While the rest of America squealed at the imitation of rockets glaring and bombs bursting, I sipped a glass of Cabernet and watched a mind-twisting movie with my husband.
Later, we read good books and talked. We let the breeze generated by the ceiling fan sweep across our shoulders and waited for the bangs and pops and whistles to fade.
Today, I’m writing about it, living twice, as writers do. A writer friend told me that in the most horrific fight she’d ever had with her mother, she felt she was standing outside herself, observing, wondering how “the material” might be used in her fiction.
For writers, the pyrotechnics come after the event.
That’s true…even people who write in their diaries are able to live some of their experiences twice.
http://xxhawkeyexx.wordpress.com/
Absolutely!
I know what you mean, you can write something beautiful and live forerver, or you can live and write nothing, still have a fullfilling life, but forgotten by the world at a later time in it. I love the Fourth of July and the values the Founding Fathers and Mothers wanted for our country as well as some of their helpers. Because without that we wouldn’t be able to improve our lives or find out some truths about things that if we would have stuck with the theocracy and kingship systems that you only get with a democracy. I saw fireworks too last night, they rocked!!
The title alone of this post sent my head spinning! LOL
Multiple lives, all intertwined. Love that idea!
We do have those experiences, like your writer friend’s, don’t we? Like an actor, I would suppose, part of them always soaking up “character” for future use.
A friend of mine uses this Judith Krantz quote on her blog: “A novelist has to be schizophrenic without being mentally ill.”
great quote Linda!
As a writer, you can have the joy of re-creating history. “These are the facts, but here’s what it really meant”.
And so often, it’s really, really funny. I’ve often found myself laughing out loud, not because of the humour of my writing but the beautiful absurdity of the situation I am describing, often (especially) if it was infuriating at the time.
I love the joy of re-creating history, but even more so, inventing it.
Are you referring to absurd situations such as booking a ski holiday? Although your understated writing definitely added to the humor.
http://sean-haffey.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-have-complaint.html
Yes – it was so much fun writing that up. Look out for Episode 2 when I have a few moments to blog it. By curious coincidence, earlier today I found out that the CEO of the travel company lives down the road from me.
Life is funny, especially in retrospect!
I just came across your blog from looking through the blogging group on “Shewrites”.
What a great point about writers living twice! The amazing thing about that second-time-through is that we get to give the experience a meaning that an outsider might never have seen otherwise. You could have just “stayed home” on the Fourth, which to an outsider might have seemed a boring alternative to the traditional fireworks and picnic. But you’ve arranged the words and explained the experience in such a way that watching a movie with the husband becomes fun and, more importantly, yours.
Hi Christina, Thanks for your thoughtful comments … I’ll look you up on SHE WRITES.