From a cabin in the White Mountains of Arizona, I'm trying
to wrangle my muse into writing my latest and greatest idea for a book. But she
has other interests, like autobots and chasing deer. The chatter around me is
interesting and wildly distracting.
"Oh wait! There's a deer in the yard!" See how
easily I can be distracted? Well, how often do you see a deer in the backyard?
I jump up to get some bread. But of course, the poor
frightened deer has fled by the time I return. I have this crazy urge to
hand-feed wild deer like my friend in Montana whose home backs up to a forest. There
is a small group (herd?) of deer that trust her and rest frequently in the
woods within sight. They have even taken food from her hand. It's a beautiful
thing to watch wild creatures reaching across the invisible barrier of distrust.
My friend says the trick is to remain still; be quiet; let the deer come to
you.
I realize it's like nursing an idea for a book or doing something
entirely new and different that you want to do. There's the risk, the doubt,
then maybe, the moment of trust and reaching out.
People say to me, "I have this great idea for a
book…" Unfortunately, an idea isn't a book, story, plot, or characters that
interact. An idea takes time and needs to be nurtured and developed, like
earning a wild deer's trust. You must shut out the chatter and distractions,
get quiet, and let the idea come to you. Let it develop and mature. Visualize
your dream for this idea. Maybe it's not a book but a painting, a creation, something
to build or generate, or perhaps teaching a special class – anything new and
different that you want to create and do.
My Yoga teacher begins and ends every practice with a meditation,
a silent time to shut out the chatter and think, "What is my intention
today?" Try it. Think positively about your dream. Call it to you. Wait
for it to come to you.
In EMBRACEABLE YOU, Claire is a minor character. I wanted
her to be skeptical of my protagonist, Siena, to reflect her own self-doubts.
But Claire liked Siena and considered her misguided, but clever. I thought,
"Who is this Claire with a mind of her own?" I hushed the chatter of
the story and visualized Claire, a girl in Ireland in the 1960's. Her father
arranges a marriage against her free will and… what happens next? And just like
that, CLAIRE'S EMBRACE was born, full of love and conflict and dreams and
magical lace. All I had to do was write it.
So if you have an idea, get quiet, hush the chatter, and let
your muse do his or her work. Mine is currently feeding an i-deer… while I'm
chasing autobots away. "What are autobots?" you ask. They're just
about the biggest, noisiest things around. Find out about them on the web. Then,
turn them all off along with the chatter from the TV, movies, social media,
even family. What happens is almost magical.
Have you ever visualized an idea and found it fun and easy
to develop? Visualize me next time, here on 3rd Tuesday from the
Sun. Meantime, I have this idea, set in France… about a woman who… oops, the
story is still in the quiet, creative stage. Come along and follow my journey
on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/marytateengels.
And read about Claire here - http://www.amazon.com/Claires-Embrace-Hearts-Series-ebook/dp/B00BQ2Z3TO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371570489&sr=1-1&keywords=claire%27s+embrace+irish+hearts+series
Au Revoir for now,
Mary Tate
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