Writers' Ways 1

The first of our new series on writing from Christine, the PigPeg.page writing teacher. There is always more to learn.

Why do we write?

We write to communicate our thoughts, our ideas, our opinions, or to give information or news.

'We write because we want someone to read what we have to say.’

Usually, it takes a ‘trigger’ or a creative spark. Something which gives us an ‘I HAVE TO DO THIS NOW’ moment. Writing it, just putting that trigger down on paper; whether that be actual paper with pen, ink, biro, or pencil or typed on a computer.

Creative Spark

One such for me was a knot of wood. Not any knot of wood, this was definitely an ‘eye’ that kept looking at me, telling me to DO IT!

And this eye led me to:

A poem

The seeing eye
The watchful eye
The all seeing, ever watchful eye.
The caring eye,
The telling eye,
That oversees us all.
…
If no eye
Can we rely
On touch or feel instead?
Or use
Smell, taste or sound
To tell what the eye would have said.
The see-ing eye;
The telling eye;
The caring
The ever watchful eye.

A painting

Prose

What was it about the knot of wood in this work that resembled a human eye? At a glance, the shape best described as two arcs of a circle mirrored across a central point; the top more pronounced than the lower; pointed at either end where they intersect but with one end more rounded than the other. The dominating feature of an eye is the centre: the pupil and the iris. This knot had such features…

For this particular knot, just by touching the surface the outline can be traced with the fingertips. One can feel the rises and indentations and recognise what it represents…

For interest, I researched the word ‘eye’ in dictionaries, encyclopaedias and on the computer. The references, definitions, derivates, compound words, phrases, homographs revealed through the exercise were absolutely fascinating and very extensive…

No longer is there just a wooden planked floor. Suddenly, there is an inanimate object brought to life.

‘Where there was one knot of wood, there were more.

Recent creative writing

Strawberries for breakfast

The last weekend in April. This seemed really ridiculous. INot Christmas. Not Easter. So, what could this be?

An April Saturday morning and when lockdown stopped the weekly Park Run I had got into the habit of taking myself for a wonderful Woodland Trust run/walk early on Saturday mornings: the fresh air and me.

On the way home I would dive into a local shop to get the weekend papers. The young chap became used to the routine and often saw me coming, raised his eyebrows and said, “Telegraph’ “Yes please” I replied.

On this occasion the ‘till tempter’ was trays of delicious looking strawberries. I did a double take. Could this be? Really? Had it been Christmas it would have been the tray of satsumas. But this was April and it was strawberries. A whole tray of bright, smiley juicy red strawberries. What was there not to like?

I don’t do 'till tempters’. At least I hadn’t until then. And were they delicious? Oh yes! Even more so as they were a wholly unexpected treat. We were not greedy. We shared them with the young family next door and a friend, who cannot get out in the way we can, when we called on her later in the day, socially distanced of course.

Next month, another Writers' Ways:

Another matter to consider, another knot, and something to ponder on.

© C. Hawthorne 2021