Thank goodness I didn’t have to follow Abyrne’s Maestro post! I was debating what to write for my first post out and panicked when I saw what he put up the other day. So inspiring and I had, at the time, no idea what I was going to write about. NONE. It was scary in ways that I don’t have words to describe. Heart-stopping even.
So, what is pink kimono convention day? For the ladies of a certain age, you know what this is…it’s run your girls over with a car day and hope they don’t find anything. It’s an important day. It’s a day I really don’t think about until the notice comes to schedule the yearly smash, but here we are, another one down in the books complete. Come Monday, we’ll find out if that was it for another year or if they want to up the torture with a more focused scan, but that’s not what I am here to post about.
So, if that’s not what I’m here to write about, why mention it at all? Because, in the process of my procedure, the tech doing the scans actually gave me something to write about. The technician, bless her pea-pickin heart was full of questions when she found out I was an aspiring writer. Paper or electronic? Where do your ideas come from? How do you know if you’re any good? The usual, but then she said something that gave me pause.
In telling me about a brother who was quite a talented writer, though he never pursued it, she conveyed the notion that he was also quite the storyteller. Everything was a story, there were no simple answers, no one word responses…but then she went one step further to state that his stories were to cover the truth which was that he was quite the liar. The liar part wasn’t what caught me, but the statement that came next, “To be a writer you really have to be able to spin a wild yarn don’t you?” Do we?
Is this what we do? I put it out there because in all my years as a reader, I cannot say that I’ve ever courted the notion that storytellers, wordsmiths, writers…whatever title we each claim, is somehow not telling a truth of some sort. The idea of ‘spinning a wild yarn’ to me implies mistruth. Following her comment about him being a liar, that’s how I took her meaning anyway. Other writers, and readers too…is this how you would have interpreted it, and given the chance to respond, what would you say?
I think writing, whether for publication or otherwise is an incredible gift. I think that like reading, it is a lost art too. My question is to the audience, readers and writers alike, is this perception of ‘storytelling’ or at least in this instance mistruth somehow contributory, or did I run across a rare bird today who not only thinks so, but thinks so to enough of a degree to say so?
I have thought about this all day, long after my pink kimono went into the hamper for hopefully another year. The answers are likely as diverse as the population, but it caught me and grabbed my thoughts for a long time. As I embark on this journey to publication, at least today, I find I am considering my words more carefully. I am looking over the outline and considering if there is a core truth, or if it is somehow a long bunch of words where the simple answer or single word would work.
At the end of my writing time today, I find I am thankful for the technician this morning, not for the unholy mashing of my parts, but for the kick-start of my thoughts to look more closely at what I am trying to convey and how I am choosing to do so. Whether she meant to or not, for the foreseeable future, she has had an impact on me and my writing as I try to hone my skills. Her words echo in my thoughts as I consider each piece I am working on and will have sway to one degree or another I’m sure.
I am interested to hear what my fellow writers think of her supposition. I am interested too to know if other readers have this notion or if they, like me, found it completely foreign to hear. What say you? It’s pink kimono day for a little bit longer and this enquiring mind wants to know!
Thanks for reading my post. Hopefully the next time it’s my turn I’ll have some follow-up to drive from, or another inspiration to jump-start my words. For now, it’s time to get back to work!
Sav
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