PLACES: Write in the Woods
I don’t know about you, but there’s something in the woods that just sparks the writer side of me. Whether it’s the mystery, the history, or the sheer size, the woods never fails to get my imagination cranking.
Next time you’re at a cabin, on a camping trip, or visiting a lake like Arrowhead, let your surroundings take over and let your mind wonder free. Not only will you be inspired by the sounds, sights, and fact that sometimes there’s nothing much to do, but you might also find that the stories you dream up or encounter are far different than the ones you might think up, say, in the city or suburbs.
For me, a trip up to the cabin usually means getting to work on a fantasy story I’m working on called Jasper Nickels and the Secret Guild of Glowbugs – perhaps because I feel the story might actually take place in the woods.
What ever the reason, I feel the woods are a very special place when it comes to writing. While I usually tend to lean toward writing in another format, screenwriters will also find inspiration here – in fact, because of the extreme focus and concentration needed to get anything done when writing a screenplay, the woods might actually be one of the best places for screenwriters – can you say cabin fever?
Next time you spend a visit, consider letting your imagination create and see where it takes you.
As with all the posts in the PLACES series, I challenge you to write a thousand words next time you’re in the woods and post it in the comments section below.
If you visit the woods a lot, you might also be interested in Writing on top of a mountain – check it out!
I had the exact same laptop man…PowerBook G4 and that is exactly how it looks with a cup of coffee beside it. And “Starbucks” as well…
I’d wish I were in your shoes because even though sometimes being a professional script analyst or writer does have its own challenges, but being able to do something you love as a profession is better than getting stuck in some place where your passion could never be expressed.
I’m stuck in my work as a factory worker, from morning until sun down, I have to do things that have no relation at all with my passion as a writer. Its a complete world apart from art, because it is more on production in business. Walking around the exact same place and working on the machines, is not different than being a machine yourself. It’s almost like I am a machine going over the same routines every single day, 24/7. It drives you nuts, especially for a person like me with no passion at all for machines or a factory. The air smells bad, the climate is hot throughout the year, and you have to deal with all those people who knew nothing at all about arts. Even your family members have no idea, even your sole called “close friends” have no idea about what you’ve been up to you know? No one’s here to help…to say the truth. They don’t even need to tell you anything, you just wake up everymorning by listening to that factory noise downstairs, then its going to make you feel all alone and sometimes hateful towards yourself because you just might think that your crazy enough to wanting to be a writer. Or to believe the fact that people in this stinkin world would listen to your stories…This is where I am now. I’m still floating, and still swimming around, and I just hope I can find myself a “life jacket” to sustain myself. I could use a good “rescue team” too, to get me out of this ocean filled with corpses floating around…if you know what I mean, “corpses” as in people who killed their own dreams in this world just so they could be accepted by those other people who follows the advices, or “realistic” suggestions of others. Telling them their wrong, and what they should do….telling them it isn’t such a good idea to follow your dreams, because you’ll go broke, you’ll just be some bum hanging out on the streets selling paintings. Its good to get a job, be a lawer or doctor, a business man who makes big bucks, so just as everyone says, its not worth to take risks even you have the passion…
To me, thats just load of crap, because in life everybody had the urge to take that shot…especially when you knew what you have and what your made of. And that, nobody can take that away from you, but only to kill it yourself.
With all this being said, Chris, coming back to your post, I must say I am quite jealous…because maybe its because I wish I could be the same as you where you get to look at other scripts, interacting with other people who’s also into the same field as you, going around places, etc…I’d wish I could find people here in Thailand to do the same man…but everytime when I think about it, its very frustrating…how could we survive in a world, where its not our fault, but just that people don’t really care about stories? and they wouldn’t even consider listening or reading what you write?
how could you survive in a world, where people everywhere around you, kept on telling you that your nothing but just an idealistic, broke, and someone who don’t see the reality? how could you sustain your passions, if the environment that you live in, only follows the smell of money around, but not following the voices thats been shut up on the inside? Its always about making money from where I am now…and dreams are only mentioned or talked about only by kids whom adults now would always be amused by saying “oh how cute, this baby has his own dreams…”
Maybe you would think I went a bit too far…but believe it or not, this is whats it like to live in a different country with different culture and thoughts. different values and ideas, beliefs that would not make everybody who has their passions to be successful.
The only places I can write are in coffee shops, both quiet or crowded in the city. Very unsettling all the time, so I always looked as if I’m constipating while writing because I’ve got to just focus on myself and get my ideas out. It does get really tiring, and everywhere you look, you see people going about their businesses in a hurry, not stopping and always just doing something. Its a confusing place to be in a city because you have all the mixed emotions inside that you don’t even know how to start….but whats good about this, is that you would start asking questions from your own prejudice or stereotypes on people, then you would think what it would be like if your rich or poor, what shit you have to go through in all these different classes in the city. Politics, wealth, health care, rich and poor, economic effects on people’s characteristics, the quality of products and services, etc…everything…for me, the city is where you get to see people…what a complex race we are and such strange animals. Easily to get corrupted, filled with greed, abusing power, lust for fame and wealth, etc…everything mixed together…It is very different than sitting alone on the beach or in a forest writing stuff. Because sometimes when I write in a crowded coffee shop, when I look at those people, its almost like looking at a mirror, at myself. Then a voice would just say “get a life,” because look at those people dressing all fancy, walking around going to some place fancy, with girls or guys, whatever. They have a life, but what about me? What am I?
Thats whats it like writing in the city…with all the noises, cars, and people the smell of bad air around you…
God I wish I could just have the same kind of chance as you man..^_^ thats all I’m saying. It does drive me crazy to just always write around the city. I’m saving money to go back to film school for the years the come, so I can’t really go anywhere to travel. Some friends get mad, because they think I’m anti-social, and all I ever talk about is writing. I don’t go out that much, but only just to enjoy myself and my stories…But at least, now I’m glad that I could share all this with you guys here.
William