"To blog or not to blog?". What a dull contemplation.

Hello blog world!

My name is Daniel Gordon, I'm a 20 year old blah-blah-blah... I'm a writer. Not a professional writer, rather, an aspiring writer. I hate that word, aspiring. If you're not an already established writer stick to your coffee shops, bagels and stained notebooks, that's what I do, basking in the sun pouring in through the window for all the world to see my deep pondering, a cliche if ever their was. Anyways, I guess if the shoe fits you might as well wear it, and it takes two to tango or those in stone houses shouldn't throw glasses, or whatever. I've become a cliche before I've said anything original, dammit!

Now that you are all thoroughly bored I'm going to move to the next chapter that is to be this blog. My writing!

My writing used to be influenced by other writers, and although impossible to shake those influences I've recently opened my mind to other possibilities, namely, life! I used to be so closed minded about what made a good book good; well developed characters, carefully planned plot lies, etc..., and although these are important, perhaps essential, they're not as important, or as fundamental, as what goes on in my very own life, and the broadness of my imagination. I'm not saying anything terribly new or groundbreaking here and I'm sure a lot of people have figured this out already, but I don't think that it make's this realization any less important in my own life, or in my life as a writer.

For instance, I used to close my mind to the world around me and try to let the ideas come to me from some angelic muse but all that I could produce from this tragic practice were semi-autobiographical story lines, and although that angle makes for good writing, it was not good enough for me. However, the other day I almost completely developed an entire story when in the span of two seconds I admired the look of cream when I poured into my coffee and looked up to see a beautiful young girl smiling at me. Although that sounds like some boring done a million times "met-her-in-a-cafe" story line what I had involved a shamed crooked cop turned isolated dairy farmer's son trying to run a failing family business and the beautiful Austrian girl, who learns English from said son, who helps save the business but has to deal with her rich family's resistance to the relationship. Obviously the story and characters need "meat on the bones" but this story actually grabbed me.

At this point I'm trying to develop that skill of making sure I always keep my mind aware of the little things that can spark ideas instead of trusting in myself to come up with them from heavenly ports of good ideas.

So there, I think that'll do for a first blog. Enjoy and stay tuned as I develop the story of Seth and Farahilde.