The next extract from Life-Writes: Where do writers get their ideas from?
On
Your Own Patch
To become a truly creative writer we have to start to
notice and register the world around us from different angles and perspectives.
It may be that our own particular patch has become so familiar that we no
longer register what is going on there on a day-to-day basis. Make time to walk
a familiar route and take notice of:
• what is growing in front gardens;
• new building developments;
• people standing at the bus stop;
• trees in the park;
• changes in shop window displays
Make a conscious effort to register these gradual
changes as flowers begin to bloom; the buildings near completion; different
people stand at the bus stop at certain times of the day; the trees in the
park altering their appearance through the seasons; and
window displays rarely remain the same for very long.
Think about where you live now. Is it the same place
where you grew up? If so, how has it changed? For better or worse? Did you move away from
your childhood or teenage stomping ground? Try to define the differences. What
we need to remember, of course, is that memory is deceitful and illusionary, so
what we think we can recall, may be almost as fictional as the novel we’re
trying to write. How many times have you argued with an old friend or sibling
over the way you both remember things from the past.
Train yourself to become more observant about the
common everyday things that go on around you. Recall to mind the words of
William Henry Davies’s Leisure:
“What is this life if,
full of care,
We have no time to stand
and stare?”
As writers, we owe it to ourselves to make time to
stand and stare; even if it’s only to study the dress code, mannerisms and body
language of fellow travellers on the subway, train or bus to work.
REMEMBER: Always be on the look-out for useable ideas
Handy Hint:
Always keep a small notepad handy for jotting ‘things’
down. Ideally have a couple on the go that fit easily
into a
bag or pocket. Don’t delay in making a note of snippets
of
conversation, ideas for future investigation or
character
sketches – we think we can recall them later but we
lose
that spontaneous reaction and the ‘thing’ becomes
stale.
