Darla’s Day Out
The local arboretum called to me recently for a much needed walk in the fresh air. To my delight, a mother mallard watched over her newly hatched brood in one of the ponds. Not wishing to disturb them, my companion took this picture. If you look closely, you can spot a couple of the ducklings in the direction the cautious mother faces.
I decided that an excuse was in order to share this iconic and heartwarming image of spring. So here is my resulting thought, that writers need to be like this duck. We ought to be on constant lookout, though not in search of the dangers for which she scanned.
Our eyes should be open to inspiration. It’s simple, I know, yet our view is often stunted by daily chores and responsibilities that narrow our focus, directing our vision toward mundane matters.
This blog’s own talented A. Catherine Noon recently hosted a workshop to spur writing from prompts. Her grand ideas support the notion of awareness, whether she guided us to write from a set of written criteria or via the use of our various senses. It did me good to open my mind and just let inspiration spool out.
Just the other day I stumbled upon an ancient Israeli name, Aziel, that spawned an idea for a character. It’s difficult to say where this might lead, but I intend to find out.
I hope we can all expand our horizons and see what creative sparks fly. Happy writing!
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Inspiration is a wonderful thing, if we're open it can come from the most surprising moments, places, people, things. All the best with Aziel. 🙂
Thank you for the shout-out, Darla! I agree with you, constant vigilance for inspiration is a great way to go through life – if for nothing else, than it makes life more interesting. (Though, now, when I say "constant vigilance" it makes me think of the Harry Potter movies and Mad-Eye Moody.)
I love your picture of the ducks! I could hardly see the babies, their camouflage is so effective! Adorable.
Thanks for the kind words and support, dears!