Be Still Part Four

Be Still

Part Four

            I think, for this last post on “be still”, I’m going to bring the focus to being an author. I don’t know how every author practices their craft. I only know myself. I am a quiet person. I can be in a group of people and say very little. Those who know me, know I’m having a good time. The ones who love me, put up with my quietness.

            Anyway, I have always been a quiet person. I choose to observe and listen rather than speak. I do speak when necessary and I have my moments of nonstop talking. Overall, though, when I’m quiet I am most in tune with what is going on around me.

            It is my belief that the tone of a person’s voice says more than the words they speak. I listen for the tone the words travel on. As I continue to develop my craft, my ears are constantly searching for a new spin of a phrase or an interesting word/tone combination.

            My eyes are constantly seeking new things to sketch out in detail. The way a person moves or reacts. The way people respond to each other. And what is happening beyond the group of people? What are they not seeing that could create a whole new world inside a book? How did we all get to this one place? Does their behavior expose their backstory?

            I usually keep a small notebook with me, though I don’t get it out among a group of people. My nerdiness doesn’t need to show all the time! Most of the time, something I observed or heard will get written down. Especially, if the story is forming quickly in my thoughts.

            As an author, I find myself asking age old questions with a new purpose in mind. Why does he sit outside the coffee shop every single day at four o’clock with a Coke can in hand? Why does the older gentleman eat his McDonald’s breakfast with a spoon he brought with him?

            Just those two questions alone can spin a story twenty different directions. This is probably one of my favorite forms of being still. I love when my mind is wandering off into the author world and creating new stories or poems. What encourages you to stop, be still, be quiet and just observe your surroundings? Do it sometime and see what you discover!