At the prompting of my daughter, I just read the book Eragon. What a fantastic read. My hat is off to Christopher Paolini. This young man did a fantastic job. Reading through Eragon had me thinking about my dragons, Elves, Dwarves, my own writing projects, and my cats.
Cats? Yes cats.
The descriptions of the dragon Saphira resting, or her lithe movements, often made me think of my cats. And as I would read, I would often see one of the cats slinking around, coiled up to nap, jumping up to the tops of furniture, or otherwise being... a cat. So it was a mental image reinforced by what was going on around me.
But also in the back of my mind were thoughts of my own writing projects and how different they were than this fantasy. Now my projects are fantasy works, but not on the scale or in the same likeness of these kinds of tales. And that made me stop and think.
How does one write a complete book?
I mean, I know the basics and I know how to craft a story line so that it can flow without significant interruption, and with enough insight to the reader to guide them along the way. But knowing and doing are two distinct things. And distractions loom always overhead.
Somehow I need to actually complete something in order to get to the next thing. That is not as simple as it sounds. I am easily distracted and I have a family. But in writing, I can think out things in ways to explore the human condition vicariously. Enduring hardships and enjoying adventure through the actions of my fictional characters.
I guess you could say its kind of a way to explore and ease stress from the safety and comfort of my own home. Or its just something to do. Or perhaps, just perhaps, it is because these stories want to be read. At any rate, I will continue on, struggling, as it were, to complete them.
So as I think on these things, and ponder how to get back on track on my own writing, I realize I have one more task to do today. I must clean the cat's litter box. Not a pleasant task by any stretch of the imagination. But at least it is only cats. Imagine the mess two dragons would make in a litter box.
Copyright 2006, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)
