Write Where You Are: Stories to Live, Love, Laugh and Profit By

By Randy Otterbridge

An anthology of stories that demonstrate you can write about anything and everything. A collection story starts, shorts, and half baked ideas to encourage the writer in you to get going right now. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Randy Otterbridge
• Release date: Mar 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9780981804576

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Write Where You Are: Stories To Live, Love, Laugh, And Profit By

An Anthology

© 2018 by Randy Otterbridge

All Rights Reserved

Published by: R&A Publishing

ISBN: 978-0-9818045-7-6

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Publisher’s Disclaimer: Some parts of this book (stories) have been collected from previously published short stories and articles. Said stories are in no way intentionally meant to represent any person other than the author. While mistakes are possible, we invite you to bring them to our attention and we will fix them in updated editions. 

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Randy’s Disclaimer: I write what’s in my heart, my mind, and my soul. Yet, as a reader, many influences are present. And while diligent in my approach to paraphrase and properly quote, any mistakes to that effect are unintentional. Any mistakes can be corrected with future publications.

Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. The Author appreciates you taking the time to read his work. Please consider leaving reviews wherever you bought the book. If you would like to talk to the author directly, you can leave an email at [e-mail].

CONTENTS

STORIES TO LIVE BY

6

STORIES TO LOVE BY

61

STORIES TO LAUGH BY

79

STORIES TO PROFIT BY

102

Dedication

Linda is at the center, and that center is filled with kindness and love and patience (all of which gets tested living with a writer). And all is a reward when the words flow like lava, the kind that creates islands. These words are like little islands of thought... and I appreciate you, Linda, for letting me allow the time to let them flow.

FOREWORD:

These quotes, and many others, drive my days. The first quote: Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. (Thomas Jefferson) He also said, It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing. And with that I present you with Write Where You Are – Stories to Live, Love, Laugh, and Profit By, a collection of stories, writings, musings, and book beginnings. Some I have included in other writings, whether a blog post, an inclusive story start, in one of my books, or something that came to me in the clenches of inspiration. And ALL with the idea to help you live, love, laugh, and profit a little better.

Why I’m sharing this book with you: sometimes you just have to stop caring what other people think. Wouldn’t you agree? Therefore, your writing starts wherever you are in life, in love – it starts by laughter, and whether you have a dime or a donut in your pocket. I’m serious. Just start. Write where you are. This collection of stories shows you that you, too, can look back on stuff you have put down on paper, notecards, story starts, back of napkins, long ass texts you shouldn’t have sent, thought bubbles in your head, whatever... that you can take those and create something wonderful. And as I look back on some of these musings, I see my naiveté. Some are bad, some are worse, some are hopeless, but they are all mine – writing where I was. I share them with you as inspiration, encouragement, and hopefully motivation. I wish they’ll help you start your journey to write where you are! Enjoy...

STORIES TO LIVE BY:

About this series: What do I mean by that – stories to live by? Well, have you ever thought of something that you thought was life changing – or better yet, filled you with passion and drive, at least for a little while? These stories did that for me, got me fired up and off my butt to do something, be something, try a different way. The first is as if I am sitting right next to you and I start talking.

Write where you are (In comfort and ease...)

About this story: It seemed to me that the writing process had gotten all mysterious and hard. So mysterious and hard that many people were just forgetting about putting anything on paper at all. I felt this would be a shame. And in suggesting hope and techniques to just get it out, I believe we could benefit from what is inside of all of us.

This is what happens: to write, many people suggest that you have to sit at a desk all day; that you’re hunched over, your fingers working the keys, and sweat is dripping off your face like some sort of mad scientist.

But is that true? Is that the way it has to be?

I’m starting to think that that is an absurd way to write. I say that because right now I’m on my recliner – and I am getting a whole lot done. Imagine it was you: you’ve got your HP Bluetooth connected keyboard, the batteries are fully charged – giving you hella range. You don’t have to look up to see all the little squiggly red devils reminding you that you can’t spell worth a damn. You’re probably looking at the TV screen in the living room. Comfortable. Spacious. Your cute little hands can grab the board at any angle and type as fast as you want.

How does that feel, superstar? Good, right? And isn’t it comfort we enjoy the most? Don’t we just want to kick up our little heels and stretch a bit? Ooh. Feels good, right?

And now we can get that writing done. Get those pages to screen – whether you are looking at it or not. No hunched over back pain. No chiropractic warning to sit up straight, shoulders back, neck arched at blah, blah, blah angle – just comfortable couches and lounge chairs for you, writer.

And if you get a little ‘tired’? Well, just lay back and take a nap.

Nice, huh?

But doesn’t this run counter to stories you’ve heard about people who hunker down in a room with their little inspiration laden coffee mug in hand going about the task of writing?

Who needs that jailor? Strapped to a chair like a four legged prison, with your office as your cell?

