DAY FOUR: Natural Inspiration
When Mother Nature speaks, I listen…well, sort of. I champion causes that seek to protect her shores, forests, and open spaces, but I seldom relish in them. In the past twenty years or so I’ve spent more time admiring them from afar than hiking, boating, ziplining, or camping. After all, going outdoors means mosquitoes, spiders, and snakes. Thank you, but no thank you!
As much as I’ve distanced myself from my maternally natural roots, I strangely enough made them a central theme of my YA novel. The forest provides shelters, comfort, and houses those who offer wisdom. Gardens inspire contemplation, exhilaration, and stimulation for my protagonist. Open water gives her safe passage to a new destination (don’t worry that’s not a spoiler!).
For today’s writing venture, I felt compelled once again to leave the house. I drove to a nearby park where I once spent many afternoons with family walking its trails and playing in the shallow end of the lake. I picked a spot right by the lake and started snapping pictures of the beauty of which I was a part.
Then, I opened my notebook, felt the cool breeze across my cheeks, and wrote feverishly. I imagined a new scene for the TV pilot idea still in its early stages and jotted down plot points. Once I felt comfortable that I’d resolved some story issues, I sat back against the wooden bench and gazed upon the towering trees in the foreground.
I apologized for my lack of attention to their needs and drafted a poem for this week’s Motivational Monday entry. It was at that precise moment, with the wind whooshing by, that I closed my eyes and realized my hypocrisy. If I am trying to convey a world built on respect for nature, yet I do not embrace or interact with it, then the flaws are more on my character not the fictional ones I’ve created.
As I journey towards turning “writer” from a self-proclaimed label to professional title, I’ve decided to give myself a focused challenge. Each day, from now until January 11, 2016, I hereby pledge to focus on my writings: novel, screenplay drafts, stage play rewrites, TV pilot scenes, etc. Documenting my progress each day will help keep me motivated, inspired, and determined to keep moving forward. If so inspired, join me along my journey by documenting your own!
Kelly Deeny 