Mystic Wing helped me find the end of my story yesterday. We were talking on the phone and, in his usual way, he asked the questions I needed to hear answered, knowing those answers would lead me where I needed to go.
I'm older than Bryan by a couple of years, but he's become the big brother I've always needed. When I count my blessings, he's near the top of the list, every time.
So, last night I spent a lot of time helping Evan study for his first test (it's tonight) and then an hour or so googling to find out why bugs fly towards lights, why moths are attracted to flames. Turns out it's tied up with their navigational system, that when they encounter a bright light very close to them, they mistake it for the moon, which throws them completely out of whack. They instinctively know they shouldn't be so close to the moon. Fascinating and perfect for the story, too.
You'll see some of the details when I get the story done. My point here is what a gift it is to write and to live a writer's life. Many of our conversations with each other are about words, about ideas, about the themes of life. We discover some factoid, study it, and use it to illustrate a point. We grow and learn and share.
More than anything else, being a writer means being a life-long learner.
Sign me up!
6 comments:
In the words of Wayne Campbell, commenting on rock star Alice Cooper in the movie "Wayne's World",
"I'm not worthy."
You're only two years older?? Somehow I thought the gap was much, much more.
You always inspire me. How I would love to sit down with you for a long, long talk.
:)
I feel so lucky to have gotten to sit down with for some long, long talks. You ARE most certainly signed up, are a life-long learner. And I agree, you are inspiring, no question about that at all.
Me too!
I can't wait to see how you weave this tale, but I love the moth questions. What is really strange is this: last night there were more than the average number of moths lined up on the kitchen wall behind the coffee pot. And I began to wonder why and if it was true that moths have no mouth, and they only live for 24 hours, their only purpose and drive to procreate, not eat, and then die. And then why are moths not butterflies, who drink water from the mud with their antennae and make the migration from South America to here so they must live longer, and maybe I should have saved this for my own post or a conversation with you and Evan, since we seem to be on the same wavelength on this moth to flame thing:)
So glad to be in the community with you. Much love.
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