My Imagination has the Audacity to Create!

I’m a historical fiction writer. I am drawn to events, lives and things of the past. Everyday objects have a particular fascination to me.

My imagination can’t help running wild when I eye an unusual artifact—it can’t help but create a life around each piece. You can imagine how much my wife likes going to an antique store with me.

I can’t stop it any more than I can stop a sneeze.

My imagination even has the audacity to create characters, plots and storyline twists—all inspired by that worn, intriguing item. And the more captivating the mystery surrounding it, the more compelled my imagination feels to create story.

The story comes to life—for me anyway.

My first manuscript—The Piano Surgeon—is a perfect example. My agent is actively pitching it to publishers.

As a child, I often traveled with my best friend, Philip, and his family to Pond, Mississippi—population 3 on weekdays and 10 or 12 on weekends, depending on the number of visitors Philip’s family piled into their maroon passenger van.

Philip’s grandparents had operated a country store, which was connected to their home. His grandmother closed the store after her husband passed away, and the merchandise sat on the shelves untouched for years— slowly evolving from modern conveniences to tarnished antiques.

Philip and I spent many humid afternoons exploring the treasures of that country store.

On one occasion, in the shadows of the corner, I spotted a coffin-shaped, weathered grand piano. As we plinked on it, I ran my fingers along the ivory keys scrawled with signatures in faded India ink.

Philip then revealed a tale about a nineteenth century surgeon who owned that very piano and had used it as his Civil War operating table.

Can you hear my brain whirring?

The signatures belonged to the survivors.

The Piano Surgeon is my fantasy of the mystique behind that man and his piano, which still stands at the Pond General Store—now run by the next generation. I hope this is the year to get it published.

CREATIVE FUEL

I'm also a marketing consultant. 

I cherish imagination.

I love good design.

I almost worship creativity.

My heart races when I stumble on creative genius in the world around me—and it is everywhere!

I feel privileged to see it. Hear it. Taste it. Touch it. Witness it. Experience it.

I appreciate the gifts, talents, and skills of all creators in this world. Their gifts are my Creative Fuel.

As a child I used to think that creative meant someone who can draw well. How wrong was I? Creativity encompasses so much more. It touches every labor we humans pursue.

A pianist can be creative, as can a plumber. A cartoonist and a cowboy. An architect and an accountant—though creative accounting usually has some criminal connotations associated with it. ;-)

How special are we? Everyone has creativity within.

And this collective creative genius inspires me to tap into my own well of creativity. Like tapping a maple tree to make syrup. By the way, who figured that out? That you could create a spile, then stick it into a maple tree to draw out the sap flowing inside the trunk. Remember The Hunger Games?

And then if you boil that sap, you get the amber goodness we call syrup. Mmmm. Remember Buddy the Elf? That’s Grade A Genius right there.

In my blog, I’ll explore the creativity, the imagination, and the designs I encounter through my journey in the world and share how each inspires my writing.

Find your own Creative Fuel.

Surround yourself with it.

Bask in it.

Then do something with it!

A CALL TO ACTION

Are you looking to jump-start your creativity? If so, check out my free eBook: 5 Exercises that Will Make You 5 Times More Creative that I use to keep the juices flowing—in myself or in my clients. You can get it by going to the Get Inspired page.

You can follow my blog on Medium.

You can follow my journey to getting published on Facebook.