As I’ve mentioned in a gathering or two, I find the writing style and chosen topics of Wil Wheaton (formerly of Stand By Me and ST:TNG, now of this, this, and this) to be particularly evocative and enjoyable. Â I also appreciate that he frequently writes about the challenges and joys of the writing process. Â No, I’ve still not produced the long promised work, but I haven’t given up yet either. Â I thought the opening paras of Wil’s LAWeekly column this week to be interesting on the subject of inspiration, and encouraging on the issue of choosing topics. Â The full story is here, but the first para in particular is the bit that really caught my eye:
“Being a writer means I have to open myself to as much sensory input as possible, as often as possible. It’s like I have this giant sticky drift net that’s always open around me, trapping sights, smells, feelings, and sounds which will jar loose some long – forgotten memory, or find their way into some future work of fiction.
My son is home from college, visiting briefly before he goes back for his summer session, so I’ve been making a concerted effort to cram as much writing as I can into limited working hours each day, so my evenings are free to spend with him and the rest of our family. This weekend, my wife and I took him out to dinner, where I found myself in front of a Centipede arcade machine, drawn there by the unmistakable sound of the player earning an extra guy.”
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