Wonderings

“Whereto?” she asks, ready for the new year.

And so begins my adventure in blogging.

Recently, while driving down a less-traveled road, I found myself in total observation mode. The dirt road, covered in thick ice, took me through a canyon of towering trees—their limbs weighed down with sparkling snow. It was magical. So magical that my car seemed to drive itself as I took in winter’s beauty. The road eventually widened, giving way to rural houses tucked into the forest, with imaginative fences, yard features, and wild and domestic animals. Curiosities began to follow each time something new came into view.

“I wonder why…?”

“I wonder how…?”

“I wonder where…?”

Halfway to my destination, I realized I was uttering my questions aloud—a common practice in solo transport. My intrigue came from a need to discover. With a smile, I continued driving and wondering. By the time I reached my destination, I had a full basket of questions that may one day be answered on the pages of future books.

Where to? Toward what place, purpose, direction or end?

Journalists technically refer to this process as seeking answers to the 5 W’s: who, what, when, why, and where—a critical method when your job is supposed to be an accurate reporting of the facts. As a fiction writer, I prefer to see things through natural curiosity. The door to my imagination is usually open, allowing curiosity to grease the wheels. Not everything created in the factory of my imagination is usable in the present. Many ideas are left on the editing room floor or stored for a later date. Nevertheless, the process is indispensable.

Creativity is born of curiosity. Not only is curiosity essential to creativity, but it’s also the aquifer that feeds the well. It’s the mode of transportation that leads a writer down a path they might not take. Curiosity allows a writer to look at life through a different lens. Things we might disapprove of can be better interpreted when we place our judgment or partiality on hold.

“Whereto tends all this?” Hermia asks of Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Where am I going with all this? What purpose does a blog stemming from a writer’s curiosity offer?

Maybe nothing. Maybe something.

But that, my friends, is the joy of curiosity.

So welcome, 2022, and all the wonderings that await.