Category Archives: Crazy ideas

Why do I need to write?

August 31, 2015Books I write, Contemplations, Crazy ideas, Discoveries, Favorite quotesvica

In one of the posts on The Kill Zone blog, when asked for the reason to write, I answered in the comments that I write because I need to release the stories looming in my head.

This is true.

But there are also more straightforward, simpler reasons for this.

One of them is that I just simply need this.

I need to write.

I liked how J.K. Rowling has put it in her interview with Oprah Winfrey. She said that writing kept her sane. In a similar way, Lady Gaga described how her creativity in songwriting and costume design didn’t let her go completely crazy.

I quote both of them from memory, but I guess this applies to everyone. We all need a bit of creativity every day. Whether it is a drawing with one circle two dots and four lines symbolizing ourselves, when we are young, or when a programmer composes a new and simple algorithm for a complex problem.

We all need something to keep us sane. We need that glimpse of light that appears inside us when we have just created or discovered something beautiful and exciting. This pulse of light comes much earlier than the appreciation by others we all strive for, even if we are not doing art professionally.

There is this genuine self-appreciation, completely lacking arrogance. It might be a sigh with a smile, it might be a nod. It might be completely invisible to someone else watching. But it is there.

We often ignore it, because we don’t think it is important. We think the others, whether family, friends or strangers, can evaluate us and what we do best.

But do we really need external evaluation to live our lives to the full? We do strive for the positive one. But do we need it?

I don’t know. I am not quite sure we do. In spite of all the striving.

Sometimes we think we need something, like a new peace of furniture, a new scarf, a new note-book for writing, a new book to read, another cup of espresso with dark chocolate on the side to savor.

You guessed correctly, all of these and many more do appear in my thoughts lately, some of them regularly and with exponentially ascending intensity, where the last three share the second top position on my “What do I need to survive?” list after my family.

But today I had an epiphany. I might have had it before or I might have even read it somewhere written by someone else (probably many times in many different ways) and forgot afterwards. I will probably forget it and have it appear as an experience again, when I most need it. Just like today.

So here it goes.

We all need to create or discover something new every day.

Even freshly cleaned house can be set into this category. Because when you unclutter your home, find new ways to arrange things, dust and vacuum or wipe the floors inside and then look around, you might think that it looks like a new place. This happened to me on Saturday, when after four hours work I finished laundry and cleaning our house. Our new house looked even newer and cosier then.

There are many possible ways to be creative. And there are many new to discover. Writing is still my favourite.

I am sure you have also experienced such glimpses of creativity and the pleasant feeling inside during the process and right upon completion of a creative activity.

Such a feeling of appreciation to be able to create something new is sparkling for me also right now, in this moment, as I am finishing this post.

Wishing you many creative, sparkling moments! Every day!

Picture: There are many necessary ingredients to feed our creativity. Beauty is one of them. Here you can see our orchids — glamorous but unpretentious beauties in our living room.

Post number 102 – Now what?

May 14, 2015Crazy ideas, Discoveriesvica

Two years ago I had this idea to write a novel based on the first 101 posts.

I also suggested that I might write a “sane” novel in-between.

Now, my first novel is published. It is sane to some extent and risky as I was told in respect to the chosen topic.

I must admit that I started thinking about this crazy 101 idea long before I wrote 50 blog posts and published my first novel. The attempt to connect various blog posts into a novel led me gradually to the idea for the second book I am writing currently, which will be actually a series. I will post a short description of the first book in the series soon.

But the most important lesson I learned that you can’t bend a story without making it stale and unnaturally sounding. It simply has to flow in its own pace and direction. So, I might not use all 101 first posts for my second work in progress. But I do use details from various blog-posts, from my memories and imaginations and put them together as mosaic.

Do I have plans, dreams where I want to see myself after the next 101 posts? I do. To publish more books. I guess this wish will stay for quite some time, also after the third, the fourth, and further times 101 posts in a row.

Picture: This is how the kitchen in our new house looks like. The bar in the middle was my personal wish and I am sure, I will write many a page at it with a cup of Espresso by the side of my computer.

A revolutionary discovery

June 23, 2014Crazy ideas, Humorvica

I made an experiment last week. I held two of our juggling soft-balls – Don’t think that I can juggle. I bought them a while ago, so that I could practice to juggle. I am still figuring out when I will start practicing. – One at the height of my hip and another at the point where my mouth is. Then I let them fall.

As you might have expected, the first ball, held at the height of the hip, fell first. To make sure I got the things right, I repeated the experiment. Same result.

Now, I am pregnant with my second baby. As during the first pregnancy and as for many pregnant women, I lost weight at its beginning.

But, and here comes the unexpected, the first place I lost weight on my body, was my face! My hips don’t show any sign of any loss. They are as plump and rosy as ever. Not requiring new tighter trousers. In fact, I need now trousers larger at my waste level.

As former experimental physicist, this took me aback. How could this be? All my knowledge in physics seems to be turned upside down. I mean, I should, as any large subject or object in this world follow the laws of gravity. But my weight doesn’t seem to follow it!

So, I decided to bring out a theory. It goes as follows:

Classical laws of physics do not apply to the change process of the human weight distribution.

At least it sounds like a postulate. 😉

The next step is to verify this effect with quantum mechanics and nanophysics. The experiments there might however mean more effort to undertake than the one with the juggling balls.

P.S. It is quite funny what kind of thoughts come to one during pregnancy. And you can stay assured that I really performed the experiment. As written above: twice.

Pictures: My two babies. One as the cutest Spiderman ever, today during Sankt Hans’s celebrations in Aalborg, and another unborn.

When I hit 101

April 13, 2013Crazy ideasvica

I had a crazy idea today, an idea about writing a novel. You might say: “This is not that crazy. Almost everyone wants to write a novel!” Right! But what is it that makes a person to want to write a novel? I guess there might be plenty possibilities for this. In my case it’s mostly curiosity how a bigger piece of fiction is created and comes to life.

My thought today was crazy because I want to bind the posts in my blog into a novel. And the number 100 seems to be so attractive. So I thought: “What if I bind my first 100 blogs into a novel?” Of course, the first post introducing the blog could be omitted. But then, as for other posts, I could use parts of it in this crazy novel of mine. And then I remembered a sweet family story about the number 101.

One of my grand-parents-in-law lived until 97. He was very optimistic about age and his goal was to live until 101, a year longer than what was according to him the goal of the old pope John-Paul II. My grandpa-in-law Max was a quirky little man with an incredible history of the Second World War and hard life behind him but an absolutely childish pleasure in enjoying life at whatever age.

So, when I hit my 101,- and before you ask, I mean posts in this blog, not years; I don’t want to make you wait so long -, I will start thinking of a plot and characters and I will use for this something from each of my very first 101 posts in this blog.

This idea is so exciting and so crazy that it makes me wish to play a trick on myself and create all kinds of funny, strange, melancholic, inspiring, nonsense, nutty, hilarious, outrageous posts and whatever comes to my mind. I don’t exclude writing a “sane” novel in between.

But this 101 idea is just so crazily great! You and I might forget about it when the 101^st post is there in the world. But I am sure that this “lamp” will light up at some point of time and make you and me laugh out loud and swear (me, about having such an idea in the first place!) and smile and be happy about the ways the human mind takes us.