You Can't Go Back

"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold." - Frodo Baggins, The Return of the King

Change. Irrevocable change. Transformation. Drastic alteration. Inability to return to the way it was.

This is an important criteria for a good story. When the last page is turned, when the final credits have rolled, I want to know that the characters have been permanently changed. I want to see that there is no possible way for life to go back to the way it was. 

This new state of existence may be better or worse. It may be an improvement on the situation at the beginning - Cinderella marrying her Prince Henry and living happily ever after. It may be heart-wrenching - Sherlock Holmes facing death while battling his mortal enemy. It may be bittersweet - Bilbo and Frodo forever changed by the Ring, leaving Middle-earth to stay in the Undying Lands. 

Of course, being the lovely human being I am, I tend to prefer the latter two types of change. I find the heart-wrenching, gut-punching, tear-jerking forms of change to leave the strongest memory, to have the greatest effect. 

But in the end, no matter what form it takes, change must come.

Staticity is boring, mundane. If characters go through an adventure only to settle back into the same dull routine in the end, what was the point? Why does it matter if nothing changes? 

The same holds true in real life. Living life in a changeless, passive, stagnant manner is meaningless. A life of adventure, exploration, and learning - that is a life that leads to growth. And growth leads to purpose and understanding.

This whole post just took an unintended tumble down the rabbit-hole. But that's okay. In what started out as an analysis of fictional elements led me to realize why I crave adventure in my own life. See? Growth just through typing out a blog-post. It can slip in anywhere if we're open to it.

Where can you grow in your life?


P.S. I've been neglecting this little blog of mine recently; apologies for that. Writing research papers, lab reports, and a novel have hungrily consumed much of my writing energies. As I move into the last six weeks of classes, I hope to find more time for my creative endeavours.

Addendum as of 11:30pm: I decided to throw a little explanation on here as to why I penned this post.

Earlier today I was browsing spoilers for the upcoming season 3 of BBC's Sherlock, which, for those of you who don't know, is an incredible show I adore. It finally hit me - Season 3 is going to be different. Very different. Sherlock's return, the imperative trust issues between him and John, the new character addition - all of these things will necessitate change in this upcoming season. At first I was uncomfortable with this. The show is such a good thing, I hate to see major changes after just six episodes. But the insightful words of Frodo quoted above along with this dialogue popped into my head:

Bilbo: Can you promise that I will come back? 
Gandalf: No... and if you do, you will not be the same.

Bring it, I say. Let's bravely face what changes come our way... both in fiction and in reality. 

The Story of Our Lives

I'm not typically a fan of love songs, so I was surprised when I first heard and promptly fell in love with Sleeping at Last's song "Turning Pages." One particular line from this piece always tugs at my heart every time I hear it:

"We're tethered to the story we must tell."

The poetical nature of this phrase is simply beautiful. It reminds me that we were all placed on this earth to tell a story. This story is our very own. It's personal, it's intimate, and no one else can share it. This story is told throughout our lives in the way which we touch the lives of those around us.

As a writer, this line has a similar secondary meaning to me. I have a story to tell, a story I am bound to write and destined to share. I know this story is meant to be told by the way it is constantly present in my mind, begging to be written, nagging to be shared. I only hope that I can do justice to this tale and present it as it is meant to be told.

This line of lyrics reminds me of a phrase spoken by the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC's long-running show Doctor Who.

"We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one."

As one who believes in the Divine Creator, I believe that we are more than just stories when it's all over. Yet when we pass to the next life, we are stories to those left behind - stories and legacies. The question is, what sort of story will we leave behind? Is it one our descendants will be glad to share? Will we leave a heritage our grandchildren will proud to call their own? Or will they be ashamed of what we've left behind? Will they want to deny us and who we were? We have the choice to decide how we express our story.

We all have a story to tell - how will you tell yours?

The Magic of the Mundane

Mundane. Dull. Boring. Ordinary. Not words usually coupled with the sparkle and flash of magic. Yet I am convinced that it is the average, the conventional, the humdrum moments that lend the most to life. It is the regular that can give birth to the incredible, and the normal that can lead to the exceptional.

Yesterday I stood on the cold tile floor in the kitchen, rapping my fingertips against the counter as I waited for my bread to toast. It was an average Tuesday. The house was quiet and as soon as I finished my lunch I would be leaving. My gaze flitted across the crumbs and utensils scattered across the counter-top as an imaginary conversation between fictional characters played itself out in my head. As I mechanically moved through the process of making my sandwich - slicing the cheese that precise width I love so much, slathering mayonnaise across the crispy bread - an idea tumbled into my mind. The very idea I had been waiting on to kick-start a short story that has been lurking on the dusty upper bookshelves of my brain. I immediately knew I had stumbled on a gold mine. I just hope the editors I submit it to think so as well.

It was a banal, everyday process that led me to this clever idea, and the more I write, the more value I find in similar moments. I find inspiration in the little things. Yesterday it was sandwiches and imaginary conversations. Today it was tennis shoes. What will it be tomorrow, I wonder?

Don’t get me wrong – as someone with a vivid imagination, I love the grandiose, the magnificent, and the incredible. I find great delight in reading tales of fantastical adventures in far-off worlds. In truth, I have always found every day, ordinary life to be a boring undertaking. I find it hard to involve myself with my daily dealings when I would rather be in exciting, new places, seeing and experiencing wonders never before discovered. Yet I am beginning to realize that the ordinary moments have a function and a purpose. When I open my eyes, my heart, and my mind to the things around me, they become so much more than mundane, so much more than ordinary. They become catalysts for the truly extraordinary. 

