LIFE Immersion

(Tip 6) Immerse yourself in life.  Or as Victoria Moran put it in one of her great books (and this is not a direct quote), get outside the house and experience life.  Otherwise, what the hell are you going to write about?

I haven't posted because I have been busy with religious obligations and life experiences.  Friday, I went to an all day retreat.  And I took the baby.  Although I spent a good chunk of time nursing him, something happened that will appear in one of my pieces of fiction:  He shit on himself, me, and the floor.  It was one of the funniest things that's happened to me in a while.  It's real life and worthy of the written word.  Plus, it has conflict, struggle, and resolution.  Description that appeals to most of the senses. 

On Saturday, I spent most of the day in the beauty shop.  I had many flashbacks to my youth becuase I got a perm, something I hadn't done in forever.

(At center, my freaky perm!  And handsome spouse.)

That day, we also did something out of the ordinary. Because we were super early (I got the Holy Saturday Mass time wrong; we were an hour and a half ahead.), we took a complete stranger (who also got the Mass times wrong) out to eat with us. His name was Leo. Whats is more, Leo had never tasted sushi, so we took him out to a local place. He also had a compelling story to tell. His family is away in Mexico because his wife needs to get legalized. A father of three small children, Leo is having a hell of a time.  The process could take up to ten years, and the pain of separation is harsh, to say the least.

He enjoyed our little Antonio, and we enjoyed his company.  That my friends is a classic example of the stranger coming into town that moves plots, and boy did it enrich our day and my perspective on things.

(Below, my son with his grandpa and great granma.)

Sunday we took a road trip and visited the grandparents.  Visiting a new place (in this case a new church) always gives me ideas for a new setting.  Plus, other people's crazy stories inspire mine.  Case in point, my cousin decided to glue a small horse's ass right above his parents; bed--the place where they rest their heads, to be exact.  It's something I would never do, let alone think about.  (Now, he can't get it off, and his mom is pissed.  Conflict and struggle, but no resolution.)

Well. that is all for today.  One final tip. from a good friend and super-published writer Jack Hirschman, if you are having trouble writing, (Tip 8) "Put the pencil to the paper."  That's all it takes.  Or in your case, the fingers to the keyboard.  Just go and pour the alphabet into the white space.