Finding my process...

Today I took a day to myself. I went to all my favorite places. I started out with a relaxing morning at the pool. I got to really dive into my new book by President Obama, since I finally finished Haroun last night. His use of language is so fluid, you almost don't notice how beautiful it is. I'm sure I will have a lot to write about it in future posts. It was nice to finally have some time to relax in the sun and read, as it's been raining here quite a bit lately. I also decided to try a new technique and take some underwater pictures with my little canon by sticking it in a ziploc bag; and to my astonishment, it worked!



After cooking myself in the sun, I made a run to the other side of town to visit my favorite antique store, the best in Jacksonville- Southern Crossing. It took me over an hour to wander through all the aisles. There is so much to discover there. Just being there feels to me like being in a story. They have such beautiful things, some dating back to the early 1900's, if not earlier. I fell in love with a wooden hand mirror, which was so worn you could hardly make out your reflection, and a huge intricate doll house which dated back to 1920. It was so well-made, had I had the $400 available I would've bought it. Just touching these things that belonged to some stranger so long ago feels so powerful. Like taking a peek into someone else's diary.



After taking off with 6 items for only $20, I headed to my other favorite store, the best bookstore in Jacksonville- Chamblin Bookmine. Another place I could wander around for hours. Aside from the sheer size of it and the ridiculous number of books it houses, it is another spot that I feel so much a part of. All these stories, all these dreams, all these ideas surround you as you walk the maze of aisles. In fact, I love being there so much that even after I had found my books, I found myself just walking around hoping I'd find another section to browse just because I didn't want my time there to end.



Today's events got me thinking about my approach to writing. I'm beginning to realize that every writer must create his own personal process. But what is mine? I have found that I have several sources of inspiration. I learned on my trip to Chicago that they are all around me. And, today I learned that if I am ever lacking inspiration or lacking focus, I have many places I can go to pull from the spirit of the past. But then, where to start? That is the next phase in the process. You'd think you can just sit down and start typing but I feel like there's a step missing. So I'm on a mission to find it.