WHAT ARE YOU WRITING?

What are you seeing, or doing, right now that could make a good piece of writing?

Julie and I are sitting in The Paddle Steamer in Largs. If I wanted to write about people - I'm surrounded by them. If I wanted to write about journeys, the Loch Shira is just out the window. If I wanted to write about the natural world, I could take a walk along the prom and look around.

As it is...

I just wrote a Friendship Book piece from something I read, a My Week piece from something I saw, and an On Reflection after my son-in-law challenged me to write about something his youngest boy had said. I'm happy with that amount of creative work on what is, supposedly, a day off!

Someone in the writing group once said to me, "It's okay for you, you have all these outlets. The rest of us don't." It was kind of as an excuse not to be writing, I think.

The thing is, I didn't have any of these outlets when I was a member of the group, dreaming of being a "real writer". They came as a result of writing (a lot of writing) and sending things away. I have one outlet that I was invited to write, the rest came from pestering editors.

You may not want to write what I write. But, whatever way you want to do it - do it. Write. Get into the habit of seeing the world, in all its ordinariness, as material for a story, or a poem, or a novel.

You might not want to write until you know what you want to do, or how to do it properly. But, if you write enough, you will write yourself into both of those things.

(And even if you don't want to write, looking for the things that might be worth writing is a great way of adding value to your day!)

So... what about THIS day is inspiring you?