Today our special guest is Caitlyn Willows. Welcome, Caitlyn!Blessed (or cursed) with a vivid imagination, Caitlyn Willows eventually learned to turn that "talent" inward. Readers will find deep emotions and sizzling sensuality seamlessly woven into her stories. She believes that life is to be lived not watched--hiking a new path, learning a new skill. No one is more surprised than she at the direction life has taken her. Caitlyn lives in the beautiful desert of Southern California with her husband (a genealogist) and the animals she loves.
We Write Because We Are
By Caitlyn Willows
Stop and smell the roses. Most of us know what that means – take the time to enjoy life. For those of us on the creative end of the spectrum, i.e., writers, the phrase takes on new meaning. We cannot simply stop and smell the roses. We stop to smell the rose and notice the color, the scent, the velvety texture of each petal, the waxy green leaves, the thick stem, the sharp thorns that are really the spiked tails of baby dragons waiting to be born. The stem leads down into the caverns where fairies nurture the freshly laid eggs and dragons tunnel out worlds mere mortals cannot comprehend. Or the thorns are laden with poison… Or the garden hides the bodies… And on it goes…
Welcome to the world of writers.
We see the world from a different perspective. We build worlds and adventure, love and intrigue from all we glean around us – the eavesdropped conversation, the news article we read, songs we hear, places we visit. Yes, we are the ones whose minds go bye-bye and our eyes glaze over as we sew threads of possible storylines in our heads, most of the time at the blink of an eye. It takes little to get our minds churning. Consider the poor non-writer caught in the wake of our imagination.
Few things are more frustrating than having that moment strike you and there isn’t a like soul anywhere around to what-if with. Non-writers look at us like we’ve lost our minds when clearly they are the ones at fault. Why can’t they simply indulg
e us and play along? Seriously, how easy would it be to just respond when we say, “Oooo…what-if this guy was…”
I’ve often wondered what non-writers think about. Or how lonely they must be without the voices in their heads. There has to be nothing up there. Why else do we get those blank looks when we what-if them?
Now I’ll grudgingly admit that perhaps I’ve gone overboard interrogating…uhm…asking questions of others. I’ll never forget the wild-eyed look the new receptionist at the vet’s office gave me when I asked detailed questions about the crematorium behind the building. “Why…why do you want to know?” she cried as she backed away from the desk. Let’s face it, writers need to know stuff, and generally we need to know right now. We can’t help it. There are stories brewing in our heads and they must be fed.
Perhaps we should all wear buttons, disclaimers of some kind that warn individuals, “I am a writer and I will be asking you questions.” Of course, that might scatter the herd and we’d never eat…uhm…obtain the required information.
If you are a writer adrift in a sea of non-writers please know you are not alone, you are not weird, you are not insane. There are others out there. Lurking for the casually dropped conversation. Seeking information to fill the vast well of our imaginations. Capable of interrogating anyone at anytime about anything. Yes, we’ll stop to smell those roses, and in the space of time you non-writers have sniffed, we writers have built worlds…and nothing will stop us.
Our predecessors told stories around campfires and carved images in rock. Our successors are the children whose minds run rampant with imaginary play. We write. It is who we are. It is in our blood, our minds, in every breath we take. It is enriched by life around us. We’ve opened our eyes, our minds, our hearts, and our souls to draw it all in. And we’re ready to share our stories with you.
We write because we are.
Caitlyn Willows
http://www.caitlynwillows.com/
Welcome to the world of writers.
We see the world from a different perspective. We build worlds and adventure, love and intrigue from all we glean around us – the eavesdropped conversation, the news article we read, songs we hear, places we visit. Yes, we are the ones whose minds go bye-bye and our eyes glaze over as we sew threads of possible storylines in our heads, most of the time at the blink of an eye. It takes little to get our minds churning. Consider the poor non-writer caught in the wake of our imagination.
Few things are more frustrating than having that moment strike you and there isn’t a like soul anywhere around to what-if with. Non-writers look at us like we’ve lost our minds when clearly they are the ones at fault. Why can’t they simply indulg
e us and play along? Seriously, how easy would it be to just respond when we say, “Oooo…what-if this guy was…”I’ve often wondered what non-writers think about. Or how lonely they must be without the voices in their heads. There has to be nothing up there. Why else do we get those blank looks when we what-if them?
Now I’ll grudgingly admit that perhaps I’ve gone overboard interrogating…uhm…asking questions of others. I’ll never forget the wild-eyed look the new receptionist at the vet’s office gave me when I asked detailed questions about the crematorium behind the building. “Why…why do you want to know?” she cried as she backed away from the desk. Let’s face it, writers need to know stuff, and generally we need to know right now. We can’t help it. There are stories brewing in our heads and they must be fed.
Perhaps we should all wear buttons, disclaimers of some kind that warn individuals, “I am a writer and I will be asking you questions.” Of course, that might scatter the herd and we’d never eat…uhm…obtain the required information.
If you are a writer adrift in a sea of non-writers please know you are not alone, you are not weird, you are not insane. There are others out there. Lurking for the casually dropped conversation. Seeking information to fill the vast well of our imaginations. Capable of interrogating anyone at anytime about anything. Yes, we’ll stop to smell those roses, and in the space of time you non-writers have sniffed, we writers have built worlds…and nothing will stop us.
Our predecessors told stories around campfires and carved images in rock. Our successors are the children whose minds run rampant with imaginary play. We write. It is who we are. It is in our blood, our minds, in every breath we take. It is enriched by life around us. We’ve opened our eyes, our minds, our hearts, and our souls to draw it all in. And we’re ready to share our stories with you.
We write because we are.
Caitlyn Willows
http://www.caitlynwillows.com/
Learn more about Caitlyn's books:
