While making time to shut the door and isolate yourself in order to get your best writing done is extremely important (and something I think really can't be overestimated), so, too, is putting yourself in situations that allow you to listen to the world, or perhaps more honestly, that allow you to eavesdrop. This is something I've heard said for years now, particularly in my writing classes: that to be a good writer you must pay attention. You must be a good listener and observe the world around you. You must carry around a notebook and jot things down all the time. And of course, I nodded and wrote down the advise, and do carry a notebook in my purse or backpack. But this week, this idea really came alive for me. And I found that listening helped me not only with my current project, but with the projects I am currently developing. Listening became free inspiration. And new ideas seemed to be popping up all over.
Instead of cooking dinner one night, I decided to go out and grab some food. As I waited for my order, I took out my notebook and began doing some writing, kind of paying attention to the people moving around me and the TV on mute in the background. Then, the interplay between several waiters caught my attention. Teasing and joking one another, they began to make up these ridiculous names and guess at their potential origins. Some of them were so good, that I began jotting them down, knowing that I was totally stealing these — one in particular which will be perfect for my spring novel! They even caught me laughing, it was so funny! But they didn't seem to mind at all.
Similarly, while taking a break to watch some of the olympics, I found myself enthralled by the sports commentary. So helpful to my current novel, I listened to the phrases and flow of the words — things you can't just look up on the internet. Sure, you can find a list of the phrases, but to hear them used, to hear them woven together and spoken so effortlessly gave me a whole new insight into how to use the terms.
Then yesterday, as a girl of seven or eight walked down the sidewalk of an apartment complex under a shared umbrella with a boy of the same age, she said, "I ain't running in no rain." The sass that came from that little girl in white ballet flats and a pink Sunday dress reminded me just how opinionated kids can be. And the subsequent acceptance of the boy, who didn't dare utter one word of protest, revealed just how early the boy to girl dynamics begin. Listening to children's conversations is one of the funnest things to do, but also so important to my work. Understanding and recreating the speech patterns of a child allows me, as a children's writer, to gain an authenticity that I may otherwise be lacking, and similarly reminds me that children are just as complex as adults, even though people seem to forget this at times. But in order to get it right, I need to listen to it unfold.
Being in the world, and being present, provides so many ideas that are just there for the taking. Each of the examples above helped me gather an idea, or think about a character differently, or improve the texture of my language. And all of them just happened. I just was in the right place at the right time. But really, it was the right time because I was listening — listening with that writerly ear — and recognizing them as related to my stories almost as soon as I heard them.
Coupled with this idea of listening to other's conversations, is also the idea that you should create your own. Ask questions. Be friendly. Offer to buy someone a coffee, and interview them about their knowledge and skill sets. Most people want to talk — about themselves and their own stories, or something that just happens to be on their heart. So listening, and asking might just be the best way to find ideas, and enrich the ones you already have. Inspiration comes from all over. And sometimes the most unlikely of places. So make sure to keep your ears open. And stick by those friends who are really great storytellers.
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