Hiatus

Well, spring is here and I had to take some time away from the keyboard to get some flowers going. Maybe this year they will actually germinate. I'm having more germination of new story ideas than with the plants. I guess that might be better in the long run.
Getting ideas for stories gets easier and easier when you put some serious time into it. Stories are everywhere. A news item in the morning paper, an observation that was overheard at the mall, the story the neighbor tells you about her weasel of a cousin, all these can be a germ for a story. Whenever I go to the mall with my wife, I watch and listen to the people around me. I scribble notes in a notepad. If I'm working on a piece using my Neo, I'll jot down something, even in the middle of the piece, so I don't lose it.
These little things are helping me when I have to describe a character or say something in a believable way. Listening to people talk helps to keep my dialogue crisp, and genuine. I'm finding out that much of writing is done away from the keyboard. Good writing is the result of good observation. Well, I'm off to the mall again to see what stories lie among the kiosks.