Lightbulb moments, briefs, and Lady Gaga...

I have good old standard lightbulbs between my ears.?

They have a good old standard shape.

They give me great moments.

They make me feel warm and fuzzy.

Some of them are 40-Watt ones.?

I switch them on when I want to have ideas and write copy with the light turned down low and the atmosphere turned up high.?

Others are of the 60-Watt variety.?

I use them when I want to illuminate my thinking a bit more and give my imagination toys to play with.?

Then, for special occasions, I have 100-Watt big boys.?

I change up to them when I want to burn through the fog that sometimes invades my mental landscape. They let me see the really good stuff clearly.?

My lightbulbs shine like a guiding beacon on all the words I write, love, and want to keep.?

They also skewer, like a beam on a prison wall, all the ones I write, hate, and want to throw back in solitary confinement.?

A few years back, I put on a little weight and went from merely writing advertising copy to also writing books.?

I went from words that concentrated (mostly) on fact, to ones that put fiction on the front burner.?

And now, as well as having standard lightbulb moments, I have ultra-modern, eco-friendly, mind-expanding ones.?

Ones that supercharge my imagination.?

Illuminate my creativity.?

While I beat the shit out of the keys on my laptop.?

Or at least that’s what I thought was happening…

I thought that my change of pace and writing style and subject matter would herald in a wealth of new conceptual writing.?

I thought the squishy stuff between my ears would be given an upgrade.?

I thought my grey matter would be incandescent with a halogen-like glow.?

And I thought my new lightbulb moments would burn stronger for longer than my old ones used to.?

Except they didn’t.

The ideas and words they were coming up with were no more (or less) creative or off-the-wall or quirky or weird or enjoyable…than my old ones were.

I just did more with them.?

I just took the handcuffs off.?

I just removed the straitjacket.?

I just let them grow and achieve their full potential…or as near as dammit.

Instead of weeding them out because they didn’t fit the budget, the timeframe, or someone else’s idea of what they should say.?

I think it all boils down to this.?

When I used to write ad copy…it was my job to follow the brief. Unless the brief needed a swift kick up the arse.?

It was my job to get more out of the brief than was ever in there in the first place.?

And it was my job to make my words as convincing and invisible as possible.

And now, when I’m writing my books…I tend to follow the advice of Lady Gaga.?

“When you make music, or write or create, it’s really your job to have mind-blowing, irresponsible, condomless sex with whatever idea it is you’re writing about at the time...”

Can’t argue with that…

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You've just read an extract from one of my books of urban essays...Ad Infinitum.?

All my published books are available separately from those nice people at Amazon…right here.

(Urban Essays):

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Ad Infinitum:?https://amzn.to/3pof7Uq

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Ad Hoc:?https://amzn.to/2Nx8GL8

(Unfinished): Ad Astra

(Urban Romance)

Love & Coffee:?https://amzn.to/28IWaHq

(Humorous Science Fantasy)

Heaven Help Us:?https://amzn.to/2nkQ1Jk

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