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What Does It Mean to Be a Writer?

From the deck of a rented beach house at Cape Hatteras Sea Shore I took this picture of a thunderstorm. 

"There is a swelling storm and I'm caught up in the middle of it all...and it takes control..." So begins the song "Waves" sung by Australian Dean Lewis. Sometimes it seems a storm is brewing, sometimes we get caught in the storm. We ride the swells up, then down, as we wait for calmer days.

Here is the same beach a few hours later. The storm passed and I was given a rainbow. So it is with writing. There are lean times, perhaps when outside life is taking its toll. Then there are inside storms when a disappointment or a challenge is before us and our creativity suffers. That's when I use the time to find nuggets. What are nuggets?

As a writer what I can do is read--which I'm doing. Lots of reading. And I can use this time to revise my stories. It's hard to be creative when a storm is swirling. For those of us who have bouncy brains we have to find a way to focus. One thing that always helps me is to take a long walk. 

This is a nugget. Look at this house--how many questions come to mind? How old is it? Who lived here? Who died here? I think a ghost might be inside.   imgp1929.jpeg