Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were driving at, say 90km/h, and put your vehicle in reverse? Nothing, as it turns out. Although, what’s that smell?
I’m driving to the airport, ABBA blaring. Heck, I’m even doing that yell-singing thing you can only do when you’re alone. Waterloo!!! Lalalalalala wanted to….Waterloo! lalalalalala be with you…
And the idea hits.
That’s why, when I gear down like I’m supposed to, I gear up, to N, oops, then to R, ouch! That’s why I turn into the next viewpoint to record the banter between my two characters who have unexpectedly joined me on the road. I take my notebook out of my purse (I use a Grade One lined exercise book. They’re cheap, small but not too small). But I don’t have a pen. I typically write my first draft in cursive handwriting, but I have no choice. I pick up my Blackberry and open the notepad app. Thumb, thumb, thumb.
This is a dialogue I tried to write two weeks ago. I was at a beach on Galiano Island. While my boys collected beach glass, I sat against a log in the sand, surrounded by the senses of the sea. The ideal setting for a writer. You’d think. After a couple of hours I had nothing. I had worse than nothing. I had bad writing.
After about ten minutes, I pull back onto the highway. Only, my two passengers don’t give a care that I have a flight to catch, and they keep talking. I make another stop. Thumb, thumb, thumb. And at every red light, thumb, thumb, thumb. I’m not really mad at them. I’m actually pretty thrilled.
Ahhh, the idea stage.
