Last night I shared a quiet night with a friend I respect, love, and am honoured to know. That would be the graceful, angelic, and earnest
LITERAL GIRL (Or Karen Q. Cutie).
Star of India (mmmm quality yummy in my tummyness),
Singing through some of my new tunes,
Watching the "Idol" and critiquing (WOW to Li'l Rounds and WOW squared to the name "Li'l Rounds"),
Reading my stories to KQ,
Discussing her adorable creation and my nephew (I swear we are in the same bloodline, if not then we are most assuredly in the same HEARTline...) Quin, the most hysterical and charming child I have ever known,
Playing "Civilization" (as if I needed a NEW obsession),
and
Just bonding and seeing each other once more.
I have said it before, but I shall say it again:
KQ, Quinster, and Jay Ray are incomparable roomies. I love my new place, but I do miss them and our nights of Nerts, drinkies, and I even miss "Dora". Good that they live only a few miles away. Otherwise, I would go through withdrawal.
AND IT HAPPENED...
Earlier than anticipated. I started feeling the upcoming event of my summer, the saga of the Potter, in this year of "The Half Blood Prince". I try to delay the moment when my psyche realizes the film will be in theatres soon for I begin fixating, daydreaming, anticipating... but I came upon a new poster for the film and had to take a few quiet moments and gaze at its simplicity and perfection. I (and other Potterscars -- that is the nickname I just created and I am trademarking that puppy) was crushed at the 8 month delay of the sixth installment, but it is impending, looming around the labyrinth of summer cinematic fare. In all things Potter, I am in awe.
My demonic story idea has morphed into a collection of five short stories entitled: "Karma's Whimsical Homage (In the Tender Hands of Grief)" chronicling different types of grief and the journey therein. I hope to be finished in the next couple months. It is just writing itself and I am trying to keep up with the muse and not miss a plot point or snippet of dialogue.
I did some research online and could not find the exact author of this quote, but it is widely known although a bit ambiguous. I found a thoughtful writing on the subject that I thought clarified the quote and made sense to me. Here is a portion of that work:
Write What You Know -- Because You Know More than You Think!
by Marg Gilks
Write what you know.
That's probably the most misleading advice any writer can get. It builds walls in the writer's mind, imposing artificial limitations bred of uncertainty. How many writers, hearing those four words, have despaired? Those leading quiet, normal -- boring -- lives no doubt think that nothing of interest happens to them; if they are limited to writing within the parameters of their own life, why bother? A laundry list would be as interesting.
How can what you know make an interesting story?
Maybe before asking how, we should first ask why. Why, in a world of Star Wars, The Exorcist and Dracula, are we told to write what we know?
Because none of those stories would have worked, if there weren't enough of our real lives in them to make them believable. If there was nothing that the reader or viewer could identify with in those stories, they would not have succeeded.
Who has ever experienced a stellar dog fight? Do you think anyone has ever actually seen a girl's head turn around, or staked a vampire? Were George Lucas, William Peter Blatty and Bram Stoker following the advice "write what you know" when they wrote their stories?
Yup.
Universal Experiences
What you know isn't always what you see around you. It's not just the material life you live. You know a lot more than that.
(THE END)
I certainly know grief and I think that I understand fictitious creatures as much as I do everyday humans. So, I am applying these principles and I agree with what he articulated.
I just thought about Potter again, it is like Hogwarts contractions although not painful... until the last week when I cannot sleep ala a child before Christmas.
And, I cannot even wrap my mind around this so I shall just jot a quick note and inform the world that in May I am traversing to Ohio to see a certain favourite singer of mine perform with a LIVE orchestra in a night of Broadway. If I were to expound on this, I might just evaporate for talking about Potter and Patty (I wrote it and, hey, that sounds like a law firm) at the same time is stimulus overload.
I cannot believe she is performing Broadway material. When I saw this on her TOUR icon of her website I sat and stared at the screen for a minute making sure I was reading it accurately. I am seeing two of the three nights of the concert. She is .......... (The ellipses indicate there are no words to describe her, in any language, any tongue.) I love having events in the upcoming months that tickle the soul and enrich the senses.
I am twitching due to excitement so I better let you go,
Dustin
Comments