It is six months on since I last visited our friends house, the one that they are taking their time to renovate. I first mentioned it in my blog honest work. I had volunteered again to put a half day of work in, partially to help them out and partially because, in a strange way, it is fun. The work involved is certainly very different from what I normally do.
Progress is being made, even if it is like a Johnny Cash song, and they are focussing their effort on extending the rooms and making the roof watertight. Everything is taking shape and I was pleased to see that my piles of bricks were still neatly stacked.
Eventually the sun came out and the views out to sea were impressive. It felt good to be alive and doing something real.
This is not the point of my story however. Their son is a writer and, never one to miss an opportunity, I spoke to him about the idea for a book that was in my head. This time it is a work of fiction that I am planning. I described the outline of the plot and explained that I was struggling to get going. Writing is not the problem. This blog has helped me to be disciplined about churning out words. It was how to turn the idea of a plot into a story that would be interesting that I am struggling with.
He helped me with some ideas on the structure of stories and gave me some ideas on where to look for help. Our short conversation helped me to make a huge leap forward with my thoughts and ideas were running through my mind. I now need to get the outline down on paper before I forget.
The moral of this story is twofold, never miss the opportunity to ask for advice and inspiration can come from anywhere.
The boss caught us and reminded us we weren’t there to chat. Ah well! Back to work.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 