Why I Write: Part 1 - To Feel Alive

"Why do you write?" I get this question sometimes from curious individuals who wonder why I don't have a normal hobby like sports or crafts or reading. Well, I do love to read, but it isn't my only pastime. Although I have never asked myself this question in such a straightforward fashion, I have always known why I write. But I decided that perhaps it was time to answer these questions in a succinct manner for those who ask. This will be a series with several parts to be posted over the next few weeks - starting today with Why I Write: Part 1.

Reason 1: I Write to Feel Alive

The arts especially address the idea of aesthetic experience. An aesthetic experience is one in which your senses are operating at their peak; when you’re present in the current moment; when you’re resonating with the excitement of this thing that you’re experiencing; when you are fully alive. - Sir Ken Robinson

Writing is an art, like drawing or painting. An artist sees the world around him with eyes that notice the intricate details. He sees every petal of each daisy in that field full of wild-flowers and the ever-changing colors of the sky as the sun sets. He is involved in the moment, drawn into the subtle shadings of the world surrounding him. The artist understands that it is these little moments that make up the whole - these little details that make the picture worth painting.

Writing is similar to this. As a writer, I feel the crisp bite of the winter air that invigorates and inspires me. I hear the swish of the wind as it dances and twirls like a child through the needles of the tall, watchful pine. I smell the musty pages of that favorite old book as its pages rustle under my fingers, willing to share its story once again. I notice the small things in life, and then place my pen to the paper so others may notice them as well.

This connectivity applies to people as well. The eyebrow raised as you listen with skepticism, the glistening tears you try to hold back as hateful words cut to your very core, the crinkling around your eyes and twitch of your lips as you try to suppress an unexpected laugh that swells up during an inopportune moment. I see these moments and can describe them in a way that allows you to see and experience them as well.

I write to feel alive. I write to fully enter the moment, to touch everything and everyone around me. I write to make the ordinary extraordinary.

A Sudden Realization

So here I was, listening to Imagine Dragons and browsing The Write Practice when I stumbled across a statement that was like an arrow streaking into my very soul. It hit home so hard it took my breath away. In an article discussing five lies that can distract you from your purpose as a writer (namely skepticism, vanity, pride, fear, and doubt), the author makes this comment:

"Slowly, that original desire became distorted until you actually believe your main goal was just to be a bestselling author, when in reality, you wanted so much more. You wanted to change the world."

How did I fall so far? How did I become so afraid of what other people might think, so concerned with writing that elusive, perfect book that I completely lost sight of my original goal? Because I did want to change the world. And maybe that sounds like naive idealism. Maybe that sounds like the dream of a child who hasn't experienced the darkness, the coldness of the real world. Yet it's true. I never wanted fame, I never craved popularity for me or my writings. I wrote because I had dreams to share. I wrote because my characters needed a voice. I wrote because I had stories to tell that could change the world, one reader at a time. 

Today I realized that unless I find my way back to that original hope and desire, I can never tell my story the way it's meant to be written. Unless I get rid of that nagging "but what will they think?" I can never be myself. So goodbye, self-doubt. Goodbye, foolish dreams of fame and fortune. This is me, making my way back to who I genuinely am and the stories I truly have to share. 

Writing Prompts

Due to a couple of queries and comments made by +Susannah Durling and +Rachel Kniffin, I decided to compile a list of my favorite writing prompt sources for curious parties. Mind you, there's quite a few here and I don't complete all of them every day. I like to skim through each day's prompts and then write on whichever one jiggles something inside my brain. Hopefully some of you will find a few that you like and be inspired to write regularly as well!

Oneword.com - Exactly what it says. You're given one word and 60 seconds to write whatever the word brings to mind.

One Minute Writer - A prompt is given for each day and you have 60 seconds to write. The prompts vary from fun to serious, fanciful to down-to-earth. 

Friday Flash Fiction - Also from One Minute Writer. You enter a short work of fiction (between 100 and 1,000 words) based on the prompt, and the winner gets shared on the sight along with a bio and small prize. 

The Write Prompts - I love this one. There's a different type of prompt for each day of the week, so let's see what they're all about!

• Journal Mondays - You're given a prompt to write about for fifteen minutes. 
• Image Tuesdays - A image is posted with the instructions to study it for a few minutes and then write about it.
• Poetry Wednesdays - The prompt reads "For the poetry writers. Even if you do not normally write poetry make an effort to complete this exercise." You're given a topic as well as a form to follow. A challenge for me, personally, as I'm not good at poetry.
• One Word Thursdays - One word is posted. No time limit.
• Dirty Dozen Fridays - You're given 12 words, all of which you are supposed to incorporate into a story of your own in 15 minutes. 
• Continue On Saturdays - The start of a line or story is supplied and are supposed to continue it.
• Quote Weekends - You're provided with a quote to write about over the weekend. These quotes are typically thought provoking or inspirational. 

52 Lists - Moorea Seal provides a different topic to form a list for every week. No time limit, a great one to ponder as the week goes on.


All credit for everything on this list goes to the owners of the respective blogs and websites; I've merely slapped a few links into a post. I'll be sure to add to this list if I find more that I like. For now, I hope this list prompts some creativity!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! As an aspiring author, much of what I post will be drabbles or responses to writing prompts. But there will also be other content, such as book reviews, drawings and sketches, or random comments on life. Enjoy the journey and please feed the madness!

Why scribbleholic, you may be wondering? The name was suggested by my dear friend over at I'm That Weird Girl. She is very familiar with my fondness for creative writing; in fact, she's frequently urging me to write more and has often been the source of my inspiration. I affectionately refer to my writing attempts as scribbles and never go anywhere without a notebook and pencil. And so, with the help of her genius, the name was born.