Written on the plane back from Seattle...
Five days later and not one more productive written word. Writing fail?
...maybe
To be honest (brace yourself for an excuse) there really wasn't much time to think about story lines or plot twists. When we weren't hiking or driving to the next hiking location, we were desperately looking for a gas station, refueling ourselves on salmon and crab, or spending some quality bonding time with our pillows.
After spending a week living the granola crunchy life a point to ponder started brewing in the back of my head. Now on the way home, while thumbing through a backpacker magazine I purchased at the news stand in the SeaTac terminal that pondered point really solidified. Every other page in this periodical had an add for a high tech gadget GPS fire starter whatchamawhoozit, hiking trail maps to download to your iPhone and carbon fiber coffee cups that double as radio booster. (All of a sudden images from City Slickers were flashing through my head of the battery powered coffee grinder and the ensuing mayhem.)
I began to wonder if these outdoor creature comforts were ruining the get-back-to-nature experience. Similarly do iPads, laptops, and other marvels of modern technology rob us of the complete writing experience? And, no, the irony that I'm bloggin' this using a laptop and the interwebs is not totally lost on me. And, no, I'm not advocating the idea that you go into the woods with nothing more than nail clippers and one change of socks to get the full on nature experience. But, why is it that I feel more connected to my writing when the ink glides smoothly onto a piece of paper rather than tippy-tapped onto my laptop?
So, do you prefer your laptop or ink?
P.S. The pic is of Mt. St. Helens from the plane.
Written on the plane to Seattle...
Three and a half hours on a plane and then another "short" four hour drive around the bottom of Puget Sound to the B&B in Forks on the Olympic Peninsula. All this past week it's been 95 degrees plus in Houston. So, escaping to the Pacific Northwest is going to be more than just nice. With all this idle time ahead of me, I'm hoping to get the writing ball rolling again. (Unfortunately, as I'm writing this there's a creepy guy that smells like unbrushed teeth that keeps staring at my notebook...hopefully he'll fall asleep soon)
I have no housework to worry about, nothing to prepare for work, and my dogs are at "camp." All of my usual excuses are stranded back in Houston without me. With all of that said, I'm still staring at the blank pages of my notebook wondering what in the world I'm going to start writing about. None of my WIPs or previously noted ideas are at all appealing to me at the moment. I'm listening to the hodgepodge of songs that I loaded onto my Zune in hopes that inspiration will hit me like one of those frozen chickens they shoot out of a cannon to test the safety of airplane windshields.
...still waiting for inspiration to hit
Just wanted to drop a note to all of you from my crackberry...I'm on vacation in Olympic National Park, and wifi is hard to come by. I wrote a blog post in my notebook on the plane ride over here and I'll put it up as soon as I can connect my computer again...so keep your eyes peeled!
I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!
This one is for the ladies...
What if Cinderella's Prince Charming wasn't so charming after all? What if the glass slipper was more of a blister producer than Cinderella's saving grace?
I really love using fairy tales and mythology as a seed for new story ideas. So many permutations of the story can be created by asking those "What if?" questions. In the end you'll end up with something unique and very different from the classic tale that served as your inspiration.
As for the story behind the picture: Yes, that is the urban shoe myth...the Manolo Blahnik Mary Jane. It's sitting on a set of maps/drawings on my desk. I feel shoes like that create a nice balance in my life given the uber nerdyness that often goes along with being an engineer.
