"Place pieces"

I do all sorts of brainstorming when it comes to coming up with the new ideas for one of my short stories. I am always amused with the ideas that my brain produces out of the blue. There is, however, one thing in common of all these ideas. They're each tied to a certain place.

A place, such as an abandoned cottage. Or a house on a cliff. Or a bench in a park. Or the middle of the woods. I can pretty much bet that my next setting for the new story is going to be at a local swimming pool, with very few people beside my main characters.You get the idea. It took me quite some time to understand what it actually meant, to place my characters in such, I dare say vacuumed, places.

And the answer to that could be best described as: the inevitability. The inevitability of life; it has that cruel tendency to go on, to evolve and expand, and to let it happen, we must say goodbye to our past, one way or another. We have to cut the cords with people and places that are no longer in our lives, or to clear the vibes of resentment towards people who are still somewhere around.

By putting them into these situations, I am forcing them to clear the past, to sort the problems among each other, and to send them on a new, hopefully improved, journey. Another thing, though, is that isolated places often provide us with a sense of comfort and stability. Being with a loved person between the four walls is sometimes a blessing for our lonely hearts. There is a feeling of intimacy, of understanding, of comfort.

How do you look at the "place pieces"? Are you prone to it, or do you prefer building the whole world from scratch?

Where do the ideas come from?

As the amazing Agatha Christie would point out in one of her books...they come from the author's head, obviously. But how is it that sometimes you look for them and it feels to you like you're looking for the needle hidden in a haystack, whereas other times you just can't get them on paper soon enough, before they run away. I think I may have found the answer to that question, but I am in no way suggesting that that is true for the majority of you. I do know, however, that it works for me. It always has.

I've been studying Neuro linguistic programming (NLP) for 6 years and learned so many wonderful things about how the mind and body are connected. One of these things, and indeed one of the first things we've learned, is that every person has their way of processing the world around himself/herself.

For example, a person can be extremely sensitive to words someone is saying. They are more likely to carefully listen to a song's lyrrics, than the person who is not auditive. Or, for example, when buying a piece of clothing this person is likely to say something like: this clothing just calls me/speaks to me! And if the music in the store is not to their liking they will probably change the location, so that they would feel more comfortable.

Kinaesthetic person processes the daily data mainly through touch. If we take the clothing example, kinaesthetic person would often say: the fabric fits my body perfectly. Or, this cotton is so pleasant to the touch.

People who process the data visually will pay more attention to the textures and colors of the fabric when buying clothes. They take notice of every detail and would often use it in conversations, to describe something that made them feel good or bad.

Every person has one of these types as a predominant one, and they process daily information through it. So, why am I telling you this? What does it have to do with writing?

Take me for an example. If I'm trying to write something and I am not finding inspiration; I am nervous. I am usually incredibly kinaesthetic. I learn through touch or by doing things myself. Then I'm visual, I can do better when I see how it's already done. And, if all else fails, I lean on my auditive sensors to understand what's going on.

And sometimes it happens that the predominant type gets blocked. If you overly use your car it will break down quickly. Same goes here. Also, if you don't use other two types, they get rusty. So if I'm sitting at my computer and stare at the blank page in front of me, I know I'm having a kinaesthetical meltdown.

But I know I have two other systems/types that have served me well and then I go out and instead of taking my iPod with me - I just go somewhere where there are a lot of people. And then I listen...no, that's not called spying. That's called overhearing bits and pieces of information that you can tweak a little to fit in your story. Or you can go and sit on a bench in your favorite park or any other place that brings emotions within you and then just watch - there might be a certain movement of a person that triggers an idea within you. Write it down and maybe it turns out to be just what you wanted or needed.

It's certainly worth a shot to live with all your types. It can only bring out the best results.