Idea development

 Anne Lamott in her book ''Bird by Bird'' wrote, ''If you survived through childhood, you have enough stories for the rest of your life.'' One of my ideas was indeed to write a story on memories from school, lunch break to be exact. It was something special about these moments, counting last seconds, sneaking our belongings into the bags so we would be ready when the bells ring, you see back then we were a bunch of little animals and we behave like them too. Ring of the bell, especially for a lunch break that was the most social part of the day in school, meant that we have to run. Securing a place on the right table, not being last in the queue so we get to eat good food and pastries, most importantly there was this sense of belonging in running. We would flood the corridors with unstoppable force, emerge ourselves in this race, for about thirty seconds everybody was equal, no one would care if someone cried in a class or confused the teacher with their mom, no one cared if your clothes have holes in them or that you came to school with dirt marks on your face because your father got so drunk and you had to hide in your room with no shower till school came so you wouldn't get abused.                          

                                                                      Photo by Gianandrea Villa

Lately, I find myself drifting back more often. Memories of childhood become my refuge from problems I have to face in the present although back then, in the ''easier days'' we had a bunch of problems too, and perhaps some of them seem like a summer breeze compared to things we have to deal with now but nevertheless when we didn't have rent to pay, securing a good place at the table seemed like a big deal.  

For my project, I will write a short story on the dynamics of lunch breaks.  It will be a story about a boy who been told what to think and how to act to find friends and a place in society, yet with no sense of real identity. About the boy who wants nothing more than feeling like he belongs, but on his own terms, for what he truly is and not for one drawn around his innocent and most importantly true soul. 

Now since I have an initial idea for what I want to write I will look deeper into the ways I could develop this story even further. I was looking for the ways other authors work and develop ideas into the stories when I remembered a video I seen of Jonas Mekas talking about making film

                                                                         Advice to the young

 I think it applies to all creative mediums.  The most important thing is to do it, doesn't matter what you do, film, paint or write. You start with the idea, and you sit your ass down and write because the tool you use to express yourself is an extension of you, and it's important to learn how to use it. Once you come with a problem, you start researching it, for example, if you not sure how to make a protagonist feel real you look into it, reach out to the community, and look for help. 

I think lately I started to work in a similar manner, I started writing much more, reading more books about it, and once I find myself stuck I don't just wait for something magical to happen that will sort all my problems, I start looking for help, for information on how to deal with a specific issue. 

The first step in the development of this story for me is to write it, and see what form will it take, from there I will look into the ways how to make it more real, how to give it more depth. I will look into the use of language and structure.  

                           

                                                                               Picture by Mike Tinnion

Also, there is importance is having a writers journal. Dolly Garland in her blog post ''the benefits of keeping a writers jurnal'' (writingcooperative) wrote how keeping a writers journal can improve our writing. It can be used to record or brainstorm ideas, make notes for research, develop characters and plot and its good to have it by your side at all times to write down observations and thoughts.

Lately I started to carry my notebook with me, try to write thoughts that come across my mind, dreams, sometimes I write about my day or specific events that happen to me during that day and try to figure out how it affected me. I think its a good exerice in both writing and soul searching as after all to write is to observe and there is no better place to start then within ourselves.

References. 

10 Famous Writers And Their Daily Creative Routines | Thought Catalog

Jonas Mekas: Advice to the Young - YouTube

The Benefits of Keeping a Writer’s Journal | by Dolly Garland | The Writing Cooperative