DOWSING FOR LIGHT

I don’t have the brain for blogging, which is why you’ll not see a daily entry here. I’ll be lucky to post once a week. There are many reasons for this. So many people do it better, including my fiancee’, who can take one thought from her day and turn it into an entertaining, though-provoking entry. I also rarely keep track of any interesting thoughts I have during the course of a day. Also, even when I do have an idea, I can become quickly bored with the prospect of sharing it as most ideas or themes has been explored, explained, and exploited by myself and many before me. It’s like sitting in a coffee shop and eavesdropping on a group of people ten years younger, having that same deep conversation on (insert topic here) we’ve all had (or will have) repeatedly over the span of our lives. The need for novelty also effects my writing.

As with music, we can safely say that most of what is out there is not unique, at least not completely. When I choose a story idea, I realize it’s likely a variation on stories that have been done before. Take a look at the bookshelves in your favorite store and you’ll see what I mean. However, add some interesting twists and characters, and a good writer can make the story new or at least interesting.

But when I write, I have the selfish need to answer some questions out of my own curiosity. There is, of course, the “what if” of it all. That’s where most stories start, right? But something in me wants more. I think I tack on a “why” and go from there. Maybe that’s why theoretical cosmology and physics interest me. These disciplines ask the same question then try to answer it in a “Maybe this is why” kind of way. And I get more fun out of my writing when I do the same.

Of course, I have a bit more leeway in writing fiction. The answer can be whatever I want. Then again, imaginative freedom doesn’t exactly match any 401K contributions…