Dear friend,
There is something inspirational about nature. Vivid imagery and many metaphors come from what we experience of the outside world. Growing, dying. Blooming, wilting. The change of seasons, an oncoming storm. It has all been used to represent the human heart, the coming and going of relationships, what it feels like to lose or gain something precious.
But maybe it is too inspirational, for I struggle to write with the window open. Nature captures my attention and I find myself looking at the trees and the birds and the sky.
I tend not to write at night, as I am a firm believer in giving yourself a technology-free wind-down period before bed. But the times I find myself wanting to write and it is past eight, the words seem to happen easier (the quality, however, is questionable). Is it because the blinds are shut and nothing of the outside world exists? Surely if I saw the moon, I would write a lovely paragraph about it.
But no. The moon only distracts me and when I return to the page all I can write is, the moon made me feel something. And then I go to bed without accomplishing what I wanted to.
My desk sits beneath a window. The window is large and I must ignore it. Sometimes I sneak a look and find myself thinking, if I go for a walk I will write better. But if I go for a walk, I will not end up writing anything at all. Maybe one day I will figure out the balance between writing about life and actually experiencing it.
Some say we should only write what we know, though if that was true we wouldn’t have science fiction (or those free books online about hunky werewolves). But I remember writing one of the first short stories I was ever really proud of, and it was about nature in a way I hadn’t experienced. Months later, once I had, I reread that story and found it surprisingly accurate. I do not know how common this is.
Maybe one day I will travel somewhere new and I will write about life as it’s unfolding before me. I’m sure I could easily romanticise writing whilst visiting far away places, writing with the whole world in view.
But for now I am content with the blinds closed. Nature can teach us a lot, but today I am not listening.
Sarah xx
Currently listening: Skinny Dipping by Sabrina Carpenter
Currently reading: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
the softest words 