Writing Meditations

magnifying the audience

So here I am writing to an empty theater.  Not certain what I will do when people are actually reading this blog.  Hopefully, this will not be the first post they see.  In any case, I sit here writing and thinking about the ghost audience sitting out there.  I see one lady out front, arms akimbo across her chest, her mind clicking away at my various attributes as a writer, and she is considering if she got up and walked out if anybody would notice. There is another lady further up the aisle and off to the left who is listening impartially and gradually giving me some credit for good spelling and punctuation.  I look further and see the place is fairly full, but most of the members seated are rather blurry. I am tempted to tip my glasses off my nose and see if they come in clearer.  This is only a temptation. If they were clearer, this would mean they are way too close and much too tiny as I wear glasses for distance not reading.  A frightening thought to have an audience that tiny.  Makes not having one at all not such a disappointing thing.

So how does one build up an audience?  I am reading suggestions on this very issue and considering some of them. Some I have already done.  This blog is one example, my Goodreads account another.  I read other blogs, but so far have not participated in any. Well, that is not quite true.  I read one blog on which I felt good about posting a comment of my own.  So I wrote my little comment, checked its spelling and other qualities wanting to be properly dressed for my debut post and then sent it on its way.  I glanced up to the top of the blog wondering if anyone would comment on my comment. That’s when I realized the post I had read and found so intriguing was two years old.  Would the blog owner even notice?  And if he did, would he laugh.  “Silly poster, that conversation is way out of date.”

Well, I just heard someone chuckle way in the back.  Not sure they thought my story was humorous, but at least they felt relaxed enough to enjoy themselves. So my phantom audience, adieu for now.

Usually when I am working on a story, I find a quiet place to relax and see what comes to mind.  But lately, since I started jogging on a treadmill, I have found that running along thinking about the story currently at hand will lead to inspiration.  Just yesterday I was running along, and a story I am working on, titled “Scrapper,” came to mind. And though I knew what was happening next, it was the ending that caught my interest. As I worked it out in my mind, watching the scene play out, motives for different character actions developed and other scenes not yet written filled out with details.  By the time I was off the treadmill, a mere twenty-three minutes later, I had three key scenes bubbling over.  I sat and wrote more than 3000 words.  So my story has a well advanced beginning and a near complete ending.  I am looking forward to tomorrow’s run and the middle taking shape, while I am taking shape, too.

So for me, exercise and inspiration seemed to be a well-linked pair.  Writing could be the healthiest thing I do.