The Art of Now: Living the Moment

You have the ability to go anywhere, be anybody, at anytime, in anyplace. All you have to do is write. And when you embrace your characters and they're situation, you really can escape from your angst-filled daughter, your wife's office politics, and untimely in-law obligations.

Writing is your zen hour, your meditation moment, your daily enlightenment. And you need this time because when you leave the world of the story, your daughter is right there with yet another life "crises", your wife wants to "talk" about work, and your father-in-law "needs" you to pick up a table and drive it to Mexico.

But back in our real world, our ability to live in the moment is suspect. Life is hard, and when we're trudging through the daily business of our lives, we often fail to see the beauty of "the now." It's a skill to live in the moment, and I would argue that when we do it well and consistently, it's art.

As writers, when we're in "the now", we're actually working. Every person we meet, every situation we're in, every moment we live are all potential material. But if we're not in "the now", we may never see it.

Your melodramatic daughter is vulnerable, needy, misunderstood – and the core of creating a great character. Understanding your wife's co-worker chaos might be the germination of a killer spec script. And you, your father-in-law, and a table to Mexico sounds like an awesome lock-in for a trip with destination scenario.

Be in the now. Embrace the moment. You never know where it might take you.