Category: Around and About

A Picture and a Thought

On By skvanzandtIn Around and About, Changes, Random Stuff2 Comments

Plums

Oh, the plums. The sweet, bright taste of plums. William Carlos Williams said it so well in his poem This is Just to Say:

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

And which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

We picked these from a tree in our backyard. It was astonishing how quickly they ripened. Green one day, a deep purple red the next. Mother Nature is truly amazing. And now, we have our own plums…waiting in the icebox.

Musings and Mindfulness

On By skvanzandtIn Around and About, Inspiration, Random Stuff, Reflections, Writing2 Comments

MountainForkRiver_8109

We spent the past four days with family in a cabin in the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma. The weather was perfect, the autumn colors grand. We took trail rides and told ghost stories and had more than a few fishing mishaps with leaky waders in the chilly waters of the Mountain Fork River. But something happened at the end of our stay. I won’t go into it here – it basically involved a restaurant, but I’m wondering how this trip will be remembered now. It reminds me of the saying, “People may not remember exactly what you did or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” These are great words to consider while doing the business of daily living. But it’s also something to be mindful of when writing.

In telling a story, what feeling does the writer want to leave with the reader? How does what happened at the end shape the perception of the whole?

For me, I want stories that end with a feeling of hope. What do I mean by hope? Katherine Paterson says, “Hope is more than happiness. It is sticking to reality and also to a dream.” I agree. Give me reality but also, the dream. 

Here’s a fun aside regarding reactions to finishing books.

 

Musings and Middles

On By skvanzandtIn Around and About, Random Stuff, Reflections, Writing2 Comments

This interesting little creature appeared in my window this morning, visiting the tiny flowers on our Abelia hedge. It looked like a hummingbird. But a hummingbird with antennae? Hmm. I snapped a few photos, looked online, and discovered it was a hummingbird moth. Quite the coolest little insect I’ve ever seen.

Here are a couple photos.

In case you’re interested in learning more about hummingbird moths, check this out.

As for my writing, I’m in The Middle of my current WIP. I say this, even though I’ve written the complete story, up to the end. So I’m backtracking, in sort of first draft stasis, to feel my way and discover if I’m headed where I thought I was headed. And I’m finding that the central line of the story is still intact, but the navigation has definitely changed.

Which is why writing is so great. And hard.

And middles are great, if you’re eating an oreo or chomping down on a warm jelly-filled doughnut. But when you’re writing a book? It can be tricky. And sometimes icky.

So here are my thoughts about The Middle:

Here is what I will not do:

I will not let my perfectionism paralyze me and stiffle my creativity. (See, I’m NOT correcting the spelling of stifle. I can do this.)

I will not worry about what other people may think of my book. Yet.

I will not lose the joy of my story or my passion for telling it.

Here is what I will do:

I will love my characters. They have a voice. I will let them speak.

I will think about my story in a deeper way.

I will revise. And revise. And revise. And…revise.