Writing 101 – Denise M. Sessous: writer, artist & dreamer

After writing my last post, I felt compelled to reminisce…

Here are the top five influences on the imaginary play of my childhood. I draw from these for inspiration today.

• Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – It wasn’t just the coat, the fedora and oh-my-god the best scarf ever, it was the promise of adventure and spontaneity. I remember playing in the expanse of woods that was my back yard and hoping that I would come across the TARDIS. It was one of my greatest childhood wishes to join the Doctor on an adventure or two.
• Star Trek (Original Series) – Oh yeah, Kirk had his charms, but it was Spock that I admired (I even had a bit of a crush). He helped make it okay to be intellectual and different.
• Twilight Zone (80’s reboot) – There were so many episodes that affected me on an emotional level, they should have a list of their own.
• Fairy Tales (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin) – For me, these stories were about discovering I was more than what showed on the surface, and the potential to move past it into who I could become.
• Romancing the Stone (1984) – What I loved (and still love) about this film is that our heroine lived in her fantasy world, then she has a real adventure and became a real version of the heroine she wrote in her novels.

Seems there is a theme emerging here…

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So…I haven’t been paying much attention to my blog…

It’s a sad, unfortunate thing. Thankfully, Blogging-U came along and pulled me out of my rut.

Crazy overachiever that I am, I chose not only Blogging 101 but also Writing 101.

Even though I signed up for both, my main goal is to write more. Primarily, I’m using this blog to open up and share who I am and what’s going on in my head. I’m the type of person who usually sits off to the side, listening and observing. This blog is my opportunity to share the craziness that churns below my sane demeanor.

And now, the first assignment: why do I write?

Stories find me everywhere I go; when I’m walking in the park, driving in my car, at work or standing in line at the grocery store. Even when I read a non-fiction tome, there’s a part of me that finds a nugget that could be a concept for a character or story idea.

These ideas have lived happily inside my head for most of my life. It is only within the last eight years that I’ve attempted to write them down. The decision to tell my stories started with a spontaneous visit to a bookstore where I discovered a writing group. With a deep breath and a brave step out of my comfort zone, I joined the group and began my writing journey.

Finally – and not just because they read my blog – I want to thank my parents. They let me have the time and space to play in my imagination long after most kids were told to grow up and get serious. I consider this the strongest reason I am as creative as I am today. My imaginary play from my childhood is a large source of inspiration for much of my writing.

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