“O” my!
One has to be observant as a writer. You need to be aware of what is happening around you both visually and auditorially, for that is where you get your ideas from to create. Thinking about it, you need to be cognizant of all of your senses for your muse needs this sustenance to guide you in your writing.
Of course, it helps to be open-minded to ideas from your muse, whether they be old or new. You don’t just want to create something that is just okay, but rather something that will inspire. Your stories should not be obvious, otherwise, your readers won’t want to read them.
Take something as simple as myself being OCD to obsessing about eating oatmeal every Saturday morning and in a particular way, from the front of my bowl to the back. Not very exciting, but add having breakfast with an octopus where some oaf comes by and turns my bowl around, and your story changes. That is not what one would call routine or usual and might capture the interest of your audience.
Once, I was sitting under an oak tree listening to an Oom-Pah-Pah band marching down the street when an odd thing occurred as one of the tuba players started to turn red as if he was being influenced by some occult ritual. “OMG!” I shouted. I decided to write down what I was happening, being optimistic that there was a story here somewhere.
It was the sounds of people screaming, the sight of the tuba player as he was burning up, the smell of burnt flesh, my skin crawling as I clutched my pen and wrote. That is what a writer has to be aware of as the story unfolds. That is what will engage and captivate your readers.
Then again, some of us like the mundane, the routine, the historical significance of personal stories. To each their own.
Oh my! My creative muse tells me my October Library writing time using a list of “O” words has ended for today. Till next time. Readers out there, keep in mind I’ll be looking out for you, pen and notebook in hand. My muse is hungry.
