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April 21, 2006
Shower Power
I don't make these rules, I just report them...
My shower is magic.
For reals. My bathroom must be enchanted or something, because my shower has mystical powers.
(No, not like that—get your mind out of the gutter. Geez, you guys, as Bob would say.)
If I’ve been waiting all day for a phone call, or for an important package or FedEx letter to be delivered (requiring my signature), all I have to do is hop in the shower, turn on the water full blast, and break out the shampoo, and voila, the phone will ring! Guaranteed.
I won’t be able to hear it, of course, and when I try to return the call, I’ll be informed that the person I need to talk to just left for a two-week vacation (or FedEx will leave a note on the door saying they’ll try me again Monday—Monday?!?), but still. The shower connection is undeniable. It’s happened too many times to be mere coincidence.
My shower also possesses the answer to all my plot and character problems. When I’m on deadline, I’ll bathe like 5 times per day, staring at the white tiles while my unwritten scenes reveal themselves inside my head. A lot of writers report similar experiences—the closer we get to deadline, the cleaner we are. The muse lives in our plumbing. The phone gods hang out in the drain.
Please tell me I’m not the only one. What mysterious cosmic forces are at work in your home?
Posted by Beth at 2:54 AM | Comments (6)
Comments
The shower is a great place for inspiration. I get a lot of fantastic ideas in there, many of which I promptly forget once I step out. *sigh*. If I think of something I particularly want to remember, I repeat it over and over again, like it's a mantra of sorts. Occasionally, I'll run down the hallway in a towel, frantic to write it down before it slips away. And then my hair dries all funny. For me, the price of creativity is apparently bad hair. The shower is also a good place for singing (loudly) and for complicated dance moves.
Posted by: laurenjharwood ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.literarychicks.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 21, 2006 5:50 AM
This is when Jenny collages and Bob kayaks. Something to do with flow, don't you think?
Posted by: hollygee at April 21, 2006 10:58 AM
Beth,
Can I come to your house to shower? I have some plot problems to work out.
Eileen R
Posted by: Eileen at April 21, 2006 12:02 PM
I'm just the opposite. I have to leave the house to get unstuck. I always get my best ideas when I'm running.
Posted by: Whitney at April 21, 2006 12:12 PM
I get my best ideas while driving. Of course, by the time I get to where I'm going, I've forgotten them!
Posted by: Jennifer J at April 21, 2006 4:50 PM
LOL, I hear you about the shower, Beth :-)
But for inspiration when I am blocked? Out comes my Inner Cleaner. Suddenly, I become obsessive about the layers of dust on the shelves, and streaks on the windows, and crumbs on the carpets.
Posted by: Michelle C at April 24, 2006 2:36 AM
