A Writer's Muse

"I have never believed that everything happens for a reason. But I do feel very strongly that everything happens so that it can be turned into a column." -Gail Collins, The New York Times

My cousin posted this as his Facebook status today. He is one of my favorite cousins, and while I don't always agree with his ideas (though I do more than some would believe!), I do have the utmost respect for him. He's the "cool" cousin, and we all hope a bit of his "coolness" could rub off on us. I'm excited to be his friend on Facebook, because I appreciate catching the glimpse into his mind that his new iPhone offers through his more regular Facebook updates (and because I think he's cool and I enjoy "cooler by association").

So I noticed this quote when he shared it. And, because of Writer Mama and my assigned exercises, I'm starting to notice things more. I've always had opinions, but I haven't always shared them through words on a page (just words screamed from my mouth!). Somehow I think they'd be better received on a page. Reading the Gail Collins quote posted by my cousin Michael made me think about how much the Writer Mama should like the quote.

While I DO believe that everything happens for a reason, I also think that, in the writer's mind, everything also happens to be made into a column. Or a blog post. Or a journal entry. That's what Task One was really all about: seeing the muse in the every day and every thing. Whether it is what my girls say or how I lost my temper today or how many times I had to clean the floor or how amazed I am at the lines at Barnes & Noble last night or how alarmed I am that people would rather the USPS continue to lose billions of dollars than not bring me junk mail on a Saturday . . . whatever it is, it's my muse. It has to be if I want to embrace this writer's life.

So, while it can be said that not everything that happens to ME is interesting, somewhere something interesting IS happening, and it's either my job to find it or to make something dull interesting. Either way, I have to do it, because for me writing is like breathing. It's natural and it's necessary.