Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Synchronicity

I delight in synchronicity, those times when you think of a long forgotten song and moments later hear it on the radio, or think of an old friend and within minutes get a message from them out of the blue.

And maybe it's just me, but I've found as an aspiring writer, with all the rejection and often just plain cold shoulders you receive, that moments of synchronicity that relate to writing mean even more, as if the universe is telling you that maybe you're not so crazy to be chasing this cockamamie dream after all.

A few years ago, I was in the Barnes and Noble writing section, glancing at all the books that tell you how to be a successful writer if only you'd follow their formula. I'd picked up and put down most all of them over the years, but on this day, a small paperback with an interesting title caught my eye.

Taking it off the shelf, I looked at the cover and saw the book discussed how a writer could use certain precepts of Zen to improve and enhance one's writing. Not really my cup of tea.

But I flipped open the first few pages anyway and stopped at the mostly blank page containing the dedication. It read:

For Brendan

Needless to say, I paid my $6.95 and went on my merry way.

Another writing-related moment of synchronicity I recall happened with my second novel. The main character is a fairly straight-laced guy with a secret: most every weekend, he drives a few towns over and stops at a local watering hole that has karaoke. Turns out, folks know him there and look forward to his performance.

The incident itself comes from my own love of watching (other people do) karaoke. Not something I could ever imagine myself doing, but wish I could. To me anyway, people seem their most true selves when they're up there.

So I finished the novel and handed it off to my trusted beta reader Danny, who called a week or so later.

He said the prior Saturday evening, feeling somewhat low, he went down to a local watering hole that happened to have karaoke. Before the night was over, he found himself up on stage having the best time of his life (and I guess you'd have to know him to understand he's not really a karaoke guy.) The very next day he encountered my character's secret.

So anyway, keep your eyes open for your own moments of synchronicity. Might be the universe is indeed trying to tell you something.

Or not.

4 comments:

Barry Napier said...

I an also a karaoke addict. Nice to know I'm not alone...

Brendan P. Myers said...

Thanks for stopping by, Barry! Yeah, like I said, I wish I had the cajones to do it. Admire and enjoy watching those who do, however good or bad they might be.

Aaron Polson said...

Karaoke...yeah. I only perform when everybody in the room is very drunk. Happens a lot in bars around here.

Synchronicity rocks.

Brendan P. Myers said...

It does indeed, Aaron.