Writers and Magic

Yesterday's post highlighted the blank page. The picture-quote above continues in the same vein.

Did you ever consider yourself a magician? I certainly didn't. At least, not until I saw this quote. Stop and ponder on the quote. We who write create something out of nothing. Wow! I think that's pretty awesome.

With that blank page before you. you have choices galore. You can opt to write a short story or a personal essay. Perhaps you'll start on a memoir or an article about writing. Maybe you'll pen a poem. Do you have a magic wand in hand? Probably not. You have something even better.

You have a mind and a memory. So much of what we write evolves from memories and experiences we've had over the years. Besides those memories, you have a mind that can create new things, too.

Think about it. That's pretty exciting. A college professor or assistant prof teaches with the aid of a syllabus. Some write their own while others teach from an outline someone else has created. Yes, created, not copied. More magic.

Elementary school teachers and those who manage high school classes use textbooks as the basis for what they teach. Someone waved his/her magic wand and created those textbooks. They started with that blank page and built their creation little by little.

Actors and actresses would have no job if someone had not waved the wand and created a story for them to present to play-goers or movie buffs.

When you write a new story, pixies don't flit around you sprinkling the magic pixie dust. You're the one who does that. You are the magician in residence, the one who creates story upon story upon story.

What a writer does is just plain amazing. If you haven't patted yourself on the back yet, go right ahead and do it now. Then go practice a bit of your magic.