Daily Archives: April 22, 2017

Fireflies

Ideas, like fireflies, swirl around my head. Which one should I catch? My eyes lose focus. Perhaps it’s best to capture them all and store them in a glass jar.

Sometimes writing is like that and I end up with a drawer full of Pulitzer wannabees. Like the flies in the jar that eventually die without air, so do all of my captive ideas. When I examine them again there is no spark. The light is gone.

I find that I’m a better writer when I am more purposeful. Instead of chasing elusive fireflies, no matter how bright, my focus becomes like a coloring book page of ‘Connect the Dots.’ You know, use a line to connect the numbers and you create a picture; what a writer might call a concept or idea.

There is so much disconnected information that zooms past us or bombards us, but it is the dots inside of us that represent the deep emotions and memorable events that have changed our lives. I discovered that writing is also a way of giving, of sharing a part of me with others.

So when I look for inspiration, I no longer reach for the fireflies. I search within myself for one of the dots that represent friendships I’ve made, issues I’ve championed, as well as events that trigger fear, anger, sorrow, or joy. Then that dot, eager to touch the hearts of others, sparks to life out of me and illuminates a page or two creating a great story.

Practice Random Acts of Reading

Veronica Jorge

Manager, Educator, and former Social Studies High School teacher, Veronica credits her love of history to the potpourri of cultures that make up her own life and to her upbringing in diverse Brooklyn, New York.  Her genres of choice are Historical Fiction where she always makes new discoveries and Children’s Picture Books because there are so many wonderful worlds yet to be imagined and visited. She currently resides in Macungie, PA.