Under the Influence

I've been back in Canada almost three days and already I'm being bombarded with ideas and memories. I've posted before about how the small details of my life have made their way into my writing, but now I'm struggling with controlling just where those ideas are taking me.

Unfortunately, it's not to the end or even the middle of one of my current or pending projects. No, I keep finding inspiration for new pieces. I drove down the street I grew up on and all of a sudden these small memories came back. The girl at the end of the road with a pirate ship in her back yard, or the club house my best friend, Kelly's dad built or even the way we drove Micky nuts by singing "Hey Mickey, you're so fine" when we all knew he wasn't. 

So, where has it taken me? Well, I'm not sure yet, but nothing is fitting with any of my current plans. I have a series of snapshots in my head, pictures of characters and events but no solid leads yet. I'm not exactly sure where I want them to go. I know that I can't focus on a new novel but maybe a short story, or perhaps I need to take a look into a book I thought I was going to put to rest.

Today I Die, was about a young woman named Olivia and all I knew was that she woke up convinced she was going to die. I never knew if she did. I never got that far because I didn't know what motivated her character to act the way she did. But the way all of these childhood memories are flittering through my mind, I might just be able to find something for her.

In addition to a stroll down memory lane, I've been reading a series on the tNBW website and the author uses song lyrics at the start of each chapter. She puts her own twist on each, and while I don't want to copy it has given me an idea. I've begun thinking of creating a series of connected short stories around songs from either a band or artist. I have no plans on using lyrics or song titles or even mentioning the name of the band but I wonder at the legalities of it.

So many ideas, so many words to write. Now if only I could finish something completely!

On my iPod:

Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane

Memories

Since I started writing I've been plagued by the question of how much of myself and my memories do or can I put into my stories.  It's not that I put people I know into my stories, but there are bits and pieces of me and my experiences in each of my novels.  In The Evolution of Janie I have it set in Montana and I can clearly remember a summer vacation we took and how tame the wildlife seemed, although I never ran across shape shifting humans.  There was also a shopping scene with Janie and Justin that included some of Brandon's sage advice about buying multiple pairs of pants in the same style to reduce washing.  Songbird however included far more personal memories, my dog Pepsi that died and the Rainbow song my Dad used to sing to me.

There are some pieces that are nearly inconsequential.  I went to school with a boy named Jace and always liked his name.  I haven't seen him since 9th grade and have no idea what kind of a person he is, but still the name was stuck in my head, same with Jacey.  I visualized the park where Jace was shot as the playground at my elementary school.  Yet others are far more significant and the events changed the way I viewed life and as I wrote about them I felt that surge of pain as I relived the moment. Jace's funeral scene was based on an a friend's funeral and the reaction her son, Seth had when faced with putting her to rest.  Never will I forget the way he met my eyes and let out a sob as he realized his mother was truly gone.

As hard as that scene was to write, when I finished I realized that it was a moment I would never forget and that by putting it on paper, I've given my word to never forget them.  Maybe all of these little things I add from myself are really just memories I'm scared of losing.

On my iPod:

Lover's in a Dangerous Time by Bruce Cockburn (BareNakedLadies version)