IWSG - Filling An Empty Shelf

Welcome Readers and fellow Writers, to the August 2018 virtual meeting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Founded by author Alex Cavanaugh and comprised of writing members just like you (and me), featuring writing tips, resources, articles, contests and IWSG swag! See what we’re all talking about here and join us as we share our writing journeys.

*We meet on the first Wednesday of every month – join us and enjoy!

As for me:

July was incredibly eventful. Between praying for rain and teaching my Summer Kids about the (then) upcoming Hunter/Buck moon and lunar eclipse, incidents and accidents flew around my universe as if a poltergeist had been set loose in a shoe store. 

But, in the midst of it all, some rather outstanding events coalesced into half a dozen new characters on my creativity shelf. 

 In lieu of a traditional rain dance, I experienced my first ‘Splash and Dash’ carwash. I thought sure panic would set it. Instead, I was reminded of the only cat (of many) I ever knew that actually hated water. Cha Cha, the Garden Thief, was already on my shelf but now she has a second chapter.

About a week later, I reached for what appeared to be a used fireplace matchstick; lying on the carpet, only to have it zip out of the room - with me in hot pursuit. Though I couldn’t remember not wanting to find something quite as much, I found the antagonist in the foyer, on the tile. It was moving in that lazy, wavy motion reserved for all sidewinders – no matter the age. Unaccustomed as I am to heroics, I threw the nearest, biggest coloring book I could reach on it, and requested a “bigger book” (I know, I should be shot) for back up. Only after I’d thrown the second book did I wail in dismay “Aw, that’s a classic!”. The youngster who had provided the book pointed to the coloring book and replied: “That’s a classic, too.” Touché 😉

Two days after that, when my heart rate had returned to normal, I caught a glimpse of a fuzzy brown branch; bobbing outside a window where only cactus grows. Dare I even look? I wondered. This time I called for backup first, and he brought his camera. It was not one, but two velvet-antlered bucks; admiring themselves in the glass – just in time for the full Buck moon!

Creativity ebbs and flows in a writer’s world, and while dusting an empty shelf can be disheartening, there are wisps of literary magic floating everywhere, waiting for us to grasp them. My shelf is almost full again. How’s yours? Can a shelf of creativity ever be too full?

Happy Writing!