In writing, extra-ordinary experiences inspire us all to create unique articles, books, novels etc. Below is one of mine that motivated me to write a book.
In the gentle embrace of this untamed world, deep in the Florida Everglades, I slowly crouch and run my hands through the swamp water into the cool, soft, wet black peat, letting it ooze between my fingers, smelling its thick wild scent.
I had been furiously tracking the endangered Florida panther to save it from extinction in this region.So far I had not found any physical evidence the big cat existed.
As I splash water on my face baptismal-like, shivers come up my arms and across my chest. At times like this I feel as though I become part of nature: the trees, mud, sky, water, aniamls. . .everything. My soul seems to be cut in a million different parts, all living and breathing in the same tempo of life. It is as real as the kiss of a single raindrop on a wild orchid.
Suddenly,
Something. . .
Something stirs in the cypress trees fifty yards away. I feel an animal presence.
Instantly, a patch of gray-brown fur apppears in the trees! The animal seems to float above the swamp ground moving swiftly and as stealthy as a. . .cat.
I breathe slowly, deeply, making every effort to hold sound in so as not to spook the animal. For over six months, I have been tracking and preparing for this moment, a moment of true excitement, maybe my only opportunity to be rewarded a sighting of this untamed misunderstood creature.
Then, the fur disappears. My heart stops. No, I cry inside. No. Not now. Not after so long. As the last words roll across my mind, the fur is there again. Then it melts into the shadows, reappears, only to disappear once more. I still have not had a glimpse of the entire animal.
Then all movement stops. It sees me, I think.
At that second, large paws spring in a bolt of speed deeper into the swamp. But I see it! I see the whole cat! It is like no other animal I have ever seen! It is furred power, gray-brown on top, creamy white underneath. At the end of it, a magnificent, long J-shaped tail streaked through dawn light and swamp darkness like a retreating ghost.
However, as he runs, the big cat reminds me of the soft, silent motion of an ocean wave rising from the depths, rolling and forming into a single wave, then lowering into the depths once again, only to swell once more.
As though immediately magnetized to the animal, I jump up and run through the grass, pivoting into the cypress trees, splashing into the swamp, in pursuit of a Florida panther. A Florida panther. An endangered Florida panther!
While manuvering through the density of the treeline, I get tangled in the vines and trip over fallen cypress trees. But I run on. Most of the animals in the Everglades are quick, but this panther is unearthly sudden.
AS instantly as the big cat appears, he disappears. My mind is burning with excitement as I fall to the mud exhausted. Lying there, gasping for air in a morning already hot and humid, I feel both elation and wonderment. I tracked, found, and had a true sighting of the endangered Florida panther in the Everglades.
I accomplished the impossible.
From that moment on, inspired to write a book,I shared my panther experiences in the swampland with as many readers as I could. I have been attempting to do so for over thirty-one years so far through environmental education and public awareness programs. Writing and speaking straight from my heart, I related my encounters in the swamplands to people.
The point here is I talk,
Write,
Write. . .talk.
When writing I write like I talk.
In a very direct sense, talking is writing for all of us.
We verbally choose words that we potentially will use to write.
When we think about what we are going to write we think up words to write. Therefore, we are always writing whether it is in our minds, on paper or the computer monitor.
Shouldn't all of us on earth know how to write?
Everyone of us should know how to write, right?
Think about it. Isn't writing, writing, and writing a wonderful tool of how to communicate with the world?
It is so exciting to write and communicate with all human beings.
When we can not talk to people on our cell phones, we write letters, cards, and emails. Sometimes we are so eager we have trouble spelling and using correct grammar. But that doesn't matter. We still write.
Communication is an exchange of ideas, as well as, an act of giving. When we write to people, we give them important messages we want them to know and never forget. When we write we sometimes reveal our inner feelings toward our loved ones.
Isn't writing a theme in high school communicating with your teacher and classmates?
Words are human being's means to communicate.
Every form of writing you can possibly think of is used to communicate thoughts.
Thoughts are feelings in reference to. . .
Opinions, judgements, beliefs, views, considerations, reflections, assumptions, dreams, and on and on. . .
But I must tell you that after I wrote my book on panthers, later in life I was extremely motivated to write another book to help other people across the world write.
Why?
Because it is my life's vision statement. Everyone on earth should know how to write to communicate his/her experiences to others. It is a truly deeply thrilling time in your life when you are writing.
When I had my panther sighting in rhe swamplands, I wrote in my swamp notes, "To enter the Florida Everglades and experience the haunts of the panther, to catch a fleeting glimpse of this almost extinct cat is the ultimate gift for me. It gives me that rare wilderness shock of power to accomplish the impossble."
I want you to have your shock of power and accomplish the impossble.
Knowing the basics of how to write will cause your motivation to soar like eagles in a new way and embed a deep river current of inspiration in you that will carry you through your writing life with a smile on your face. You will always communicate with people in a unique fashion.
Your writing will supply you with an abundance of powerful energy. The unachievable will then become achievable.
Awaken to the gentle embrace of the untamed in your successful writing career.
About the Author
Jim McMullen is an author/naturalist in the Florida Everglades. He wrote the New York Times best seller Cry of the Panther: Quest of a Species and a new book How To Awaken The Writer Within. If you want to know more go to the link below. http://www.awakenthewriterwithin.com
