Ever since I started writing fiction, my days consist of one fun-loving circus after the other. Like a tightrope walker, I step forward with with weight on my author platform. Next step, leaning into the crafting of words. A delicate balance.
I juggle several plates of research, first drafts, edits, social media posts, blogs, and public relations opportunities.
Story ideas swing back and forth in my mind until I finally let go of the trapeze to grasp the approaching bar of my computer. I type madly on the upswing which lands me safely on the next platform, complete with a page--or a hundred pages--of a story.
It's impossible to plan far ahead, for wonder of wonders, I’m a pantser! After a teaching career of detailed lesson plans, the idea of outlining every aspect of my novel spurred rebellion in my soul.
However, discovering my spontaneous personality has become a delightful adventure.
I know my characters and follow their lead. Oh, they let me lead them sometimes, but if I get off track, they shove me back in line. I will stay bogged down in some swamp of narrative until I backtrack to the path they intended for me.
Along the way, either forward or backward, random thoughts race through my brain. If I'm purposeful in gathering those thoughts, I enjoy the distinct pleasure of panning for gold. All kinds of nuggets appear as I sift through them.
“I might be able to use that someday,” I think. And I stuff them in this:
My composition book
Random thoughts don’t appear only as I write or journal. When I travel, I watch for road signs and billboard ads. The names of shops and towns are fascinating. I whip out my notebook and jot it all down, noting where I saw them. My favorite: Winter Wheat Antiques in central Illinois.
When I'm in restaurants and airports, I people-watch and write down their behaviors, their eccentricities. I even make up stories about them on the spot.
I write down dreams, blog ideas, beautiful phrases I think up, metaphors, sensory details of a given moment. I might be able to use them someday.
I copy quotations and credit the original author for I might be able to use them someday.
A couple weeks ago, I attended a banquet honoring athletes from my husband’s high school. Twelve recipients, each with a presenter. Both speakers were to limit their remarks to five minutes each. That equals two hours for awards plus all the introductions by the master of ceremonies beforehand. It was going to be a long night, so I started writing my impressions of their comments on the back of the program.
My husband leaned over. “Are you taking notes?”
“My hands need something to do while I listen,” I replied. “Besides, I might be able to use this someday.”
So, I’m a paper and pencil person for writing down the minutia of life to use someday and loving it. What about you? Do you depend on memory? Use your smart phone? Never record details? What kinds of things do you find you observe the most?
Linda had always figured she’d teach teens and tweens until school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair and rolled her out the door. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing passion for writing fiction. In May of 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her students and dedicated her work hours to becoming an author.
A wife, mother of three, and grandmother to eight, Linda regales the youngest grandchildren with “Nona Stories,” tales of her childhood. Maybe one day those stories will be in picture books!
Where Linda can be found on the web:
www.facebook.com/lindasammaritan
www.twitter.com/LindaSammaritan
www.instagram.com/lindasammaritan
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