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A WRITER IS…

…a Writer, is a Writer—as a rose is a rose is a rose.  Within the genus Rosa (in the family rosacea), there are over 100 species and thousands upon thousands of exquisite hybrid cultivations, many of which are being created even as I write this blog.  That is how I see a writer—a person who has the vision to create a specific piece of writing, whether it is a blog, a novel, textbook, mechanics manual, tweet, or the most inspired and uplifting play and/or film script ever written.  Where do you fit?

When there is a concept flapping around in my thoughts and I can’t seem to get it OUT on the page, I take a walk.  Sometimes it’s a short walk down the hallway of our apartment building and across the scenic connection bridge to the café for their brand of coffee and back again.  Often I grab my sun hat and walking poles to enjoy the canal path just a block away.  Once in a great while I’ll drive up into the foothills and step into the illusion of being alone in the wilderness where seasonal wildflowers greet me and evidence of coyote, deer, or bear might be found on the trail.  And, all the while, those ideas for that writing project are sorting themselves out and settling into place.  That’s the working theory anyway, and I can happily report that most of the time it is successful—for me.

Last month I took one of those walk-in-the-wilderness excursions; four days of placing myself in a lodge away from my normal routine and setting myself up to focus on one particular project.  Sometimes we just must shake ourselves from normal patterns—like turning the soil around rosebushes and adding fertilizer—to allow the best writing that is within us to COME OUT!  That time away was (as the cliché states) a little slice of Heaven.  I’m attaching one (of over 160) photos I took during that time, just to give you an idea about that environment of inspiration.  Notice the rough marks on the standing aspen trees?  Deer or moose marked his passage there.

However, the unexpected happenings of such a get-away are often the most inspiring; the people met along the way.  The first motivator for me was the woman at the counter of the mountain gas/convenience store.  She politely asked me if I was on vacation (immediately aware that I wasn’t a local).  When I said I was taking a few “writing-get-away” days to get my book re-started, she said, “I should do that!  With all the different people who come through here, I could write volumes!”  (I hope she does!)

Then an hour later I was talking with the manager of the lodge and discovered that she’d “always wanted to write.”  Friends have been telling her for years that she is a “born writer.”  So, why is she managing a mountain lodge?  We talked about seasons-of-life and what they teach us in preparation for being the writer we’re meant to be.  Just think of the people (sharing their life-events with her) who have stayed in her lodge.  Imagine the mountain stories she’s collected from the town folks, delivery drivers, and back-country hikers.  Oh, she’s in a great season-of-life to delve into writing—and publishing.  I’ll be watching for her books!

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.

INSPIRED PERSPECTIVE

Walking through a shopping mall recently, I caught a conversation segment as a young lady’s voice rose to a higher pitch: “…and if I’d never seen that—for myself—I wouldn’t have believed it.”  Oh how I wanted to ask her what she’d seen!  I didn’t, of course, so my imagination was left to fly off in multiple directions.

Now, sitting at my computer, writing to other writers, I’m acutely aware of how inspiring that snippet statement is—confirming the fact-based nature of humans who so easily believe what they see—even if what they’re seeing is a special-effects fabrication.  Long ago, the marketing/public relations gurus recognized this element of human nature.  Their skill in creating just enough illusion in the sales-pitch of their products seems to increase by the hour as earth’s population becomes ever more susceptible.  We want “the facts” to be “true.”  Don’t we?

Well, that’s a bigger discussion than I’m able to provide in this space and time.  However, the concept—as it relates to writing—is a valuable one to talk about.  Below are two food-for-thought statements:

STICK TO THE FACTS in non-fiction writing.  Always?  Most-of-the-time?  The definition of this term non-fiction is: A report or factual account…history…empirically true assertions and descriptions written by an authority in that field.  The fact about non-fiction writing is that it is also a narrative and/or story of the topic/subject being addressed.  It is a cumulative work of research developed by an author who believes his or her facts are true.  These authors offer their readers their knowledgeable, inspired perspective on the subject matter they are writing about.

BRING ON THE WIZARD OF OZ!  Fiction writing is often labeled a theoretical, imaginary flight-of-fancy “invented” by an author to provide escape from reality.  Personally, I don’t like labels and I don’t appreciate that definition.  Elements of it are true; however, my version would go something like this: Authors of all fiction genres provide a unique and inspired perspective to their subject matter by incorporating “what if” scenarios giving readers the opportunity to explore possibilities they might not have imagined before.

THERE IT IS…the connective umbilical cord that supports ALL WRITERS…inspired perspective.  Over the last several blog entries, I’ve given examples of books that I consider to be superbly written by authors utilizing this gift—their uniquely inspired perspective.  From Anne Lamott’s BIRD BY BIRD: SOME INSTRUCTIONS ON WRITING AND LIFE to THE ROBE by Lloyd C. Douglas and THE MOTE IN GOD’S EYE by authors Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, each author has offered readers fact-based, imaginatively told stories meant to open hearts and minds to new and exciting horizons.  THIS IS EXCELLENT WRITING!

Without doubt, there is someone reading this blog right now who has this gift of writing!  ARE YOU USING IT?  Are you writing?  Are you ready to publish?  THEN DO IT!  Don’t make the rest of us wait any longer!  Search out the self-publishing company that best fits your needs and enjoy the satisfaction of holding that book IN YOUR HANDS!

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.