Research

When storms come - and they will, a writer will notice the details and write them. When a writer has high emotion (either joy or depression), that writer should allow themselves to feel the feeling for a moment and write it. If depressed, don't stay there. Write it and leave it behind.

People need an outlet from their stress. Some people jog for stress relief, some use other forms of exercise. Writing can be a good form of stress relief. Writing it when the feeling is still there, even writing through the stress, will help a writer call on those details later for use in a story. A writer knows that high emotion always dwindles to a mellowed form. When we write the journey back to normal, it helps not only our writing, but also our souls.

No two people experience emergencies the same way. But there are usually enough similarities for people to identify with the same feelings that someone else felt in their emergency.Writing the feelings, the details of the emergency, the journey back to normal, and remembrances of that event in later years will be a tool a writer can use to help themselves deal with the stress, emotion, or maybe the pain of the event. People who are not trying to develop a writing career can use the same method to help themselves deal with a traumatic event.

Any emergency can be dealt with appropriately, and then remembered and written down. This is called obtaining valuable research from life experiences. Don't waste any of the important moments of your life. Use them to help others get through their storms.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

Recently, I was able to visit Seattle with my husband. We had a wonderful time. He was there on business, and I joined him for sightseeing when he wasn't busy.

Seattle is rich in fun activities for the family. Scouting for a family vacation site for later, we enjoyed the Aquarium, the Skyneedle, and the Harbor Cruise. We also rode the monorail and a streetcar. We caught the Mariners playing in Safeco Field and walked the many, many blocks back to our hotel.

I'm tired, but happy. I was told there are only about 50 days in a year that you can see both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker from the Skyneedle. It was clear enough to see both when I was there.

I took in as many details of the city as I could, but when I asked questions of my husband, I noticed he saw things differently than I did. Our perspectives differed, but when combined, it made our total experience richer. Maybe I'll use Seattle as a setting in one of my stories. Enjoying the city with my husband made it a little more romantic.

We enjoyed the market along the water. I saw colorful bundles of fragrant flowers, but we ended up buying the cherries that he noticed. We ate in a great seafood restaurant that he picked out, but sampled food from each other's plate.

We were there for the annual Seafair parade. We saw the Motorcycle Police drill team. These men in uniform drove their motorcycles in tight patterns, weaving through each other's lines. An amazing sight. We saw the Chinese community's dancing dragon, Seattle's mayor, and the parade's Grand Marshall - Darth Vader (complete with a selection of his white-suited clone army soldiers).

Having someone to enjoy this with made the experience more fun. I highly recommend marriage. It's a good thing.