The Story Spark was “O, October”. We were given 18 words beginning with the letter O to choose from to write our piece. The words in italics are the ones that I chose. Note: I chose all of them. The time, day, and month cited in this piece were actually the day we met to write. We had 25 minutes to write.
Oh, What a Way With Words
I’d like to say that I’m open-minded when it comes to writing ideas. Sometimes I come up with a writing style I want to explore and hope the story spark fits that theme. I’m optimistic that whatever is thrown at me, I will be able to come up with a piece to write about.
For example, if the theme was “Breakfast”, I might write about how Wednesdays and Saturdays are designated oatmeal days. Tuesdays and Thursdays are some breaded meal days, Mondays and Fridays are cereal days, and Sundays are special breakfast days. I know that sounds like I am somewhat OCD, but I’m OK with that regime.
Once we deviated from that plan, and OMG, what an anxiety-creating event that was. We had to change our whole schedule. I don’t want to obsess about breakfast routines, but sometimes one has to be obstinate about routines to maintain the status quo.
I tend to be an observant person. That is where I get a lot of my ideas from. A fallen leaf from an oak tree. An old man and woman having a heated discussion. A fortune teller at a carnival reading tarot cards, proclaiming your future in a very occult way. A Fourth of July parade with a marching Oom-Pah-Pah band. A folktale about Jack and how he happens upon an oaf, whom he helps, and gets rewarded with something he needs to succeed in a rescue.
This may seem odd, but that’s where I get my ideas. Those of you who hear my tales can attest to the obvious. That is who I am and how I write.
A thought just occurred to me – What if I were an octopus? I could write about everything at once. But that’s just wishful thinking. Think about how having 8 arms with hands would allow me to write many things at once. The only problem might be getting ink all over the place. Maybe being an octopus might not be the best idea I’ve ever had.
Anyway, I am who I am. Just throw me the prompt anytime; say at 2:00, or day; say Thursday, or month; say October, and I’ll be ready.
There must be an O word for that. Maybe Original.
