Planting an Idea

My daughter and I pass an hour or two every afternoon running circles around our house. We have a bird bath in the back yard, but shoots of wild onion grow in the front yard among the ivy. So Ayla runs to the front, picks just one shoot of wild onion, runs to the back, places it in the bird bath to watch it float, and then repeats this cycle over again! I imagine our neighbors are amused at watching not only my daughter's actions but also my attempt to waddle-run after her in my 3rd trimester state of pregnancy.

I love plants, and I have always been more inclined to study plants than animals. There is a lot of great imagery that the life cycle of a plant offers writers. Poet John Soos' description of a seed and seedling paints a picture of how I've felt during the creation and development of a manuscript.

He writes, "To be of the Earth is to know
the restlessness of being a seed
the darkness of being planted
the struggle toward the light
the pain of growth into the light
the joy of bursting and bearing fruit
the love of being food for someone
the scattering of your seeds..."

One of the most exciting things for me as a writer is the first spark of an original idea, the seed. Whether I'm browsing fresh produce in the market, tossing and turning with insomnia at night, getting my daughter dressed for the day, or driving on a long road trip, the initial moment a new idea hits me I feel a jolt of electricity. And then the restlessness sets in. I want to stop whatever I am doing and get to work on expanding the seed of the idea.

But once the seed is planted and begins to take root, there are some dark moments when I am almost nervous to proceed. There is so much energy wired in my brain that I feel too excited to write. The roots can go anywhere, but after some time I begin to see the light, the direction to take and I can breathe easier.

Growing into the light has its rewards, but a writer also knows there is pain involved. Writers block, self-doubt, distractions, and a shortage of input are just some of the ways we may struggle with a particular piece of writing. But when the writing project comes to fruition and we see the beauty of our writing, we feel joy and relief and love.

Our writing has succeeded and will now be shared in the minds of others, scattering more seeds of ideas and understanding among readers and writers alike. We go along for the ride until a new idea, a new seed hits us and stirs our soul into writing once again.