Kootenai River in NW Montana, near Canadian Border

Kootenai River in NW Montana, near Canadian Border
photo by Gene Tunick of Eureka, Montana

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Tip O'Day #333 - Dixon's Compost Pile

I started a compost pile in my desk after I’d been in Toastmasters a year or two.

After giving speeches about my kids, neighborhood projects, sportsmanship, and the world’s moral decay, I was running out of topics. There was a fuzzy idea banging around in my head that parents should butt out of youth sports and other activities – something about letting kids be kids, and not putting so much pressure on them. I started clipping out newspaper and magazine articles of dads punching coaches, coaches punching umpires, and kids suffering from repetitive motion injuries. I’d toss them into a file folder in my desk and forget about them for awhile.

Since I had a folder for putting things in, I started writing down anecdotes of goofy things my kids did. Into the folder they went. I found a couple stories about bullying, the writers guidelines for Toastmasters magazine, and an online article about the different leadership styles of men and women. Into the folder. An article in Writers Digest about writing essays seemed to resonate with the topic of speech writing. Into the folder. A poem from a magazine, notes about a bizarre incident when a homeless guy confronted me in the public library (he said the FBI was rounding up redheads), and a Yahoo! Sports story about softball players selflessly helping an injured opponent score the game-winning home run. Into the folder.

Every few months, I pull out my folder and shake it out onto the floor. Then I get down on my hands and knees. Since I collect scraps about topics I’m interested in, it’s not surprising that I’ll often find three or four items that create the spine for a speech, magazine article, or short story. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but it’s a start.

The rest of the note cards, clippings and online articles go back into the folder. New fodder will join them from time to time, and the pile will compost away until I’m ready to dig in once more.

9 comments:

  1. After excavating my way thru my husband's dirty laundry, harvesting interesting species in my kitchen and attempting assorted other mundane housewifely activites, I TRY to snatch an hour or two for writing. Why is it that just because you're not J K Rowling or Nicholas Sparks, you're not a REAL author (according to some people)?? so it's okay to interrupt...(sigh). Even my rescue dog thinks I should be at her beck and call. But we push on!! (It's disease and/or magnificent obsession)

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    1. Tree - That's the same problem faced by everyone who works from home, whether you're assembling electronic gadgets in the basement, or writing the Great American Novel, or educating your children.

      I find I'm a lot more productive in coffee houses at 5:00 am, which is also a time when few distractions make themselves known. Maybe you can also find a time & place combination that will work for you.

      Good luck & thanks for your comment - Dixon

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  2. You know, that's what James Rollins does. He keeps an ideas shoebox and puts interesting things in it until he's ready to write.

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    1. Seeley, thanks for taking the time to comment, and also for your recent guest posts. You're the best.

      Those of us fortunate to survive long enough to start gathering grey hairs all need to device some goofy method of idea storage (GMOIS), so they'll be sitting there, waiting for you to rediscover them. We also need to get in the habit of carrying a small memo pad & a pen or pencil. Because we only get brilliant ideas once, and then they're lost.

      The nice thing about your GMOIS is that you never need to show it to anybody, or even describe it. You just announce airily that your GMOIS Story Generator is patent-pending so you're not at liberty to share the details with anyone at the moment.

      Thanks again, buddy, and I hope you're having a glorious autumn - Dixon

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  3. I like the idea of a compost folder. However at my age getting down on hands and knees is ok. It's the getting back up that might be a problem.

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    1. Hi, Karla - thanks for your comment & also for your recent blog contributions. Anytime you feel another rant coming on...

      Getting down on hands & knees was sort of continuing the gardening theme. You could accomplish the same thing on a dining table or your bed. Or you could still use the floor, but purchase a grip-extender like I've seen people use on highway clean-ups. But then you'd need a 2nd extender to hold the magnifying glass...

      Thanks again, Dixon

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  4. I'd love to have a folder full of these things, however i get so crumpled, frumpy and busy because of the fact i'm constantly volunteering due to my mother's position in the church.

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    1. Inuko, I'll give you bonus points for "crumpled" & "frumpy" as attention-getting self-descriptions. However, "busy" is a bit ho-hum. You can do better.

      There, I feel better now. I've been laid up for a week after rotator-cuff shoulder surgery & had to miss critique group. I thrive on the input I get from a remarkably supportive bunch of writers, and like to think my constructive criticism has some minor effect on improving the state of literature on this lovely planet upon which we are co-passengers.

      Anyway, a few of my writing mentors are fond of repeating the old saying that, "There is never enough time to do it all, but there's always enough time for the important things."

      Thanks for taking the time to comment, and good luck on all your creative projects - Dixon

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  5. I haave a file folder, a notebook, notes on my computer, and a drawer in a file cabinet with "what if" ideas and newspaper articles. This is a good habit, I believe, for writers. Who knows what will feed the muse? Great post.

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