Ray Bradbury on becoming a writer

I saw a youtube video with Ray Bradbury discussing the beginning of his writing career. He finally discovered that he was a true writer, when he wrote this story called "The Lake", which was a metaphor for something he experienced in his life. He went on to say that everything he writes is a metaphor for his life. When he wrote this story at age 22, he wept, because he realized he had written something beautiful,and that he was a true writer because he wrote for himself.

Gee... I have always written for myself, and the best things I write are metaphors of my inner life too.

I've been too insecure to call myself a writer, but Mr. Bradbury once again inspires me. At first I wanted to write stories that moved others the way his stories had moved me, and now I find validation.

Sometimes life brings you little hidden treasures.

The Other Brain

Writing a short story with another person gives one an opportunity to understand how another person thinks. It's amazing. It's like having a second head on your body, a whole new well of information and ideas you can draw from and bounce ideas off of. Writing collaboratively has allowed me not only to learn from critiquing someone else's work, it has also enchanced my own analytical abilities when I am asked to defend my position. Through debate and discussion, I have come out on the other side a wiser and much more humble writer. I love it, love it, love it! What an opportunity to grow and learn.

Point of View

I'm learning that a character's point of view is all about perception. The fictional character is limited in the way that real people are limited regarding perceptions of reality. As a writer, I am like God, where I know what is going to happen to the character in the story. The trick is, though, to perceive reality from inside that character's mind, looking at the world with all the limitations that character possesses. It's a good thing to learn, and one lesson that I finally got inside my dense skull.

The Constant Thing About Life

Just thinking how nothing ever remains the same. The only constant thing about living is that everything changes. If what is here now might be gone tomorrow, then desire to keep everything exactly the same is futile. It just isn't going to work. You can't just assume it's always going to be there. People grow, animals die, the day turns to night, all is in flux. Even letters carved in stone will eventually fade by time, wind and water. If I can't keep it, why am I so attached? And if I want to stay attached, that means I have to adapt, to work on my relationships, to keep my body and mind healthy. I can't assume they will just be while I sit on my ass.

My dog was NEVER going to be allowed on the giant beanie bag chair...

Now it's her day bed.