We! The People Webzine: Unlock Your Creative Hostages! by Ron McBride

by Ron McBride
January 16, 2007

Recently my one and only daughter, called and we were discussing a book her husband is writing on Ancient Egypt and some ideas he has of the utility of the pyramids.

She suggested that I should write a book about my life…. Well, put a stop to that in nothing flat.

Then turned the tables on her and told her that she should also write a book, after all she has been editing her husbands books, and even tried her hand at publishing once "Sunshine Publishing" which cost them a chunk of money and little results.

Ronda said, "hey dad, I have a million ideas in my head but can't seem to get them on paper". I told her "you need to unlock the creative hostages inside of you," she said "Daddy that would make a good title for a book".....

Since I am not a book writer, decided to do an article instead..... shorter and easier.... :)

Over the years I have written millions of words, and found that I am not a very organized writer. I have a tendency to just let the fingers pull a Yellow Pages, let them do the walking. It then takes quite a bit of editing just to make sense of my thoughts.

You would be surprised where the seeds of creativity can be found. Many writers talk about keeping a notebook and pen by their beds and waking in the middle of the night to jot down ideas and thoughts. Used to do that, but after weeks of waking and looking at blank pages I figured that either I wasn't a writer, or that those other so called authors were liars.

From the time I attended the little one room school house (#9 was name of the school) in Hell's Neck, I have been fascinated with books, and reading of same. Also have been lured to write with the same fascination although not the same success as my reading. In Vienna Twp. High, I was president of the Library Club my junior and senior years, and won an award for having read more books than any student before or since. Boy, was I proud of that enamel painted tie pin that Mrs. Brown the librarian presented me at the end of my senior year, almost as proud of it as I was of the diploma.

Over the years I noticed that my writing takes on a pattern of intense writing for a week or two, then gets shelved for later review. Just last month found a manuscript that I started writing when I was twelve, titled "The Swampers". A story about a 12 year old white boy whose mother and father were killed in a car accident, and when the county welfare people and the head of the county orphanage came to his house two days after the funeral, he took off into the local swamps (just so happened we had a swamp connected to our farm, which is now part of the 30,000+ acre Cache Wetlands Conservation Area). In the Swamp he became lost and was found by an old red coon hound who lead him to a shack deep in the area called Boss Island. There lived a solitary old Negro whose parents had been slaves before the civil war.

The story went on to describe the growing bond and relationship between the man and boy, from different cultures and lifestyles……..

Anyway, not going to rewrite the story here. But just wanted to show that you can look around you and find that you have taken a lot of things "hostage" in your mind, from the age of your character to the surrounding countryside, and tie it in with things you have seen heard and dreamed of to create a subject for writing.

The key is to Unlock those hostages so that they may come to life on paper or your word processor.

Ron McBride
WeDemocrats.org
Founder & Chairman
ron@wedemocrats.org

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Ron McBride is the author of numerous articles on Democracy. He is founder and Chair of WeDemocrats.org. His writings may be found at We! The People http://wedemocrats.org/wtp/wtp.htm, www.WeDemocrats.org and www.MyTown.ca/mcbride/ plus blogs such as http://www.dailykos.com:80/user/WeDemocrats and http://www.mydd.com:80/user/WeDemocrats