A Writer Writes, Watches and Listens
By Angela Correll- 2013

My classic image of a writer is someone who resembles Ernest Hemingway, pecking away at a typewriter for long hours, hair disheveled and eyes intense, while the ideas flow like water. When a chapter ends, the paper is ripped from the typewriter in victory, and then added to a neat stack. He pushes back, pours a drink, and is ready for relaxation until he sits down to work the next day.

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At least that is what I used to think until I became a writer. My hair might be disheveled and I can feel quite victorious at the end of a chapter. But for me, writing does not end with the typing. And I suspect it didn’t for my imaginary writer as well.

Writing is just one part of the process—it’s the “pouring out” where the words and sentences go onto the page. But you can’t pour out unless you have something inside from which to draw. Life experiences, time to think, observations, and listening to others are all ways to fill up the tank so you have something to spill onto the paper.

We each have our own story to tell: experiences, hurts, loves, humor and memories. This is a good start, but we need quiet time to let something bubble up out of it.

I enjoy a brisk walk in nature, silent drive time in the car, and a long soak in the bathtub. Sometimes I just sit with a cup of coffee. It may look like I’m not doing anything, but an inner world is coming to life. It’s fun to see what might come out of this time: a slight twist to the story, an unexpected piece of information about a character, or a trail of dialogue that makes a chapter.

Observation is just as important. Because I write about small town and farm life in Kentucky, I pay attention to cadence of speech, different drawls, how a certain word is pronounced and how a colloquialism is used in a sentence. I watch how people walk, how they wear clothing, and how emotions are expressed through facial expressions. And how do I get that down on paper? All these things make characters authentic.

Creating a sense of place is like another character for me. I need to know when the Catalpa will bloom in the spring, when the creek is likely to be dry, and when the first twinge of red will appear on the Maple leaves in autumn. Is the air crisp in the morning, warm in the afternoon or is it summertime hazy, hot and humid? The character needs to feel this by pulling the cardigan close in cool weather or wiping sweat in the humidity.

There are good story-tellers in my neck of the woods and hearing a tale about something that happened to someone, humorous and sad, can simmer in my mind for years before a piece of it comes out in a story. I am always ready to pull up a chair when someone says, “Let me tell you what happened to this fella I used to know…”

Now I understand that when my imaginary writer pushes back from his typewriter, or laptop, as it is these days, the work is just beginning.

~Angela Correll

Angela Correll is a seventh generation Kentuckian who lives on a farm with her husband Jess and an assortment of cattle, horses, goats and chickens.

She has written over fifty columns for local newspapers about life, family, and farming. She is the co-owner of the Bluebird, a farm-to-table restaurant, promoting local food produced in a humane and natural way, as well as a shop, selling handcrafted goat milk soap.