I’m traveling this week with my junior high girlfriend—yes, we’ve been friends since 8th grade and we’ve had many adventures together. We’ve shared the passages of our lives. And I’ve used some of our stories in my writings—probably not so she would recognize them, however, because generally I just extract various attitudes, perspectives, impressions and lessons from them.
I’m sure that you do this in your writing. You have learned a lot over the years from some of your experiences. Whether you know it or not, you use phrases, points, ideas and even entire storylines from your life events and activities and lessons.
The next time you balk at taking time off from your writing or you feel neglectful because you do, consider all that you could ultimately bring back to your writing.
• A fresh outlook—renewed energy.
• New ideas and storylines for your fiction or nonfiction work.
• Unique phrases and points of view from those you meet.
If I discuss writing or publishing with a stranger, for example, I often walk away with a new blog post, article or even book in mind. When I’m doing a book festival or I’m out speaking to authors, I carry a pen and pad to jot down all of the ideas that occur to me from audience questions, discussions with authors, etc.
I have several more days of travel and adventure here in San Antonio and I’m eager to see what might inspire new writings when I get home.
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