PiBoIdMo? Tuning in your station?
What do I mean?
I collect old radios. I’m a nut about them. Here’s my favorite.
My radio is a 1940 Zenith 12-s-471 black dial with 3 waves. It sits in my living room. I love it. So much. Sometimes I kiss it... (I digress....)
SO - It's an old tube radio.
It has a tuning eye. When you turn it on, it takes a minute or two to warm up the tubes and the tuning eye slowly glows as a hum builds. Slowly turning the dial - in and out come the AM radio stations. In between the stations are the crackles and static.
The month of PiBoIdMo - has been all about tuning in to our own stations. Finding that sweet spot on the dial where our
imaginations and our uniqueness is loud and clear may be heard amidst the crackle and static
of everyday life.
When we sat down to write, we were like an old radio.
As we turned that knob, we heard the usual different distractions that can stop us from creating. The pitch people calling out to us of the status of industry, the odds against us, what is “in” right now in publishing, to write fewer and fewer words and that pink is always the “new pink”. There are also the stand out radio shows that seem to blast at us - crime dramas like ,“The Online Time Burglar” and our own scary mystery... “The Show of DOOM”. (The voice of self doubt sounds kinda like OrsonWelles)
That hum when our tubes are warming up is a perfect time to ask ourselves- "What should I write about?""What do I know for sure? or "What do I want to know more about?" "What do I know I am good at?" and "What do I know I need to work on?""Where can I go today?" "Who is this character going with me?"
How do I find my own station on this crowded dial? I think about what I love to do. What I love to see. What I love to hear. What I loved as a kid and who I loved as a kid. What I wanted as a kid and how badly I wanted it. What was challenging as a kid? What was weird or silly or wacky? All of that stuff feeds my creative soul and my imagination.
I can also tune OUT what I do not want to listen to. I am trying to tune out more and more on that crowded dial, so that my station comes in loud and clear, and through this wonky old radio- I can sound all warm and full and resonate out on those airwaves - uniquely, my own call letters.- WKLT.
I took the month of PiBoIdMo to jot down every single idea that popped into my head and organize them along with the 15 that I already had been playing with. First I scribbled, stream of
Consciousness gobbly gook- one idea to a piece of paper. Then I created a journal. I organized them thoughtfully in order of what I felt were viable to create dummies from. The ones that I felt would flow easily are first... the ones that are less clear or not as good are last. Perhaps they just need longer to warm up. I find I have lined up some really good ones and am excited to hit the books- literally and submit fresh with the new year! - I tuned in and found my station this month!
Now that you have found that sweet spot on the dial for yourself - don't lose it. Old radios need to be played. Shut them off and don't use them and the tubes will just stop working. Be sure to turn it on regularly and let it warm up! Your own call letters... write 'em down... make a sign! I can't wait to listen to your station.... Let's crowd the dial.
So all those cool cats can listen....
