by Lorna Sheehan, 2014 Challenger
My thoughts about having to give a pep talk:
“Pep talk, pep talk…hmmmm. How can I give someone a pep talk? What do I say, and how do I convey a process that I don’t even possess? I have no process. I’m not a writer. I guess I’ll just start writing.”
Thinking about what I can say to pep anyone up is difficult. I mean, who am I and what can I possibly say to add to your creativity. My fevered mind swirls with random thoughts like which pair of Star Wars socks I’m going to wear the next day, to what I’m going to make for dinner, to the delicious smells of Cinnabon. The thought of Cinnabon took me back to the time my sisters and I tried to make cinnamon rolls before my mom got home from work. She told us not to make them without her being home, but we decided to, anyway.
It was a calamity of errors with flour all over the counters, the floor, and all over us. I remember thinking, “We can clean this up before mom gets home.” We got the cinnamon rolls in the oven and before too long, the kitchen warmed up, the house filled with a wonderful cinnamonly sweet aroma. It smelled like Christmas, only it was just September. We were all smiling at our sneaky, wonderful accomplishment…and then at almost the same time, we all said, “Uh oh” How are we going to get rid of the smell before mom gets home?!” We all began opening windows and doors and setting up box fans to blow the amazing aroma out of the house. My sisters had towels that they were waving with both hands, up and down to help blow the smell away. It felt like we were on a TV show; competing to see who could be the winner of the “Don’t get your butt kicked by mom,” show. The smell that moments ago, made us feel warm, safe and happy, suddenly made us sad, and afraid and we wanted it out of the house like it was sour milk or stinky cheese.
We were all so focused on getting that smell out of the house, that the cinnamon rolls began to burn. Now not only did the house still smell like cinnamon rolls, it smelled like burnt cinnamon rolls, which was even worse.
I know this doesn’t sound much like a pep talk, but my point is, that I didn’t know what to write a pep talk about, but I just began writing. The thoughts turned to other thoughts, and before I knew it, I was writing a story.
As Holly McGhee said in her pep talk, “Your imagination is your ally. Writing moves your thoughts and feelings. Just get words down, as this will “un-stick you!” This is exactly what I did. I wrote down just what I was thinking at that moment, and the words just started flowing.
If there were one bit of advice I can give to you, it would be: if you don’t know what to write…Begin writing about anything that comes to mind. Also, it’s a good idea to incorporate as many senses as you can in your writing; smells, sights, sounds, thoughts, places, memories. This always makes my stories a little more enjoyable, to me anyway.