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Delta40
04-08-2011, 11:17 PM
In the psychiatrists office, surrounded by towering bookshelves I introduce myself. She needs to know that story writing is a thing that just goes on and on with me. There are beginnings everywhere. I turn a page and I see them. Oh look! here is one now; a story of sorts to get one's teeth into. The worst christmas happened the year Elvis died. Wild anticipatory hunger for whatever the story will allow you to chew on. I get lost in them. Yeah, so totally lost, like here I am in one now, lapping up the sauces that burst out whenever I hit a key. Splat! Sweet chilli straight in the eye. Kevin scowled like a wounded dog

I miss endings. You know, wrap ups. Some stories just stop with no explanation, as if a door opened and someone said 'dinner is ready' and everyone packs up and leaves. Is that all it takes to bypass an ending? All that excitement building up. So much pleasure. Stop right there. Don't pass go.

The psychiatrist is probably going to cross her legs at this point. The psychiatrist shifts in her seat and crosses her legs (see, I knew she would!) Endings are not happening anymore. Stories cease to flow, to exist. I have said these things to her in the past and I expect her to listen and try to pull apart the difference between story beginnings and endings.

My beginnings solidify like lard. They melt in summer, crumble in winter. I breathe in and out. Here is another beginning. Another story. No ending. No closure. The weeping mother lights a candle for rememberance. Perhaps it is as much a beginning as an end. The psychiatrist challenges my understanding of closure and so she should. There isn't any greater value in that seven letter word than there is in endings.

'What direction are you going with this?' I look up and wonder why a voice would echo such a question on this sunny afternoon. At the hospital Freddy came to, his face covered by an oxygen mask. He was tired, done in. He closed his eyes and decided he wanted to stay that way. She probably doesn't understand what I mean.

Ok, so I have alot of loose ends. If I ever get a degree in psychiatry, the question will be, are my rambling bits a metaphor for some deeper issue or is it about writing for success? The psychiatrist counts down the seconds till the consultation is finished. Her lover is waiting in the empty office next door. A book titled 'Cognitive Dissonance' catches my eye. I know her posture is inconsistent with her mind.

I think I'm in the middle of this scenario, analysing the situation or maybe that is the psychiatrists' job and all I need do is ponder double meanings. I introduce myself again. Always a beginning, never an ending. What does it all mean? You try, if you're so smart! The cat stretches and watches the proceedings through a half gaze.

A to B is not too much to ask. I feel the contours of my car keys while she 'validates' my expressions of concern. 'You're really doing well here. You're not afraid to ask questions and travel down the roads you need to travel in order to find answers'. Sure Doc. But I still don't see an ending.

I'm strewn across the floor, like discarded pages torn from a journal. Any minute now, a sudden gust of wind will pick me up and carry me through the window. What a beginners imagnination! 'Let's make another appointment.' I stand up and say sorry, but I gotta fly. There is a story out there, waiting for me to nurture it - shape it and direct it to its ultimate destination. She balanced on the sill then took a leap of faith in the hope she would find:

The End.

hillwalker
04-09-2011, 04:39 AM
The Neuroses of Creative Writing. There has to be a thesis there somewhere for a budding psychologist (or should that be psychiatrist?).

I'm sure many of us can identify with the process even if we ultimately make do with self-help. I'm guessing this was as much fun to write as it was to read.

H

Delta40
04-09-2011, 07:19 AM
Thank God it isn't just me! Psychiatrist sounds alot better too.

Steven Hunley
04-09-2011, 12:17 PM
With a psych, if you could see the ending, whether good, bad, or ugly, you porbably wouldn't need to see one. (the psych.) You'd already have a plan.

It's true, you start seeing stories everywhere. Possible plots and scenarios haunt you like ghosts.

Good stuff. I like this self-examination stuff.

YesNo
04-09-2011, 12:40 PM
It looks like you found the ending when you decided not to go back to see the psychologist. Nice story.

Delta40
04-09-2011, 06:07 PM
lol I guess once she leapt from the window, another appointment was out of the question!

MANICHAEAN
04-10-2011, 12:01 AM
Delta

You writing about me, as its got me down to a tee? "She crossed her legs," evoked images immediately of Tony Soprano squirming under the shrink, unable to decide whether to deal with her on a professional basis, or get her into bed.

Not finishing stories. I'm your man. In fact I think I use the writing as an emotional release to get out whatever I've got going inside me. Then "poof" its finished and I can't find an ending and closure.

Well written. Enjoyed it.

Best regards
M.

Bluehound
04-11-2011, 07:52 AM
Writing is a real joy for me. When I have one of those eureka moments when some story idea clicks, or when I read something I feel happy with its such a buzz.
But there are down sides, I find my self writing in my head when I should be concentrating on something else, and maybe worst of all when I am suposed to be asleep, I find my self hovering not quite awake not quite asleep writing away.
No wonder so may writers end up a bit dolally.

Delta40
04-11-2011, 09:54 AM
I'm so glad this piece evoked something which fellow writers could well relate to. I don't feel so alone now...

DieterM
04-11-2011, 10:05 AM
This is a many-layered story and I can relate to so many of the layers... Where to begin? With one of my main mottos 'It's more important to find the right questions not the right answers'? Which is just another way of saying 'the beginning is more important than the ending'… or maybe not?
I do think of my stories' endings, though, but I prefer open endings where the reader can imagine him-/herself whatever comes next.
What appealed most to me was your main character's way of 'fictionizing' the reality around him. I tend to do that quite a lot, asking myself with which words I could describe a ride in the métro, or the dandruffed man in the queue in front of me, or, or, or…
Do I need to go see a shrink then? Is there some hope left for me, doctor?

Anyway, I enjoyed your story a lot. Short, concise, and it says so many things…

Delta40
04-11-2011, 07:25 PM
Thanks Dieter. Perhaps the journey of seeking the answers is the real story?