As a writer have you ever asked yourself why you do? Having been writing stuff down most of my life, I have never really stopped and asked the question. In explanation it’s like this. There are all these stories we carry in our head that can’t escape.
Going about the daily grind of living, these stories come to mind, some people call them daydreams. For the most part I let them evolve. Most of them just disappear to wherever untold stories go. Now this might sound a bit wacky but it’s fun.
Writing is a lonely life as most writers can attest, your only friends, the characters trying to escape your mind onto the page before you. I can honestly say I have never had writers block, as soon as I start typing the words flow. Now sometimes they don’t say exactly what I want too but it’s no trouble to go back and fix it all up.
Right next to my shoulder is a bookcase with many of my favourite books. The one most used is an original edition of the Readers Digest Oxford Complete Wordfinder 1993. It’s of some 2000 pages in length and I am quite sure I’ve visited every one. I’ve also a copy of the World Book Dictionary from 1977. Of course no writers bookshelf is complete without a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus. I call these my tools of the trade.
Just for fun I love to open a dictionary and use the first word to catch my eye, to write a paragraph using it.
I just did that and the word “gaudy” tastleselessly or extravagantly bright or showy. Flashed up.
So I wrote the following….
“The day was as hot as hell and I had played hooky from school. What boy wouldn’t? the circus was in town and nothing would keep me away. I just loved to hang around as the crew put up the Big Top and fed the animals. I especially loved the gaudy costumes of the clowns.”
You should try it. It is a great exercise and a lot of fun.
Happy writing.
Milton