what are the best things to write about

[Philatone]

I find that the things I write that originated from a single line or idea I liked often fall flat. Removing the original idea often times leads to what I think is a stronger work; it is as though I need to shed the spark but keep the fire.

Additionally, the closer I am to a subject, often the harder it is for me to capture. Facts seem to get in the way and be limiting. Taking elements of experience and subverting them helps me. I find a number of the recent things I'm working on come from strips of conversations stolen from overhearing strangers at a restaurant or on the bus; it gives me more freedom of control.

I'm not really answering the question I feel. However, one of the worst things to write about involves trying to capture an emotion from something that happened, at least for me. It creates a standard that I am in no way able to meet. Rather than trying to get the story and emotion down, I try to pick a snapshot that I think I can make tangible to some degree.

Stories are good because they offer a direction, making them easier to write about. But what is the adage? The writing should not be about deciding to jump from a plane, but the fall.