“Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it’s the answer to everything. To “Why am I here?’ to uselessness. It’s the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus” – Enid Bagnold
These cactus made me think of John Denver's "Sunshine on My Shoulder Makes Me Happy." -- Photo by Pat Bean
Where Ideas Come From
I was asked this morning where I get my writing ideas.
It’s not the first time I’ve been asked this, and I still stumble over the answer.
This morning, my inspiration for my blog was a walk through a desert landscape filled with many varieties of cacti.
Within 100 yards of leaving my daughter’s driveway, I had seen half a dozen different varieties. Their differences set off my brain on a path of comparing the cacti to the people I know. Tall and short like Mutts and Jeffs; sunny like the blooms on a barrel cactus or especially thorny like the cholla; open to life, like the saguaro’s wide-stretch reach to the sky, or closed up like a low-growing hedgehog cactus.
Perhaps it was this old dead saguaro, looking much like an old man reaching for the sky, that was the real inspiration for today's blog. -- Photo by Pat Bean
I saw a large prickly pear cactus that glowed pink around its edges. It made me think of someone like myself, who prefers to look at the world through rose-colored glasses.
The truth is my writing ideas come from everywhere, at least the starting point. If I’m lucky, as I was today when I went searching for a quote to go with today’s blog and found Bagnold’s great one, I get a bit of inspiration that will tie my thoughts into something more meaningful.
Then there are days when I sit down to write about one thing and end up writing about something entirely different. It’s as if my fingers on a keyboard take charge.
I suspect that unless you’re a writer probably none of this makes any sense.
Oh well. That’s the writing life. Some days you communicate, and some days you don’t.
Bean’s Pat: Wistfully Wandering http://tinyurl.com/dxb8xhp Alice Springs. This blog was my choice for today because it is a place that is calling for this wandering/wondering old broad to visit.
Pat Bean's blog 
You wrote: “I suspect that unless you’re a writer probably none of this makes any sense.” And if you are a writer, it makes perfect sense. AL
So I’m assuming you understood me very well Al.
Yippee! I understood you. One more baby step towards thinking of myself as writer.
And I understand you. It took me years before when asked my occupation I would answer “writer.” Why I’m asking now is that. Perhaps I’ll explore it in a blog one of these days.
I like it! And your images of cacti, it makes me miss my younger days in AZ.
Anyway, it was a good post and I enjoyed the visit. 🙂
I understood you so well, I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing, lol. There are days when I love the quirkiness to my personality (which feeds my writing), and other days it is a huge burden.
Today your post made me love it 🙂
I’m glad. I think quirky is good.
I like the quote from Erica Jong – I write because I have no choice…
Great post.
Jong’s quotes is one of my favorites too. Writing is as important to me as breathing. Thanks for commenting.
Love the quote, Pat, as well as your thoughts on inspiration. You make me smile, my friend.
A smile is a good compliment for me. Thanks.
That cactus reminds me of Don Quixote. Or as a friend of mine said, Donkey Who?
From a distance I thought it was something man-made at first, then realized it was just how a saguaro cactus had collapsed after dying. Huh. Don Quixote. I thought of Burning Man. Thanks as always for commenting Bob.
Keep writing … Pat Bean
https://patbean.wordpress.com