The American writer Raymond Carver, who is considered by many to be one of the most accomplished short story writers there ever was, wrote this about writers:
‘Writers don’t need tricks or gimmicks, or even necessarily need to be the smartest fellows on the block. At the risk of appearing foolish, a writer sometimes needs to be able to just stand and gape at this or that thing-a sunset, or an old shoe-in absolute and simple amazement.’
This is so true. The writer is always writing, even if he or she isn’t holding a pen or a laptop at the time. The writer is always looking and thinking; observing; being curious about things, even things that to other seem un-important and trivial.
This looking and thinking opens the gate to the imagination. It lets ideas and inspiration in. And inspiration and ideas feed writing.
So keep your eyes open and allow yourself to be curious about the world around you.
Thorunn Bacon 