It's a dreary foggy Monday morning. Outside my window I can only see the courtyard of the backs of other greyish cream white buildings, some other windows half open, or completely shut with the blinds facing down. I can't really tell if it is raining, but I suppose it could be. Usually I can see hills and other taller buildings towards the town. The courtyard has one huge evergreen tree that towers over almost all the other buildings. Smaller shrubs and mossy grass fills the space between two low buildings on my right. Somewhere some one is playing their tv or radio just loud enough that I can hear it, but not loud enough that I can understand it.
This week will be busy, I'm afraid, with work other than my writing. However, I'll take these early mornings when I wake up, freshly showered and in my comfy clean clothes, can sit down quietly and write for 20 to 30 minutes. Some of it will be here, some of it will be on an actual story I'm working on.
"Tell Me Why" is this week's mantra. (Yes, I've decided to have weekly mantras instead of one defining rest-of-my-life mantra). To me, that's what my writing is about. Instead of really "telling" I want to show my reader why. Why is my character compelled to go through the hardships she goes through? Why do things affect her so much? why must I as the writer, lead the reader down this particular path, why is it this is particular scene or event what I want you to see?
Also, in a separate theme -- "Tell Me Why" -- why am I doing this again? It has been said once you really figure out the why and nail that down, then the "what" and "how" specific goals come into place much better.
Bob Geldof''s song, and the phrase "I don't like Mondays" -- about a shooting spree in California 1979 -- when asked why she did what she did is simply not sufficient. Obviously, one must go deeper than that!
