line between reality and make-believe hadn't yet been stacked with stones and set with mortar. My mind played with the stories I heard or saw on television. One particular story earned me a spanking.In the cartoon, a child drew buildings on a wall. When he finished, he stepped back to admire his handiwork. Observing wasn't enough. He opened one of the doors to enter another world.
Hmm.
My sister was playing at a friend's house. My mother peeled potatoes. And I owned a red crayon like the child in the cartoon.
The only wall big enough for my "town" was next to the front door. The clapboard siding made straight lines a challenge, but I've seen my kindergarten artwork, and I had difficulty with straight lines on paper too.
Like the cartoon boy, I stepped back and admired my row of buildings. I'd been careful to draw the doors big enough to walk through and multi-paned windows to look back to my world. My heart plummeted to the basement when a turn of the doorknob didn't open up another world.
I ran to my mother for sympathy.
Mom stood with hands on hips and shaking her head. "Patti Ann! You shouldn't draw on the walls. Those are made-up stories. You can't walk through walls. Now, follow me."
Oh.
When I sit down to write, there are still voices clamoring to tell me what I can and can't do. If I listen to them, all I'm left with is my rational self who must make sense of everything and squeezes all that is golden out of the imagination. I start second-guessing myself, saying things like, "Is this where I want to start the story?" or "That character would never do that."
There will be plenty of time to ask these questions with a WIP. But first, writers must trust themselves and be daring enough to shush the voices. I start this process by praying. This is time to banish fear with some Holy Ghost involvement. And then I give myself a pep talk that sounds something like this:
You're in your play clothes. It's okay to get dirty. Today, you can be a pirate, a snow queen, or a girl struggling to keep her family together. You're bold. Rash. Daring. Afraid of nothing. Sharpen your red crayon. You have worlds to discover!
As a reader, what books have left you breathless by the author's ability to take you to amazing places that were real, imagined, or a little of both? And I'm not talking about geography only. Emotions and events can be destinations too. And for writers: How do you quiet the voices and unleash your creativity? You do hear voices, don't you? I can't be the only one!
My sister was playing at a friend's house. My mother peeled potatoes. And I owned a red crayon like the child in the cartoon.
The only wall big enough for my "town" was next to the front door. The clapboard siding made straight lines a challenge, but I've seen my kindergarten artwork, and I had difficulty with straight lines on paper too.
Like the cartoon boy, I stepped back and admired my row of buildings. I'd been careful to draw the doors big enough to walk through and multi-paned windows to look back to my world. My heart plummeted to the basement when a turn of the doorknob didn't open up another world.
I ran to my mother for sympathy.
Mom stood with hands on hips and shaking her head. "Patti Ann! You shouldn't draw on the walls. Those are made-up stories. You can't walk through walls. Now, follow me."
Oh.
When I sit down to write, there are still voices clamoring to tell me what I can and can't do. If I listen to them, all I'm left with is my rational self who must make sense of everything and squeezes all that is golden out of the imagination. I start second-guessing myself, saying things like, "Is this where I want to start the story?" or "That character would never do that."
There will be plenty of time to ask these questions with a WIP. But first, writers must trust themselves and be daring enough to shush the voices. I start this process by praying. This is time to banish fear with some Holy Ghost involvement. And then I give myself a pep talk that sounds something like this:
You're in your play clothes. It's okay to get dirty. Today, you can be a pirate, a snow queen, or a girl struggling to keep her family together. You're bold. Rash. Daring. Afraid of nothing. Sharpen your red crayon. You have worlds to discover!
As a reader, what books have left you breathless by the author's ability to take you to amazing places that were real, imagined, or a little of both? And I'm not talking about geography only. Emotions and events can be destinations too. And for writers: How do you quiet the voices and unleash your creativity? You do hear voices, don't you? I can't be the only one!
