Words are my vacation
A guest post by Ralph Walker
Hello and happy Friday! As I mentioned I’m taking some R&R and will be back next week. But I’ve got one more great guest post for you, today from Ralph Walker. I met Ralph where all good creative collaborations start these days: the internet. He’s an enthusiastic organizer of the #5amwritersclub on Twitter, creating community for writers of all stripes all over the world, cheering all of us on indefatigably. I attended one of his retreats when I was at sea with my novel and his insight and exercises transformed my thinking and allowed me to move forward. Ralph and I are planning a trip to Jupiter and have also started a podcast—the new episode on feedback was just posted today! I greatly admire Ralph’s energy, enthusiasm, and wisdom, which is showcased below. Enjoy.
Stories are my salvation. I drop myself into a maze built on the delicious imperfection of character, setting, plot, and theme to wander through the forest of possibilities.
When I read stories, I love the feeling of being taken by the hand through a grand expression or an explosive plot to see the wonders of another person’s imagination.
When I write, I am more feral, running at a breakneck pace and bouncing off the hedgerow I’ve planted thick with delightful flowering baubles and sharp pokey thorns. The edges of my stories wrap me up in a warm hug and tempt me to wade deeper. Or they cut me, ripping open half healed scars or slicing fresh wounds deep as I dare to press. I cackle with delight as I lose my shoes in a dreamy whimsy and splash in the puddles of tears yet to be shed.
Sentences are a padlock to be picked. They can be carried around and piled up, but until the clasp is released, they never quite find their home. Yet once the tumbler is aligned, the phrasing relaxes, opening the sentence to find its natural fit. Then the sentence is mine to place, in a paragraph, a page, a story—like love locks on a bridge—set to mark a moment in time and an emotion cast in metal. Left permanently for all to see.
I won’t describe how my editing process involves bolt cutters, welding torches, and heavy machinery. That would be cruel in this context.
Words are my vacation. Each morning I rise to the empty page with the scent of opportunity filling my nose.
Or is that the coffee?
Regardless, the page awaits usually with little more than a pair of words or a sentence fragment as my inspiration.
Choking soothsayer
Flying Iceberg
Tattooed landscape.
Save the rescuer.
Corporate
AssassinRecruiterUnbridled
AffectionAfflictionWatermelon
Root
Underwater Farmer
Redacted Proof
The words pull my mind back into the maze. Their fruit fills me up. I string them together to build locks, safes, and puzzles I do not know how to solve. I get lost in their shape and sound and mouth feel. I relax against their texture.
I float.
Words are my vacation.
Julia and I found each other wandering in our own stories. We’ve bolstered each other’s work, some on the page, some out in the world, to shine a light on the collective joy that stories bring us both, and in some small way to help others create and find their own joy on the page. It is a pleasure to share my words with all of you.
Ralph Walker is a writer and architect living with his family in New Jersey. He is a member of International Thriller Writers and an organizer for #5amwritersclub. He writes thrillers, speculative fiction, and screenplays. You can find him at www.RalphWalkerAuthor.com or on the platform previously known as Twitter under the handle @RW_Igloo, where he loves to chat about writing, education, and all things donut related.