I have been writing short stories, articles, poems, and book reviews for 25 years. I find it fascinating that there seem to be more things to write about during intensive writing, as opposed to times when I am not writing, when there seems to be less to write about. With this in mind, I would like to discuss how stories seem to find writers and not the other way around, that is, writers finding stories to write about.

This idea first rang true for me during a time when I was writing about daily events of my life, for example, about the strange lady at the coffee shop who would peer at everyone suspiciously from over the rims of her thin-framed, baby-pink spectacles every time she took a sip of strong, black coffee. A young man with a sleek ponytail would acknowledge every young lady walking into the boutique yet make sarcastic remarks at every older, seemingly more successful gentleman. I would spot peculiar situations and eccentric people constantly, which is very much a writer's feast! Rewind to a time when I was engrossed in the art of playing chess – no interesting situations seemed ever to occur, and I was out and about playing in restaurants, coffee shops, and even at a giant outdoor chess board. Does this mean I wasn't paying attention to peculiarities while trying to master chess? Were ideas coming to me while actively writing because I had a keener sense for them? Or is there a metaphysical, let's say a quantum physical or a mystical explanation for this?

Whatever the case might be, whether it was coincidental or metaphysical one can see where I am going with this. Actively engrossing in writing about interesting events inevitably opens the writer to interesting events unfolding just as writing about dragons, fairies, and purple flying toads comes from writers actively engaging their creativity. One can argue that stories find writers yet the inverse also rings true. Therefore one can think of writers and stories as having a magnetic pull towards each other. The more a writer is charged with finding good stories, the more good stories are magnetized to writers, and vice versa.

As writers, we explore the world through the lens of writing, and stories take shape according to our imagination, worldviews, and preconceptions. When we write a story that has found us, we put our stamp on it and hope it resonates with our audience. I am far from being an expert on anything, let alone the art of good writing, yet I feel that this makes sense. Young writers and even established writers can benefit greatly from focusing their energy on activities that they would like to write about. This would ultimately result in marvelous stories seeking them out, and wanting to be written by them. The following quote by Toni Morrison emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between stories and writers: “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”