Ms. Millay and Moi

It is good to look

through the eyes of another writer

to see what she sees

to know her terrain

(Me and Edna St. Vincent Millay, Camden, Maine)

xx

Where do you get your ideas?

The question I am most often asked is, "Where do you get your ideas?"

The seeds for ideas are everywhere: in everything you see and hear and touch and feel. Combine this seed with that seed, and off you go.

Above might look like "a bigga mess" on the deck.

You look closer and you see nuts.

  You kneel down and look closely at one of those nuts:

Pretty interesting thing, that little nut.  Wonder what's inside?

Chop it open.  Huh.  Who might want that nut?

Ah, my nosy friend, the squirrel.

And your mind is off and running. Where is she taking that nut? What does her home look like? Does she have a family?

No, I don't normally write about squirrels, but I get my story ideas the same way.  That crowd of people over there - look at that one boy - look more closely - what's in his hand? - where is he going? - who are his friends? - what's bothering him?

Off you go . . .

Island on the Island

(Click on photo to enlarge)

I've shown this island before (see keyword island in list at right). It's a gathering of flowers and doo-dads that sits on the kitchen island, so we think of it as an island on an island.  Above are the last of the dogwoods and peonies and a few of the roses and herbs.

Just as in a book where I sometimes change point of view or perspective in order to highlight another aspect of the story, I thought it would be interesting to see the above rendered in black and white:

(Click to enlarge.)  

So different. The black and white feels more sculptural to me, with more emphasis on form.

Do you have a preference?

Change of Perspective

I've been immersed in the land of snow since November, but am now in North Carolina for a few months. It's a shock each year to leave that white, frigid landscape and emerge in a place where the grass is still green and the sun shines more often and you don't need boots and hats and gloves to venture outdoors.

It's a healthy change of perspective. Awakens the senses. I'll be revising the current work-in-progress soon, and it's good to go into that fresh and alert.

The above photo is not from North Carolina, however. It's from Thorpe, Surrey, England.  When we lived there, I used to walk here in order to refresh my brain.

Another favorite spot on that walk is this fence (below). I don't know why I like it so, but I think it wants a story of its own.

Some day.

Bye-bye for now. Going for a walk.