It’s been a difficult week for us all, and continues to be so–nowhere more so this morning than in Boston. In reaction I’ve tried to “Keep calm and carry on” by doing normal things and moving forward with projects. I’ve been able to push the line forward a little in some areas: with this blog, with my gardens, and with the new novel.
The Blog: Sometime this week, the number of subscribers ticked up over 150. Thank you all, for your interest and your encouragement. I’ve found a number of your blogs to be of interest as well.
The Gardens: There comes a point in every PacNW gardener’s spring when s/he turns around and goes “Whoa!” because–in a blink–everything has shot up, especially the weeds. I spent some hours out in the gentle rain, picking grass from among the ivy, reaching for the length of a dandelion root, fingers deep in the earth, trimming, grooming, bringing some order into a chaotic world.
The New Novel: I spent some time with the notes and outlines I created when I first started to build out this project, and I was surprised. I remember that my opinion of the project, when I set it aside a number of years ago, was that it was too thin, too banal. I felt that there just wasn’t enough action or plot, at that time, but now I’m viewing it with a new set of eyes.
My recent reading–as well as my growth as a writer during the intervening years–shows me that there is plenty of story here for a “literary style” novel. The outlines I had created before all describe how the characters feel right now and how they interact during the course of the story, but they include only the briefest hint as to how these characters felt and interacted in the years leading up to the story. It is this last part that I need to think on and which needs to be expanded, and the outlines themselves need some work, but overall, I’m feeling encouraged about this project.
I hope you and yours are all safe and well.
k
Unraveling Time
Desert Wind
Ploughman's Son
Ploughman King
The Year the Cloud Fell
The Spirit of Thunder
Shadow of the Storm
The Cry of the Wind
Beneath a Wounded Sky
Cryptogenesis: A Memoir
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 
I’ll have to check both those out 🙂
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“I spent some hours out in the gentle rain, picking grass from among the ivy, reaching for the length of a dandelion root, fingers deep in the earth, trimming, grooming, bringing some order into a chaotic world.”
❤ For me, it was picking grass out of my thyme, amazed at how quickly chicks grow, dreaming of this coming fall when I can more easily get to my side yard, and realizing I desperately need to tame the blackberry bushes before I lose my hill entirely!
I'm also writing a new story that I hope will be able to incorporate a few false starts and short stories that have come to mind over the years.
Watched the movie Equilibrium last night. It's a somewhat typical dystopian plot, but it was still a sweet movie (the dog… aaww <3) with a few surprises left, and the final gun battle scene was rather epic.
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I saw that movie and liked it, also. I just read a review of the new movie “Oblivion” which sounded promising; we usually don’t go to the theater to watch movies, but this one might be a good afternoon’s escape (esp. if I can convince First Reader to go for sushi afterward).
Last night we watched “The Intouchables,” a very enjoyable French film about a paraplegic and his caregiver. Fish-out-of-water meets Buddy-flick. Recommended.
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