A Socky Metaphor

White socks aren't any fun, right? They're plain. And boring. But not these socks...

Nah, these socks make me smile.  And they're even more fun if you...

mix

and

match.

I had to run to the store to pick up a prescription today.  And as I wandered into the sock aisle, I found this grand collection of bright, silly and, somewhat, 80's inspired footwear....hmmmm...socks aren't really footwear, are they?  What then? Hosiery?  That sounds a bit too formal, right?  Hosiery...sounds like I'm buying silk stockings.   

Anyhoodles, I had to buy just about every color they had.  And my sock purchases seem to me a lovely metaphor for writing.

The summer before last, at Chautauqua, I loved listening to Patricia Lee Gauch speak. Wow, that chickadee is something else.  She is a spitfire. Funny. Brilliant.  And she could talk about flossing her teeth and the audience would be on the edge

of their seat as they scribbled notes like mad. 

But instead of regaling us with her dental hygiene, Patty gave inspiring lectures and was often saying things like, "Go crazy! Go wild!" She told us to push our writing farther.  I was lucky enough to get her as my mentor for the week and I learned loads from her.  I was thrilled that she enjoyed my writing.  And over the moon with how she helped me make it even better. She pushed me to add more sass and more humor.  "I love sass," she said. (Me, too.)  She helped me see what I was doing right and do more of it.  She helped me strike the weak parts.

Really.  She is superb.  And worth the trip to Chautauqua all by her itty bitty self.

And, so, what is my point?  Why have I made you look at photos of my beautifully colored feet? Well, it's probably pretty obvious. But here it is anyways...

Go crazy! Go wild!  Don't write plain stories. Don't be boring.

 And don't write White Socks.

On a sidenote, I bought these fun knee-highs, too...

They are destined to become leg warmers for my Zoe. Talk about 80's inspired...