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Tuesday, 03 April 2012

A Muse

By Sharon Ostrow who blogs at It's All About the Journey

I would have to spend every minute of my life writing to complete my opus. As it is, my existence with all its distractions keeps knocking me off task. On the otherhand, if it weren't for daily life what would there be to express?

I’ve often thought that the creative process is much like being pregnant: from the conception of an idea, through the labor of writing to the birth of the finished work. I am also protective of my “babies” before I send them out into the world.

What I am realizing, however, is that not everyone gets as excited as I do about reading and writing. I have emailed posts or a link to one of my blogs to friends or family, expecting an immediate response or reflection. What I get sometimes is, “I haven’t had time to read your email” or “I saved your post to read another time. I am really busy.”

I have come to terms with that and so I continue, writing every day, on whatever the muse brings forth and she can be elusive or demanding at any given moment. The point is to make myself available.

Writing some of my family history on the maternal side of my family has been inspiring. The process of researching history and genealogical information has taught me patience and has connected me even more with my ancestors. There has been no one to date that has written about Mom’s side of the family so I feel inspired to do so.

My dad wrote about his side family and his experiences as a child growing up in the Palouse Country, as did his father before him. Dad passed away recently but I feel his spirit encouraging me onward. I understand now his passion for history and writing.

I imagine people would be curious about what it was like living in a cult. There have been books written, I am sure, but none like mine. My story is a unique one and one that has been unfolding as the years pass. My story has taken on a life of its own and now that I have perspective and hopefully some wisdom, perhaps I will bring it to completion.

I have read that memoirs still need to have focus: a beginning, a middle and an end. This is my biggest challenge, this focus. Then there is always the question of fact or fiction? Maybe it isn’t a memoir that I should be writing, but a work of fiction; change the names to protect the innocent and all that.

These are thoughts to consider as I open my mind to the muse.

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[INVITATION: All elders, 50 and older, are welcome to submit stories for this blog. They can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, etc. PLEASE read instructions for submitting.]

Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post