The Bus - Generating Writing Ideas

The public commuter bus is a place to think of ideas for writing. So many interesting people walk on and off the bus every day. All varieties of backgrounds and cultures can be noticed in the way people speak.

There are also other multiple benefits, that for now, during the summer and fall months before winter hits, seem to make riding the bus worth it:

• Walking (to bus stops)
• Being outside more. Plus, you get an excuse to just stand or sit there for a little while and enjoy the sound or the colors of passing cars. Normally that would seem strange if you're not under a bus sign.
• Diversity. I love different cultures and ethnicity! Each one has something beautiful a part of it, and helps to offer a way to reflect on your own.
• Reading. If my stop is long enough, I pull out a book. Which I tend not to do that often at home sometimes—so many other things to do there! But I know reading makes me happy.

I've been reading an introduction to one of Dostoevsky's books, and it talks about how he really enjoyed the same thing—meeting people that aren't really in literature or very rarely seen there, and then writing about them. Interesting characters who dare to be themselves, to show up in public, and drive a very huge rectangular vehicle and still seem so nice when a new person tries to put their ticket in upside down.