Since I took the plunge and had new hardware installed in my aging knee joint, I’ve taken to walking, a lot. One day I’ll lap the southern end of our small town and the next I’ll circle the northern residential end. Both routes take about an hour. But, neither the walk nor the aftermarket knee parts are the subject of this blog, only the means by which this line of thinking was born.
The human body is such an amazing machine. All it takes is a few minutes of physical exertion and fresh blood is pumped to the brain, thinking becomes clearer, ideas circle, even swarm the now receptive mind. Spoiler alert – I learned an important lesson yesterday on how not to treat good ideas; now, for a real time account of that walk:
Pain seems to be subsiding and the warm-up complete. I pick up the pace a little, the heart beats faster, breathing becomes heavier and after twenty minutes it seems that long-held secrets of the universe might be revealed with just a bit more exertion. Reaching for those answers adds yet more speed as the stride lengthens for the next twenty minutes. Breathing soon becomes labored and the heart is pounding, not only in my chest, but also in my ears. My hour is finally done.
Time has come to reel in grandiose aspirations. Universal secrets will remain just that... for now. I must be happy to have come up with a fresh outlook on old ideas and slightly improved notions on working concepts. I’ll again reach for the bigger revelations another day. Recharging and rest are needed. The spring in my step has abandoned me and I trudge to the front porch. The rocking chair beckons. It is already slowly moving to and fro in the breeze. My head remains flush with better directions for plot and flow. I am arrogantly comfortable the novel in progress will become a world-class literary work. I just need to rest a while. In fact, a glass of wine would be nice.
As I sip the nectar, I ponder my newly formed ideas and begin to mentally put them into a coherent and useable form. It’s coming together nicely in my head. I’ll go to the keyboard shortly and spin them into gold.
I take another sip, and then another. I watch the strong breeze seem to push a squirrel up a tree as the hair on its tail reverses. Interesting how it appears. A blue jay chases a mockingbird from its perch in a nearby pecan tree. What makes the jay so overbearing in the bird world? It leaves the perch and swoops down to peck a cat on the ear. The feline retaliates but can’t reach the faster blue jay – fascinating.
I lift my wine glass to see that the supply of sips has exhausted. I must get to work anyhow. I think back a few minutes, before the squirrel, before the birds, before the comical cat, only to realize the wonderful direction I’d set for my novel has escaped me. Now, the thoughts are disjointed and have no cogent flow. Oh well, I’ll have another glass of wine and write a blog entry.
Have a world class day, y’all and, by all means, treat your good ideas with more respect than I did.
Author of
"Six Years' Worth"/Father's Press/mainstream/print & ebook
"Paradise Flawed"/Dream Books LLC/action-adventure/print & ebook
"Where Are You, Anne Bonny?"/Rogue Phoenix Press/ historical drama/ ebook only
“Trouble”, short story/CrossTIME Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. IX/print only
“Dancing Away”/ short story/romance/Untreed Reads/ebook only
“Annie’s World: Jake’s Legacy”/ATTM Press/soft science fiction/print & ebook
“Helping Hand For Ethan/Rogue Phoenix Press/young adult/print & ebook
“Phobia”/Booktrope/suspense-thriller/print & ebook
“Defining Family”/Whiskey Creek Press/young adult/print & ebook
“The Last Radiant Heart” (re-release)/Sage Words Publishing/science fiction/print & ebook
COMING SOON
“One Day In Lubbock” / Booktrope
Search Daniel Lance Wright on Amazon.com
