Writing at its finest…Underwater!

The Salton Sea Chronicles is always interested in HOW authors write. Every one of us has had the experience of having good writing come to us when we are not at our computers. How do we trap those flashes?

by Alison Garza

Most ask me “what would I see if I watched you write?" I do not have a definite answer to that one. If I am on a real writing jag you can find me at my computer desk, a desk so littered with broken pencils, pens, scraps of paper, and novels that you cannot even see what kind of wood it is made out of. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and grab up my notepad and jot down ideas usually around 3am, but I would be really "weirded" out if you were watching me then.

The best time for me write is when I am underwater. My greatest ideas come when I jump into my pool in the early hours of the morning, after a 10 mile bike ride. I get a snorkel, goggles, and a weight. I then sit in the shallow end and think. I am in a new world as if everything has changed. Fiction becomes a reality to me. When I am submerged, my mind changes. My once clouded thoughts become crystal clear and organized.

I have written my best stories while underwater. Each time I come up for a break I write them down on a pad of paper and pen I leave at the pool side. It is very peculiar to see, most think I am mad, but this is my way to write. To fuel the crazy way I write I usually drink a coffee or two before my morning bike ride and take an espresso shot of what ever is handy.

If I am lucky I have my waterproof paper and ink with me and I wont come up for hours at a time. I’ve freaked people out by me just sitting in the bottom of the pool not moving just chilling. I would much rather like it if it rained, but here in Bakersfield good rain only comes once in a few years. Showers are good too. I could not tell you how many times I have turned the shower on steaming hot and sat on the bottom of the tub writing for hours on end. Talk about a water bill…

In the end the only way you can watch me write is to either come swimming with me at 7am or stay the night at my place (I only write either early morning or extremely late at night). My door is always open, though when I write it stays shut from the prying eyes of my parents, just step right in. you have been warned, however, some things you may see me write can cause nightmares.