The journey of words

Writing is a journey of words that helps you discover a story that hasn’t been written yet.  It starts with a seed of an idea, planted in the garden of your mind.  An idea can come from a conversation you heard, a sign on the highway or even a dream and  grow when write them down.   When I was in college, many years ago,  my creative writing, teacher, told us to keep an idea book. “Ideas are everywhere if you take the time to look for them.”  I bought a small notebook and started paying attention  to sights, sounds, tastes, and how things feel against my skin, as well as my surroundings.

These new observations were seeds of ideas I could use later on and I did.  One day, I observed a trail of ants carrying tiny pieces of food across the sidewalk. I wondered where they found the food and where they were going and what was it like to be an ant. I took those observations and turned them into a short story. I still have that story and many others sitting in my file drawer waiting to be reborn.  Don’t throw away your stories.  As writer, you put your heart and soul into your stories so don’t throw them away. Woven between the lines of every story are unique threads of creativity, imagination, insight and wisdom. which reveals your voice as a writer.  It’s a journey of words that turns the mundane things of this world into something magical that others will want to read. 

Good writers are avid readers   If you want to improve you skills as a writer, be an avid reader. Read the kind of books, stories, articles etc, that you want to write about and get Reading will help learn your craft and how to do it better. There’s lots of free advice out there from writers, but be careful who you get your advice from.  For example: if you have a plumbing problem in your home, who would you call?  A plumber of course because they’re an expert. Writing is the same way,  get your information from the experts.   Read books, get involved with a well establish writers group, and go to conferences if you can.  But in order for the words to flow you have to turn on the faucet. .  labeled practice and so your journey of words can begin.  

J.L Wallace.