Stepping in the Write Direction

 “A lot of us end up in a swamp during times of our lives,” Owens reflected. “But we also have to know how we can move to the light... you don’t have to live in a marsh to be lonely... You don’t have to live in a swamp to feel isolated.” I would add, for some of us such places are the least lonely spots we could imagine, teeming with life and wonder.  I think I’m the last person on the planet to venture within the covers of Where the Crawdads Sing . This debut novel of zoologist, Georgia native, and northern Idaho resident Delia Owens, written after she turned  60, remains transfixed on the New York Times bestseller list in its 84th week. Because I am stingy with my purchased book selections, just because 685,979 people rated it an average 4.49 out of 5, doesn’t mean I might like it. Never mind that 94% of 46,096 reviewers awarded it 4 stars or higher, because 2% found it trite unrealistic unreadable boring overwrought overrated dull irritating tripe that insulted North Caro...

It’s been a long time since I read a book that compelled me so strongly to get to the next page as fast as I could. Wildflower Heart is such a book. I started out using Siri to read it aloud, and as time went on, I was reading ahead of Siri on the page, and having to advance the voiceover to catch up with me. After reading almost 50% of the book this way, I finally shut Siri off, effectively firing her as my reader, grabbing the tablet, and reading the last half of the book at breakneck speed. There were interwoven themes, and images of great natural beauty to savor along the way. Challenges are grappled with, difficult communications lead to insights and opportunity, and life passages are facilitated.  A huge time neglected home nestled among wildflowers comes back to life when a father and daughter move in, and with it, lives previously in limbo find something stirring within. New confidence arises, and rehabilitating legs reliant upon walking assistance, are soon dancing thr...

Motivational guru Tony Robbins believes anyone can be successful in a given area by duplicating the steps and behavior of those who already enjoy success. If Robbins' premise is correct, a successful writer could be "made" by faithfully following the steps outlined in Walter Mosley's book   This is the Year You Write Your Novel.  Mosley describes precisely how he produces a manuscript, when he does revisions and research, and all other steps leading up to publication . Mosley identifies two different approaches to writing: the structured and intuitive styles. The structured writer has an overall idea of plot, characters and scenes before they start writing and may create detailed outlines, character and scene studies prior to beginning their book. This style of writer will know most of the main characters, how the book will end, and turning points before typing out the opening sentence. The intuitive writer starts with a first line and as he wr...

In a sermon airing Sunday, Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, used one of his father's favorite quotations: " Ah, great it is to believe the dream as we stand in youth by the starry stream; but a greater thing is to fight life through and say at the end, "The dream is true "!" I love the sound and meaning of these words, and was curious to find the actual text source. It's been quite a treasure hunt! I don't give up easily, but fell short of finding the exact origin in a  poem or essay. I did learn some things about the man responsible for it. You might recognize one of his other poems, "Outwitted": " He drew a circle that shut me out--Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him in!" Poet Edwin Markham (1852-1940) was the youngest of 10 children when his father abandoned the family due to his belief Edwin was not his biological child. His early years were dif...

A fellow "My Book Therapy" member recently started a discussion thread using a quotation from a magazine article appearing in "Christianity Today" ("Words that Nourish"):  "The relationship between the living Word embodied in Christ and the rich gift of words that is ours to use and care for is a mystery worth much pondering.  Surely amongst our most urgent and joyful responsibilities is to tell stories, to listen well, to resist the forces that flatten and inflate and beat language into alluring lies and to stay in conversation."  This quotation does reverberate with me, as I have been thinking a lot lately about the state of language and the written word in America. Linguistics seems to have taken quite a hit with the advent of text messaging, which has a language all it's own; familiar words and expressions are transformed into abbreviations and acronyms, driving a wedge between generations, and possibly a wooden stake through the heart ...

Judging from the amount of time it took to write a handful of paragraphs for my initial blog post, I am off like a herd of turtles. I'll sooth my ego by remembering what French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in 1657 (in translation) " I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter." Brevity in verse seems inversely proportionate to the time spent achieving it. Researching online writing resources, blogs, and related information is like standing between two mirrors reflecting each other as their dizzying duplicated images telescope endlessly in both directions. One link leads inevitably to endless other links, until you are lost in a virtual maze, time vanishes down an electronic rabbit hole, and the digital undertow pulls you further into the web. Real life conspires against you as you seek to carve time from your schedule to learn the writer's craft. I've been reading Walter Mosley's book,...

Can anyone become a writer, or do you have to be born with the "author gene"? There are countless self help books on every aspect of the writer's craft as well as seminars and retreats to polish your education.  It's enough to make you think the only things between you and a best seller are the right choice of metaphor, a "hook" that won't let readers go until the last word is savored,  and the discipline to park yourself in front of a keyboard on a daily basis.  I imagine David Baldacci, James Patterson, and Walter Mosley were born with the kind of talent that wakes them up night after night with great plotlines that must be jotted on pads, as they contemplate their next 5 novels in the midst of writing number 12, while simultaneously completing the final edits for number 11, and packing for number 10's book tour. My greatest fear is that no amount of reading, education and sheer willpower can trump raw talent...