As a writer, one of the pieces of advice that gets bandied about when considering what to write is write what you know, but the bigger idea that plays in my mind and that I’ve read and heard quite as often is to write the book you want to read. Isn’t that fantastic advice? It’s a wee bit challenging to execute, because, well, writing, but it remains good advice to consider as a writer. For me, that remains pretty much as elusive as any other creative idea and my well is a bit more depleted than I’d like it to be. However, around this house, I have heard ideas for stories I would love to read. My girls may not realize it, but some of the ideas they toss around over their breakfast/brunch or their dinner are deeply intriguing and/or quite amusing, and I would love to see one of my teenagers pursue one of them. A collaboration would be even more rewarding, in my humble opinion.
Because they are often in a place of goofiness, their ideas tend to be tossed out, considered ever so briefly between them, and then admired even more briefly before being tossed aside as they move into the next topic of their discussion. All I know is there have been some sparkling ideas involving vampires, friendship challenges, friends who turn into couples, just to name a few storylines. There is almost always a delightful twist to these familiar tropes and plots that spark curiosity in me (even though I know they are not actual stories either girl will choose to sit down and start, let alone finish). Still, a mama can dream.
Each of my teenagers has acknowledged that starting a story holds a certain level of enjoyment for them. But, as any writer can attest, sustaining a story comes with a lot of challenges. I love the way my older teen describes the writing process when she is telling a story, the way she wants to be done with all of the beginning detail that seems to take forever so that she can get to the part of the story that truly interests her. Girl, I have so been there.
Still, I admire their creativity and their tenacity in pursuing some of their stories, even if those stories tend to fade out before their finales. What I might want to consider is keeping a running list of their ideas (whether for them or for me), because some of their bandied about story ideas have more than a little potential in my humble opinion. Who knows, they may want to consider one or more of them at some point later. For now, those ideas that are tossed out without much consideration bring me wonderful creative inspiration as I monitor the bacon or the waffles or the hash browns cooking in the kitchen.
While the idea of muses can be a means of procrastination—waiting for inspiration to show up when one sits down to create—I find every bit of such mythology and lore to hold at least a glimmer of truth. I believe we can be inspired to create by many things around us. For some, nature. For others, music and playlists. For still others, fellow creatives coming together to create. For me, at least one of my muses is these two prolific young women. They create art and stories with a fervor I admire and sometimes envy. Still, they are a gift to me, these two creative teenagers with whom I share the journey of life each day. How can one not be inspired to write, to create, to delight in the world, when one is surrounded by the fantastic ideas of two such prolific creative artists?