Save It for the Page

I do love the stuff my critique group comes up with. This one's from my friend Teddie, who writes features for my most excellent hometown newspaper, The St. Petersburg Times.

I think we were talking about the moon. Or the trees. Or the Gulf of Mexico. How some people can creatively speak about the natural world, at length. Then there are those who look, mentally record, possibly, hopefully remember to get it right. Pray that we succeed in what Eudora Welty advises- that as writers we take care and get the moon in the right part of the sky. And the tulips blooming in the right month.

So, writers are always looking and paying attention. And from now on, I'm trying Teddie's advice: "Save it for the page." Keep those tidbits close to the chest. Write them in our notebooks. Pull them out when we need them on the page. Get the moon and the flowers right, but no need to babble on.