“Within my pen what words are pent,
What mystery, what merriment!

It hath a door, my pen, somewhere,
And what a throng is waiting there!

Bright thoughts are standing all about,
And quivering to be let out.

O could I find the golden key,
Open the door and set them free!”*

Golden Key

Here I am, in front of my computer screen, writing another blog post instead of writing for my book.  Again! My friend just wrote to me, I have just read your last 2 blogs. You write well about not writing. Why is it, do you suppose that, whilst I find it so easy to write about my writing experiences, I have so much trouble writing pages for my book?  

A friend who is a bona fide writer reached out to ask about the bridge book.  He specifically wanted to know if I’d written about The Brighton Road Swing Bridge yet. With a silly-huge amount of relief, I was able to respond in the affirmative.  He suggested that my core guide ought to be my experiences - remembering my bridge visits, remembering standing on or beneath the bridges and remembering how I felt in that moment.  I was grateful, and I knew that his advice was a Golden Key.

Another friend from our book club told me today that she considered me to be a person of great curiosity (did she mean I’m nosy, do you suppose?), and that I ought to embrace my curiosity.  Indeed, she believes, it should be the key driver in my writing.  Again, I was grateful, and I knew that her advice was another Golden Key.

One of my favourite reads each week is (link) Gleanings.  It is a compilation of writing that, in one way or another, appealed to Kerry’s (the curator’s) sensibilities.  What it is, though, is a virtual writing symposium. I’ve learned a lot from the many writers that have been featured over the years.  Sometimes the essays offer the polished style to which I'm aspiring, sometimes they rattle my conscious, sometimes they awaken me to a sensitive issue, sometimes they make me laugh, or cry and sometimes I even see a bit of myself in some of the words, thoughts and adventures described.  There were two particularly inspirational essays in this week's Gleanings and, for the third time today, I was grateful and I knew that I’d found a third and fourth Golden Key.

Writers helping writers, hey?  They sure know best! There’s a solidarity amongst these kindred spirits.  A support network of folks who know first hand the angst, obsession and frustration of writing.  This afternoon, and with much gratitude and optimism, I hope to use my newfound Golden Keys to open the door and set free my words.  Wish me luck! 

’Til next time, y’all…

*“The Pen” by Amos Russel Wells