A THOUGHT OF MANY COLORS

You have a great idea for a story or an article. It’s perfect and the thought of sharing it with others knows no bounds.
There is your computer, your desk, and you are ready. Fingers on the keyboard, and you click away putting those special thoughts into black and white form. Something is happening - it isn’t the same story - everything is different and someone stole your Emmy Award.
What happened? Between the great ideas in your head and the reality on paper - something did definitely happen. Before you check out the latest crime statistics in your area, take a moment and a deep breath.
Your story is there but in your mind’ eye it was complete, total, and without any errors or revisions necessary. It was just there - a perfect, pretty package that needed no ribbons or fancy paper. What you have on paper is reality - this is your story in the form the world will see. Your thoughts are there, the words are there, but they do need the ribbons and fancy papers.
Each person has their own way of thinking - their own way of reacting. We don’t even think about it - it’s just there. We don’t flick a switch and we don’t push a button. It’s just there and there is good. Every writer soon finds out what that burst of energy, that literary genius really is. It’s the birth of a story, an article, a poem, or whatever the final outcome will be. Without this “spark” there would be no literature in the world.
Did you ever touch an outlet the wrong way or pull a plug and that white/blue spark just rushes out? When that spark came, it made you jump. It motivated you to stop doing whatever you were doing. It directed you to take precautions. You realized that you had to do something at that very moment.
Well, writing is just like that. The spark is there, but it comes in a beautiful rainbow of colors. It does give you a jump, and you will feel that you need to find paper and pencil and write this down. It motivates you to start thinking beyond that initial idea, to gently
mold it, weed it, and then redo it in the form that it will finally take. You have to take that first step or nothing would happen. There would be no literary work coming forth.
Many of the greatest writers in history wrote gems that came to them on napkins, the back of envelopes, or even matchbooks. The main point is that they did write them down so that they could refine their thoughts, polish them up and have something that they could be proud to offer to the general public.
Now take a second look at what you typed. It doesn’t seem so bad. Maybe, it could use a little work, a tuck here, and a push there. The monumental first step is looking right back at you. It’s there - you have it down on paper. You didn’t forget it, lose it, or throw it away. Whether you continue on this thought trend is entirely up to you. If not, put that piece of paper in a file folder that you can aptly call “Genius.”
You can go to sleep tonight with the knowledge that your folder has the start for a literary giant if and when you take the time to work on it. Check your “Genius” file every so often. That same thought will take on different meanings, new outlooks, and strange new directions. The main point is - it’s there. You saved it - and the future of literature will someday thank you when you transform it into the next bestseller or classic.
Welcome to the wonderful world of writing

©Arleen M. Kaptur 2002