It's Monday

It's Monday. Seems like yesterday was Friday. The weeks are flying by. Summer is drawing to an end and Autumn is playing peek-a-boo. I had envisioned myself sitting on my deck writing away beautiful summer days. But, in central Ohio, most days were too wickedly hot and humid to be outdoors for any length of time. I've mostly enjoyed the sunshine from my lower level office, gazing out the window at the beautiful yellow and black finches feeding on the cone flower seeds. Beautiful, graceful monarch butterflies landed softly on the flowers, and busied themselves in the butterfly bush. Occasionally, one of the feral cats passed by and peeked in to see what I was doing. I have enjoyed the summer, albeit not from my first place of choice.

It's Monday. I'm thinking about how quickly winter will be here. Last year, I spent so much time shoveling snow my muscles ached constantly. Not looking forward to that, but I'm anticipating the arrival of cold, winter days with a bit of nostalgia. There's just something about the very first snowfall that inspires and energizes me.

It's Monday. I'm wondering how my friends who head to Florida can possibly be happy when they don't experience the beauty of winter landscapes.

It's Monday. If you didn't guess, I'm using my blog time today to ease into a creative state of mind. I must find an occupation for my heroine. She stopped me dead in my tracks yesterday and in no uncertain words told me I'd gotten her all wrong.

It's Monday. Thanks for stopping by!

More, Better, Bigger...

I woke to another cloudy day, but looking out my office window I see one perfect beautiful red rosebud. Just beyond that I see buds on the orange rosebush. Wow. There is no flower more beautiful than a rose, just opening its petals to the world. It's amazing how fast all the plants have grown with the rain and warm weather. Our Hostas are huge. It seemed one morning the leaves were just poking from the soil and two days later they were growing so fast I could almost see it!

While sifting through some old pictures, I got lost in how quickly my children have grown. From tiny babies with fat chubby bellies to beautiful grown women and men. Time passes so quickly and so many times we fail to grasp the special moments in our lives. When I gaze at the pictures of my ancestors I try to picture what was going on in their minds at the time. The clothing was different, the hairstyles were different, even the poses were different. Yet, I believe their thoughts were the same as ours are today. The world around us changes with the times, but people remain the same. Inside we are all fragile.

I have always had a fascination with the life of the Native American Indians. They lived a different lifestyle. No, I'm not talking about living in tents, but more about the respect they had for our land and for their own. Their elders were respected and revered. In our world today, people toss trash from their car windows with no respect for the land. Old people struggle to get health care and medication, and are forgotten by the families they raised.

Sometimes changes in the world are not for the better. We forget about people in our quest for more, better, bigger...

And, on that word, I think I'll stop. Thanks for visiting today!

Morally Right...or Wrong?

I'm in a ready to cry mood today. Skip that as I dot my eyes with a tissue. I was in a decent mood this morning, got stopped by several school buses (which is a major point of frustation for me--but another story for another time). Finally, I moved along and while driving on a road that always brings a peace and sense of calm, I started thinking about...cats. Out of the blue, I remembered holding my beloved Sarah, while they "put her to sleep." Every vivid second replayed and I got so incredibly sad. I started thinking about whether we should be doing this. I mean, how does God look upon us for ending life? It is morally wrong in the majority's eyes to stop a human life, regardless of the circumstances. What about animals? Legal, yes. Morally right? I don't know. I just know that it broke my heart and the memory will reside with me forever...to come popping back at inopportune moments...like driving.

So, here I am, sitting here in my office feeling frustrated and upset over things that I cannot control. I'm not a fit person to be around today. Must be a hormone thing.

Just had to share a second post today. Hopefully, it will lighten my mood.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Reflections on Internal Fears

What makes us uniquely "us?" When I was a young child, it seemed so incredible to me that other people were having experiences that I was unaware of. My parents used to look at me like something might be wrong with me! It truly troubled me trying to understand how God could create so many people and that everyone would be speaking and moving and doing something uniquely different from each other. It still seems weirdly strange to me.

So what does make us unique? Every experience we have from the day we are born creates a handprint on our life that begins to shape us into the individual we will one day become. Some people are so secure in themselves that they aren't afraid to go after what they want. These people are successful and charismatic. Then there are others who have different handprints in their lives. These people grow up insecure and with low self-esteem. Pursuing dreams is something frightening. Fear of rejection holds them back.

Have you ever thought of which you are? Have you ever given a thought to those who do have low self-esteem? Have you ever reached out to help someone who needs a boost in morale? Or are you one of those who make yourself feel more powerful by making seemingly innocent comments meant to put down others?

When creating characters in your books, do you look into the things that happened in their lives to make them "unique?"

The All Important Beginning

Where a story opens is critical. You need to capture the reader, make them care, make them wonder what is going to happen. You've heard it...so have I. So how do you determine that all important opening scene?

What I've learned is you must open with action, with your main character in their current world and an event that is going to blow that world apart. What I've been struggling with this past week is how to start my story, which has lots of critical backstory, without confusing the reader, and still have my heroine and hero meet in the first few pages. Big daunting task.

My first shot confused the reader. They needed to know "why" the emotions were so high and controversial. Yeah, I knew why--it is all in the backstory. It's been drummed into my head to incorporate backstory in small doses. Hmm, so how to correct that and still have that all important first meeting.

I went to one of my writing critique groups and asked how I could accomplish this. And I received the answer. Use different POVs. By starting with the big bang in the POV of the heroine and then switching to the POV of the hero, I can write in the backstory, build anticipation for the reader for when the two finally come face to face. All sorts of possibilities exist.

Yesterday I felt as if I were standing in front of a huge wall that I had to climb with no rope, no footholds or handholds and a sinking feeling of despair that it couldn't be done. Today, I'm looking at the world on the opposite side of that wall. A vast horizon with many paths to choose.

The morale of the story? Writing may be a solitary occupation, but it is much better accomplished if you build a strong support system. And always remember to "pay it forward".