Life Changers: 17th B-Day

You know that voice in the back of your head, the one that sounds like your <insert authority figure here>, saying "You're going to regret that when you're older"? Ya, well, there was at least once in my life that I wish I had listened to that voice.

When I turned 17, my friends and I celebrated the same way we had been since I was 15. We loaded up into a car and went down the road to my Grandmother's to go sledding in the gullies at the edge of her property. This seems like the obvious thing to do when your birthday is in the dead of winter and you live in the Middle of Nowhere, Northern Ontario. This year, things were a little different. There was a good foot of fresh powder! So we did what any fun loving group of teens would do.

My boyfriend at the time was six foot two and built like a line backer. So he took turns lifting us over his head and throwing us down the hill into the fresh powder. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It may even have been my idea. Well, when it came for my turn, something happened. His foot found a gopher hole and it through off my trajectory. I landed on the flat of my shoulders, crumpling me like a tin can. I was in a fair amount of pain, and I couldn't breathe. I'm not even sure I managed to uncrumple myself right away. I know I couldn't even lift my hand to let them know I was okay.

They came scurrying down the embankment, and by the time they got to me, I was able to move around. I even got up and walked back up the hill, and continued to sled for the rest of the afternoon. I felt fine.

But today, among other problems, I've got a mysterious back pain that can only be managed with some of the most powerful painkillers this side of narcotics. I can't help but think back to that day, and hear my mother's voice in my head. "You're going to regret that when you're older..."

Fiction

Fiction is always as escape from reality. From OUR OWN reality. Good writers write good stories. Great writers create great characters. And truly inspired writers write inspired stories with inspired characters in inspired universes. An author's chosen genre should not dictate the intelligence nor age of their target audience any more than their favourite colour should dictate how much they are paid per book. Books are for everyone. Of every age. Of every nationality. Of every IQ percentile. Of every ethnicity, spirituality and sexual orientation. You don't even have to be literate; that's what audio books are for...

I know a young Christian girl who isn't a fan of Fantasy. She prefers what she calls depression fiction. The kind of stuff that involves the capture and torture and deprivation of innocents. I was shocked. I asked her, cautiously, why? "Because you have hope. You know something good is coming" Her response floored me. But I could relate.

It was a combination of Christopher Pike's 'Remember Me' series and Marion Zimmer Bradley's 'Avalon' series that got me thinking about my faith and spirituality. Having said that, they are also some of my favourite escapism reading.

There are books that I simply cannot read when I am feeling low. As well written as they are, they are simply too moving. They hit too close to home, and I end up setting the book down with shaking hands, and feeling like I may have a panic attack. Having said that, when in the right mindset, I can read those same books, and come away with a different outlook on my situation, and often, a new tool to try to deal with whatever it is in my life that this particular book is speaking to. On that note, I highly recommend the Crossfire series by Silvia Day for anyone who is struggling with emotional scaring, and may be afraid to take the step of seeing a psychologist.

There are other books that I have read so many times that I can practically recite the chapters. The characters feel like old friends. These are the books that I turn to when I am feeling ill, or homesick, or just overwhelmed.  Laurell K. Hamilton's, Kiss of Shadows is one such.

I have an entire bookshelf full of books that I've purchased (used) or been given that I haven't even gotten around to reading yet. Forgetting the list of books recommended by friends. There are days that, I will admit, I feel a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. Gone are the days when I spend 8 hours a day reading. but I also know that if I ever feel the urge to write, but can't quite tap into my creative juices, all I need do is pick any 5 books at random, start skim reading, and then wait for my brain to start tickling.

People often ask me where I get my writing ideas. The truth is, that I'm a worry wart. I have the unfortunate knack for what-if'ing any scenario. In life, this can lead to anxiety, headaches, and even ulcers. I try to curb that particular knack into a tool for writing. I will mull over someone else's story idea, and "What if" it until you can no longer recognize my starting point. 

Fiction is also the scariest thing to write. Non fiction is easy. It's either an opinion -no matter if it's based on researched facts- or just life stuff. Non fiction is something I do for myself, and hope that maybe someone else might like it, and maybe even learn from it. Fiction is something I write first for me, but always with the knowledge that there is an audience. An audience full of editors, critiques, and much better authors than myself. I'll stop there, before I turn this into a post on Writing.