Luck and Other Creative Chaos
Why is it that when you come upon a cyclist, runner, walker, dog or whatever that you need to pass, it's always in the worst possible spot? It will be a hill, a curve, a ledge into the void...or it won't be at all. And then, you have to sort of creep up the hill after them and be a stalker, or you have to roll the dice and go around them on the blind spot. I'm more of a 'wait until I can see' sort of gal, but the experience of crawling up the hill in my car behind the cyclist and receiving many confused, slightly dirty looks...well, it just doesn't make my day.
Granted, I do live at the near end of a horribly long, dirty-dirt road, so I'm far more likely to run into this situation, but there ARE in fact straight spots where I could move past these people without any trouble. So why is it that they are never there? And why is it that if there is an oncoming car, it will absolutely pass you at the exact moment you are moving around the human?
These were my thoughts as I returned home this evening. I don't have any moral to the story or an answer for my own question. I've also been the cyclist in this situation, and I like to get off the road and let them go by--but there have been times when that's not available, and so while fighting for my life pedaling up the hill, I will also be plastered in dust.
Luck is funny like that. I think she has a sense of humor, but I'll let you all decide whether it's a good one. I also belive that luck has a lot to do with creativity. In the agonizing moments of deciding whether to pass or to follow, I realized that this situation would be great if I was, say, flying a get-away hovercraft and someone, say, a grandmother with a shopping cart, was trundling across the street…or airlock…or, whatever. The point is, I like my brain.
I've been sketching some new characters for the books, working on the illustration for my cover, and--of course--writing. As we approach the finish line, I can feel the procrastinator inside me flip her cloak around and become the incredible, quick-typing, sleepless flurry of activity that actually gets everything done. I'm a whirlwind, book-publishing machine!
Bonus points: any guesses on which character sketch this blog's featured photo is of?
Don't forget to stop by Northern Grounds in Ely, MN between 6-8 PM on Saturday, August 20th. Molly Ovenden and I will be there with our books, our art, and our creative bubbles, and I haven’t had the opportunity to sign my books IRL for people since…last October? Ahhh, the whirlwind, book-publishing machine in me is shaking her head and tutting the procrastinator. They are two very different people.
Anyway.
Cheers!