I wandered through Seaside, Oregon, on an unusually hot and muggy day. Now, on the coast, hot and muggy go hand in hand, but we have the good fortune in the Pacific Northwest to not have many unbearably hot days where the ocean meets land. Jump over the Cascades, and it is an entirely different matter. On that particular day, the fog had completely burned off, but salty dampness clung to me, and I decided that I needed to escape the streets before my hair turned into a curly mess. If I stay too long in humid weather, I begin to look like Weird Al Yankovic.
As I wandered through the narrow aisles of the shop I’d darted into, my mind flew into chaos. Sometimes I wish I could establish a writing studio amid such a bustling shop, letting my mind jump from curio to nick-nack while strange thoughts bubble through my head. Often I feel giddy as I study each object and imagine the kind of person who might pick it up, hold it to the light, consider it, and then carry it off to the register. If you are wondering what kind of person I would be, let me show you the object I desired most in that small shop. –>
Isn’t it beautiful? I immediately texted my partner to show him the treasure I had found. The exchange went something like this:
Me: Look at this!
My Partner: What the hell is that?
Me: A salt and pepper shaker. We need a new one.
My Partner: No.
Me: I’m buying it!
My Partner: Don’t you dare. If you bring that thing home, I’m selling all of your books. All of them. Every single last one. I’m serious.
I hate it when he says hurtful things like I’ll sell your books, or There’s no room in our house for one more thing. As a result, I passed on buying that fantastic artwork, which I regret to this day. Revenge was served when a cousin bought me a mating bunny salt and pepper shakers. He glowers whenever I bring them out, and those cold eyes spit daggers at me. Before you get all defensive on his behalf, let me point out that he knew I was like this before we swore to live the rest of our lives together.
What does all of this have to do with writing? Well, writers are a lot like shoppers, and the writing process is a hell of a lot like shopping. Your writing process says a lot about how and what you will write, and it greatly influences your voice. The beauty here is that there is no right or wrong, as long as you write in your way. Try to write like someone else, and you will fail. Note: many of us have more than one influencing us! Today let’s chat about the impulse shopper!
The Impulse Shopper
These folks (and I am totally one of them) like to meander and take everything in. But, if inspiration hits them, everyone had better watch out. They dig into projects with a zeal that borders on obsessive (if we’re honest with ourselves, all writers border on obsessive, it just looks different for each writer). This happened to me last spring. My story suddenly coalesced in my mind, and before I knew it, it was July, and I had hardly spoken a word to friends and family save for those who were tenacious enough to rouse me out of my writing fugue long enough to urge a line or two of dialogue from me.
Pros: Falling into the “naive” classification of writing (see Orhan Pamuk’s book, The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist for more on this), the impulse shopper tends to intuit the nature of what he or she sees and translate that into words that capture the moment and immerse the reader into the image created with the words on the page. Think Romantic Era writers like Coleridge (Kubla Khan, anyone?). These writers are inspired by the world around them and capture that inspiration in a way few others manage.
Cons: Impulse shoppers tend to get off on tangents and often write in a very non-linear fashion. Fragmentation is excellent if you are Faulkner, but as a college professor once told me, you must channel that chaos and write intentionally, which can be tricky. Finding a trusted editor to curtail your impulsiveness and ensure you are deliberate and intentional in your writing is critical. Need some inspiration? Try out Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, or check out Judy Ruiz’s Oranges and Sweet Sister Boy.
Tips:
- Carry a notebook or device with you everywhere so that when the muse hits, you can capture those thoughts rather than losing them to the wind.
- Pay attention to the things that seem to inspire your mind and surround yourself with them.
- Don’t worry about quality when you are caught in the moment. Use those times when you are waiting for inspiration to go back and edit your work.
Wild Moontides 
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