Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Twelve Hours To Nowhere

I once heard that JK Rowling dreamed up her idea for Harry Potter while riding a train.  I tried this two weeks ago while on a very long car ride.  I had already googled everything I could think of, checked out social media, told the kids to stop fighting, took a nap, told the kids to stop fighting again, watched a movie, and read a book.  (The last two I did sparingly as I tend to get motion sickness).

By then I was bored and desperate for entertainment, but I couldn't write.  I had nothing to go on and staring at nothing for twelve hours wasn't helping. And of course a carload of kids wasn't very inspirational either.  Too many negative distractions.

Then seven hours into our car ride we encountered a funeral procession.  It was on the other side of the freeway from us and for some reason inspiration finally found me.  I spent the next five hours thinking, plotting, and jotting down notes.  By the end of the trip though I'd scrapped the project.  I wasn't really digging it after all and I really can't afford to take on another project, but who knows maybe those characters will demand their story to be told and I will revisit them someday.

So if I'm not going to even work on that project, why even bring it up?  Well, I think it is good idea for writers to practice their craft and even try writing genre outside their comfort zone because the more we write the better we get.  So get out there and write this summer.  I don't care what it is just write and if you aren't really "feeling" your story, then by all means set it free.  Happy writing, safe travels.

FYI - yes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but no pictures this time in order to make a point.  My drive was that BORING!!!

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