Learning to Get Out of My Head

To be a Better Writer

I was sitting on the Medicare bus, on my way to Columbia to get my

allergy shots. I took out my smartphone and opened the notebook APP and

started typing.

I heard an expression once, “ Wherever you are, be there.” A maxim I have

not adhered to my whole life, until I read an article about Ernest

Hemingway that rocked my world.

One of his points was the importance of paying attention as a writer. I had

always believed that writing was all imagination, but that isn’t true. It’s

important to pay attention to the world around you, and it’s also

important to pay attention to your feelings and emotions about what

you are experiencing.

I can’t get out as much as I would like, not having a car and all the closings

because of the Corona virus, but I can make the most of the cards I’m dealt with by

paying attention. It’s amazing what you can write about if you pay attention to what

you see and hear.

I know it’s obvious, but for me, it was an epiphany. I’m scatter-brained

instead of carrying a notebook around that, I will surely lose, I

write on the notebook Application on my phone. Then when I get home, I

copy my thoughts onto the paper notebook. It’s working out quite well. I’m

finding and remembering more stories to write about and that’s a good thing.

Make the most of every opportunity and pay attention, it will help you as a writer.