To Write or Not To Write...That Is The Question?

I find myself grappling with my new found time.   Cheryl is off to Iowa City to work,  leaving me at home with an entire day all to myself.   A complete day with no scoring, no testing,  nothing pressing that demands my time.  Completely, 100% mine!

So... What to do with this precious gift.

I thought about working on one of my next up and coming stories.  I have many.    I even have several small paragraphs to help me remember things when I finally get started. However,   tackling a story of epic proportions ( even short stories) takes a little motivation and desire.    It is difficult to put a finger on it, but the conditions have to be "right" for the ideas and typing fingers to flow.   Oh,  And I'm not sure if this happens to other writers... But "forcing" myself to write without those two things only causes me to have to delete the three hours of gibberish I struggled to put on the page.

So,  here I am...  Satisfying my desire to write by posting something on the blog.   Lamenting on my inability to begin a story in earnest.  Instead,  I send these words off to no one in particular.  Just like my last two stories.

Ah well, I didn't want this to be a depressing post....  so rather I wanted to list off the ideas I have rattling around in my head.   Perhaps by forcing myself to write the ideas on the blog,  I can get one of them to take root.   And, possibly,  after college board is over,  I will be able to find the open ended time required to finish one of them.....   So here it goes.

Story of breeders

Society now desires people to breed to make up for the declining birth rate and dwindling population.   The career of “breeder” is offered to young girls out of high school as an alternative to going to college and getting an education.  One girl explores the world of being a “professional breeder” and learns about the harsh truth of basically selling off your body to a society that then throws you away once you are no longer viable.  

I like this story.   There are many layers I have been trying to work out and fit inside my head.  It is going to be one of those "epic" ( meaning over 50,000 words at least) so I have to set aside lots of time to get it write.  

Wolf and Human

Story is about wolves that befriend a human. (Before the domestication of dogs was discovered)  The pack of wolves do not like being partnered with humans,  but one of the wolves makes a friend and as a result..both the human boy and the wolf are thrown out of their societies.    The humans are in competition with the wolves for hunting grounds; so they attack the wolves and force them  to flee or die.  

The boy and the wolf try to stop this competition and end the "war",  but fail to reverse the years of tradition and rivalry.   They then leave their village and territory to seek out a life on their own…using each other for their various skills to prosper.   And they survive and are happy…without the world they once only knew.  

I know this story has probably been done so many, many times; but I thought I would have a unique spin on it.   I like the idea of two outcasts fleeing the "known world" and finding that, when they work together, they discover a way of life that is better than either of those old worlds they fled from. I thought it would be a good short story about the "beginnings of domestication", and the symbiotic partnership of man and canine.  

Prison Escape

It was once said that the mind is both a prison and a universe.  It simply depends on how you choose to utilize it.  This is a story about a man who was imprisoned for his beliefs and sent to solitary confinement.  The light, sound and any other forms of creature comfort and stimuli are removed; save for the few moments each day when he is allowed food through a small slot in the door. His entire world is reduced to the blinding darkness and the cold, hard and cramped confines of his prison cell. This cell has been known to cause insanity for those who enter.  No one ever comes out without being changed forever.  However, this man has an education… and he uses his mind to escape the isolation… and ultimately,  the prison itself.  

I have often wanted to explore this idea of what happens when someone tries to escape the total isolation with only his mind.   The possibilities are endless... but there are limits if you have not filled your brain with intelligence.  This would be one of those stories that  ( hopefully) shows the power of an education and the possibilities of thought....even when everything else in the world is taken away.   This would not be the "Shawshank Redemption" type.    It would be on a different level of solitary confinement. 

There are more....   A man who rescues a dog.   A immortal soldier who can see when other soldiers are going to die.  A race of machines that explore the universe, but find their "immortality" has been jeopardized when a virus is released into their mainframe.   However...those will have to wait for another posting.   Sometimes it is just good to having things written down...Thanks for listening.