Not me. And now, not you either. Now we can just relax and write, right? If that’s you, well, I say God bless your little heart.

But is it real?

For me, I’m working the full time, full time. I’m crushing the eight hour work day (really, it’s more like ten with the commute, at the desk lunches, and the endless meetings that drag on my day). You, too?

And so the couch. For me, this is the way to go and yes, I recommend it to anyone. The wireless keyboard is a must have. The recliner? Yep, that too.

Remember, if you create super good outlines, you did your thing getting tons of research material, and you have tapped into the collective consciousness of your readers, then you can do anything you want. And now you’ve added comfort to the equation? You have the makings of a successful career.

Sure, all of this sounds like a bunch of bunk. The idea of you being able to lie on the couch and crank out book after book is crazy talk. NOBODY does it like that, do they?

I’m here to tell you that if you could just demystify (don’t you just love that word?) the process for yourself and try it for a little while, you’ll see exactly what I mean. Getting tons of writing done right where you are.

Let me give you a little insight into how it happened for me: when I decided that I would become a writer, I grabbed every kind of book on the subject you can imagine: some good, some just a big ‘ol pile of poo. That is, some suggested you find a dark little corner in a room with no windows and hunch over your pad and start writing.

For all that advice, however, I didn’t write shit. That’s right, nothing. Not a darn thing.

For all the books I had read, I could have had a PhD in how-to. But nothing was happening. Perhaps it was my penchant for anti-convention, my laziness, or just an aversion to what occurs when you write: sore back, legs cramped, eyes all strained and stuff. Whatever it was, I couldn’t get words onto the screen. And the idea of getting out of my nice warm bed to go sit upright in a ‘room’ seemed kind of dumb.

Something had to change. Wouldn’t you agree? I had to try something different. To do what I had in mind would mean I had to ‘unplug’. That is, unplug from the conventional.

Oh, I tried it the other way. You know, lugging my desktop to my new couch location (at the time, I had a Sony all-in-one, so it was kind of desktoppy and kind of laptoppy). I mean, it still had the keyboard and the mouse hooked up to it, but you could move it around. But it was a little clumsy. So that’s when I ordered an HP wireless keyboard and mouse. Then, for Christmas, I got a laptop pad. Oooh, it was ON like Donkey Kong. I was able to solve a lot of problems with my writing (and, I think, a lot of the problems being a writer in general had caused). The isolation, the dark little room, the time away from my lovely ones, the feeling left out.

But by being out in the open, it did several things. It put me in touch with all the things that some of the writing books said were taboo: noise, comfortable places, distractions, blah, blah.

For me it was the opposite; it brought all the cool stuff in me out. I could write faster, more engagingly, and my lady didn’t feel left out. She could look right over at me, or be in the office with me working on stuff for herself. I had created a new paradigm for myself. I could also write constantly. In fact, anytime I stopped to take a break, all I had to do was lean back, close my eyes, and set the little timer for ten minutes. (Who said you can’t sleep in the middle of writing?)

The point here is this: and I would never forget it, EVER...if you want to Write Where You Are, find out what works best for you.

Even though your style may fly in the face of convention, it may be just the thing that makes you the most productive. It has for me. I have gone from writing five hundred words in an hour (I know, a stupidly low per minute count) to well over one thousand words. And that’s with my little naps, too. My back doesn’t hurt anymore, my knees aren’t jacked up from the low sitting chair, and my body and mind are so relaxed that I can simply go from one book to the next with ease.

I wish I could reach through the screen and touch a bit of this magic onto you... but I think once you have read all of the how-to books, when you’ve gotten all of your ducks lined up, and when you have declared that you’re ready and set, you will GO with no problem.

That’s my thousand words, and I’m sticking to them.

Just for shit and grins (and to make the unconventional process a little easier), I thought I would download some outlines and create a little system. Now even though I have my own system of how-to outlines, I still wanted to bring a little convention into what I do.

So here’s the plan: I’m going to write my next book using this method. I’m going to send it off to the publishers this way and see what happens. Then I’m going to write another book using the in-a-room-chair-is-my-jailor method.

But for each I’m going to outline like crazy.

Now when I say outlines, I’m really talking about the boring stuff we’re force fed in high school. You know, the ABCs. And let me tell you, this stuff is terrible. It’s boring. It’s so ultra-conventional. But hey, one can’t write on inspiration alone, can one?

Oh boy. See what outlines are doing for my writing already? I’m reverting back to the APA crap from college; I’m regressing to high school ABCs.

Anyway, the point here is this: when writing, weave into it different approaches. Keep it fresh. Do this not only from different personal perspectives, but from different points of view, too.

This, perhaps, could keep you from becoming stale while using your innovative approaches. Let’s think about that for a minute. Even when we decide to be different, what comes along with that is a kind of same old, same old over time. That is, the new stuff ain’t so new after a few years.

To truly innovate, then, it may be