My daily writing periods are an opportunity to sow idea seeds. I prepare my space, set the conditions, and hope for a positive outcome.

Seeds come in a vast array of sizes, colors, and shapes. An epiphytic orchid has the tiniest seed. This baby, at 1/300th of an inch (85 micrometers), and 1/35,000,000th of an ounce (0.81 micrograms) is not visible to the naked human eye. From the mother plant, they float on the air, and with luck, they find a home with an ideal environment in the rainforest’s upper canopy, perfect for germination within a month or two.

Over 4 decades, a giant redwood attains heights of 100 feet and begins with a small 1/8-inch-long seed. The world’s largest seed belongs to the Coco de Mer Palm and weighs in at almost 40 pounds with a circumference of 3 feet. The seed reaches maturity in 6-7 years and needs an additional 2 years to germinate. Mung beans are about the size of a pea, and sprout by day five, ready to add to your salad.

I never know the precise identity of the concept I select until I sit to write. Some ideas drift with the wind. Is it a fluke they discover me, take root, grow, and deliver an exotic blossom? Other stories are epic, they anchor themselves deep in the ground, and soar skyward. Some require heavy lifting, never-ending endurance, and an ability to imagine a far distant future. The cosmos sometimes delivers my fiction in a flash, and by the bucket load. Images explode, words overflow, filled pages become a deluge, and my writing sessions run past the appointed stop time.

How do you nurture your idea seeds?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer